Bangladesh will aim to capitalise on the mental edge they earned over New Zealand after the first Test when they take them on in the series-deciding second Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today. Bangladesh played remarkably to earn a draw in Chittagong and were in a firm position at several junctures of the five-day match, raising the confidence-level of a team now looking forward to defeating the tourists and clinching the series.
‘We are in an advantageous position if you consider the outcome of the first Test match and it gives us a mental edge,’ Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim told reporters at Mirpur on Sunday.
‘There are different ways of earning a draw in a Test match, but we drew the game with dominance,’ said Mushfiq.
‘We had the upper-hand against them in all sections and everyone is upbeat with heightened confidence.’
Mushfiq is expecting the pitch at the SBNS to give some assistance to his spinners when they take on the Kiwi batsmen, something that he believes was missing during the first four days at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
‘As far as I know there will be some advantage for spinners in Mirpur and we are preparing accordingly. We are confident that if there is some assistance for the spinners our bowlers are good enough to take 20 wickets,’ he said.
‘We were disappointed to end up drawing in Chittagong because we wanted to win and we were in a position to do so. Unfortunately we could not do it and the wicket also did not provide us with any substantial assistance.’
The wicket-keeper batsman praised some of his team-mates for sharing the responsibility on the team and indicated it that had relieved the pressure on the Tigers’ two major stars – Sakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal – to a certain extent.
All-rounder Sohag Gazi has been a revelation since arriving on the international scene against West Indies and he made history in the first Test against New Zealand by becoming the first Test cricketer to score a century and take a hat-trick in the same match.
Batsman Mominul Haque proved his worth in the same match, scoring his maiden
Test hundred and laying the foundation for the hosts to dictate terms thereafter.
The side can also rely on the talented Nasir Hossain, who has taken the load off his senior team-mates since cementing his place in the side.
‘Despite not being able to perform to their reputation in the first Test, [Sakib and Tamim] are a bit more relaxed now, as they know that apart from them there are at least five to six performers on this team who can provide the side with the required support.
‘This atmosphere provides them with an opportunity to perform well and the other members of the side as well.’
‘Sakib has a good track record at Mirpur and hopefully he will maintain that.’
Mushfiq also denied that there was any extra pressure on his side.
‘There is no pressure on us. [New Zealand] face more pressure than us as they are ahead of us in the ranking and would not like to draw two consecutive Test matches or even lose it even though it is played here. They will be keen to play well against us,’ he added.
-With New Age input
