A day before a Test match, it is rare for Bangladesh to keep the training session optional but that is what they did on Tuesday, ahead of their third Test against Zimbabwe in Chittagong.
With the series already dead, this was not completely unexpected, as Bangladesh also needs to keep their legs fresh for the five one-day internationals, which will follow the Tests.
What was unexpected was their hundred percent attendance during practice, which could only be described as the players’ eagerness of doing well once again and complete the clean sweep.
In their brief history, Bangladesh, who celebrated their 14 years in Test cricket this week, were at the receiving end of a series defeat by clean margin for at least on 27 occasions and the majority of this humiliation – 14 times – came on the home soil.
Bangladesh could return it back to the opponents only once when they beat an under-strength West Indies 2-0 in 2009.
It is, therefore, natural for Bangladesh to remain desperate to improve their overall statistics and seal their first-ever clean sweep victory on home soil.
‘It’s a rare situation for us,’ said skipper Mushfiqur Rahim in Chittagong on Tuesday. ‘Can’t remember when we were in such a good position.’
‘We have lost many Test matches, so we have something to prove.’
‘We don’t get this kind of opportunity too often. So, every Test match is very important for us,’ Mushfiq said in clear indication of putting an all-out effort.
As Bangladesh are guarded against complacency, they believed Zimbabwe will be a more dangerous opponent this time than the first two Tests as they have very little to lose.
Mushfiq insisted that the visitors were now well adapted to local conditions.
‘The reality is that the third Test will be tougher than the first two,’ Mushfiq warned his team-mates.
‘Zimbabwe have been here for almost three weeks, and they know the conditions well. I don’t think we have any reason to be complacent.’
Mushfiq also identified the areas where Bangladesh clearly have some room for improvement despite already wrapping up the series.
‘Fielding is an area where we need a massive improvement. We dropped few catches which did not hurt us that much because this was against Zimbabwe,’ he said.
‘We could create enough pressure against them but bigger teams will not give us so many opportunities.’
‘Consistency is another area we have to look at. Our fast bowlers did not take too many wickets.’
‘Yes, they got few quick wickets in Dhaka, but we need more breakthroughs from the pace bowlers.’
‘We made a few mistakes in batting as well. There were a few cheap dismissals, we must avoid it.’
‘In Khulna two set batsmen went on to play big innings. I want whoever gets set, he must score big. I guess these small issues are very important,’ he said.
-With New Age input
