Hathurusingha sounds positive

The way Bangladesh hung on a tricky pitch gave no indication that they didn’t play Test cricket for the last 15 months. Most of the people wrote them off even before the Test but within four days of the match, they are sniffing a famous victory, leaving the critics swallow their own words.

While the others were stunned to see Bangladesh’s fabulous comeback in the Test, head coach Chandika Hathurusingha wasn’t surprised at all. He said it is because that they prepared well and fielded a side according to the demand of the condition as well as play to their strength.

“We prepared well. We played to our strength in this kind of condition. I am a bit disappointed that we could have been ahead of the game in the first innings, more than what we are now. We are chasing the lead that we conceded in the first innings,” he said.

“I am happy to be still in the game in the fourth day against a team like England. I don’t think anyone gave us the chance four days ago. We had a good game plan. We would like to have done better in the first innings,” he added.

Now that his side is just 33 runs away of the victory with two wickets at hands, Hathurusingha believed that they should just hang around that.

“Tomorrow if we bat 10-15 overs, we will get that target. We have to get in there, spend as much time as possible in the middle,” he pointed out. “When Taijul went in to bat, we needed 46/47 runs, which we couldn’t score in 5 or 6 overs. Best scenario was to bat them out and take the game to the fifth day. Now the challenge is to bat as long as possible tomorrow, and hoping we will win.”

When there was little belief that Bangladesh bowlers could take 20 wickets of the opponents, they proved it wrong what pleased the head coach.

Praising his batsmen, he said, “I thought most of the time we batted intelligently, according to the condition. It is not the place where you can bat like you do elsewhere. You have to adopt to the condition. The new ball was challenging and then in the middle period when the ball gets softer, the batsmen get in. I saw this pattern in the first three innings of this game. Later on, the reverse swing comes into play. Our batters adapted to certain extent but we have room for improvement. That’s the challenge and beauty of Test cricket. This is one of the best games I have watched. I am very pleased with the performance of both teams.”

Hathurusingha sounds positive

The way Bangladesh hung on a tricky pitch gave no indication that they didnt play Test cricket for the last 15 months. Most of the people wrote them off even before the Test but within four days of the match, they are sniffing a famous victory, leaving the critics swallow their own words. While the others were stunned to see Bangladeshs fabulous comeback in the Test, head coach Chandika Hathurusingha wasnt surprised at all. He said it is because that they prepared well and fielded a side according to the demand of the condition as well as play to their strength. We prepared well. We played to our strength in this kind of condition. I am a bit disappointed that we could have been ahead of the game in the first innings, more than what we are now. We are chasing the lead that we conceded in the first innings, he said. I am happy to be still in the game in the fourth day against a team like England. I dont think anyone gave us the chance four days ago. We had a good game plan. We would like to have done better in the first innings, he added. Now that his side is just 33 runs away of thevictory with two wickets at hands, Hathurusingha believed that they should just hang around that. Tomorrow if we bat 10-15 overs, we will get that target. We have to get in there, spend as much time as possible in the middle, he pointed out. When Taijul went in to bat, we needed 46/47 runs, which we couldnt score in 5 or 6 overs. Best scenario was to bat them out and take the game to the fifth day. Now the challenge is to bat as long as possible tomorrow, and hoping we will win. When there was little belief that Bangladesh bowlers could take 20 wickets of the opponents, they proved it wrong what pleased the head coach. Praising his batsmen, he said, I thought most of the time we batted intelligently, according to the condition. It is not the place where you can bat like you do elsewhere. You have to adopt to the condition. The new ball was challenging and then in the middle period when the ball gets softer, the batsmen get in. I saw this pattern in the first three innings of this game. Later on, the reverse swing comes into play. Our batters adapted to certain extent but we have room for improvement. Thats the challenge and beauty of Test cricket. This is one of the best games I have watched. I am very pleased with the performance of both teams.