Bangladesh are planning for another spin assault on Zimbabwe as they seek an unprecedented 3-0 series sweep in the third and final Test, which begins in Chittagong today.
The Tigers, who posted contrasting wins in the first two Tests, heavily relied on their spin trio of Sakib al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Jubair Hossain, who together have collected 36 wickets in the series so far.
With the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand just two months away, the extra dependence on spinners on a flat pitch raised a question, but skipper Mushfiqur Rahim sees no reason to abandon it.
‘Yes, it would have been better for us to play in different conditions before the World Cup,’ Mushfiq told reporters in Chittagong on Tuesday. ‘But the bigger thing is to perform as a team and win Tests or T20 or whatever and build confidence.
‘The more matches you win as a team, they give your team more boosts. After this series we will have time to practice for the World Cup.’
‘The series is important for us because there is an issue of the rankings as well. So, our goal is 3-0,’ said Mushfiq.
The Tigers brought two changes for the third Test with Imrul Kayes replacing Shamsur Rahman and Shahadat Hossain making room for Shafiul Islam.
Shamsur was dropped from the squad after he could score just 33 runs in the first two Tests. Shahadat did well in the first Test in Dhaka but returned to his wayward self in the second Test when he remained wicketless.
His body language was such that Mushfiq did not dare to use him in the second innings. Both Shamsur and Shahadat also dropped a few catches, which was another reason for the team’s think-tanks to look for other options.
Despite the dead pitch, where barring reverse swing, pace bowlers are largely ineffective, Mushfiq still wanted his pacers to join the party and cause some early damage on the opponents.
This is one of the reasons for Bangladesh to keep using two pacemen – Rubel Hossain and Shafiul – in their lineup, unlike what they did last time when they played a Test match in Chittagong.
Al-Amin Hossain was the only pacer in Tigers’ line-up against Sri Lanka in February at Chittagong, a drawn Test which yielded a triple century and four centuries from both the sides.
Bangladesh also drew against New Zealand here in last October, which was too hailed as good result.
But Mushfiq is well aware that anything less than a win against the Zimbabweans will be deemed as a failure and hence, despite a chance of making some experiments, planned to remain stick to his guns.
‘We don’t get to play too many Tests, so every Test for us is a way to prove something. So, we will try our best to make it 3-0,’ he said.
-With New Age input
