Shun experiment, no room for Anamul as second Test begins today
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim promised to fight till the last ball as they face Zimbabwe in the second Test from today in Khulna, hoping to wrap-up the three-match Test series. The home side lead the series 1-0, thanks to their tense three-wicket win in the first Test at Dhaka, giving themselves a chance to secure their only third Test series win ever. Bangladesh won just two of their previous 43 Test series when they beat Zimbabwe 1-0 at home in 2005 and trounced an under-strength West Indies side 2-0 away in 2009.
Mushfiq relished the prospect of improving the record against a Zimbabwean side, which neither have the firepower to unsettle their struggling batsmen, nor they possess a mesmerising spinner.
‘Of course it’s a challenge for us,’ Mushfiq said in Khulna on Sunday.
‘We said before the series that we will play every game for a win, will give our best effort so that we can win every game.
‘We won the first game, though everything did not go the way we planned. Hopefully, things will come to our way in the second Test. Even, if it takes us five days to win the game, we will take it,’ said Mushfiq.
In order to secure the series, the Tigers have decided to refrain from any kind of experiment, which means they will retain almost the same squad that played in the first Test at Dhaka.
Rubel Hossain will replace paceman Al-Amin Hossain, who opted out to attend in university exams, and will share the new-ball with Shahadat Hossain.
The decision to include Rubel in the starting line-up ended all the speculations regarding one pacer theory, something which hovered over ever since the first Test ended in Dhaka.
Bangladesh played with one pacer in just one Test in their history when they fielded Al-Amin as their only pacer against Sri Lanka in Chittagong earlier this year.
The experiment did not bear any fruitful outcome, which may have influenced the team management to avoid a similar experiment. It also ended Anamul Haque’s chance of playing the Test as an additional batsman.
Anamul was apparently recalled to give the team’s struggling lower-middle order some solidity with Shuvagata Hom being unable to play any significant role in the first Test.
But team sources confirmed Shuvagata will get at least another chance, meaning Anamul had to wait to take the slot of an extra-batsman, which the team management deemed unnecessary.
The batting friendly wicket at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium also had a role in the decision.
The only time it hosted a Test match, Bangladesh scored more than 250 runs on each occasions against a much better attack of the West Indies, a record that should give the Tigers some confidence.
Mushfiq, however, was guarded against any complacency, saying that Zimbabwe can hit back anytime.
‘The last Test ended in three days, but if we expect the same to happen here it will be a mistake,’ the captain said.
‘I think they [Zimbabwe] are better prepared. In the last Test, they had only 101 runs to defend and yet gave us a good fight’,
-With New Age input
