Bangladesh-India one-off Test: A graceful defeat
Temperament key to doing well in Test cricket
Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
Prior to flying to India to play the one-off Test, the Bangladesh cricket team, lovingly called as Team Tigers, knew that they were going to play against the best Test team in the world and that the task would be daunting.
And, on home soil, India is invincible. In last four series at home, India outclassed South Africa 3-0 in four matches, defeated the West Indies 2-0 also in 4 match-series, whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 and crushed England 4-0 in a five-match series.
Given the stats mentioned above, the challenge ahead was graspable. A very few Bangladeshis would have thought of a victory against India. Almost all the cricket lovers were of opinion that a draw would be more than good in the first ever Test match. Bangladesh were to play in Bangladesh. It is worth mentioning that although Bangladesh started its Test journey by playing with India in 2000 in Dhaka, India, before this Test, never invited Bangladesh to play on their turf much to the displeasure and annoyance of Bangladeshi cricket fans.
As expected, India posted a huge total of 687/7 in the first innings. Undoubtedly, Indian world class batsmen did justice to their names by piling up the huge total. At the same time, Bangladeshi fielders also made some contributions to the total with their buttery hands and dropping catches.
Batting in reply to nearly a 700-runs total is tough by any standard and Bangladesh was not exception in this regard. Aided by a brilliant century by Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and an authoritative 82 by Shakib Al Hassan, they finished their first innings at 388, which is their second highest total against India. The Tigers could have scored much more had they become bit more responsible in selecting their shots. For instance, Shakibs reckless shot while at 82 was not at all a good example of a Test shot going by the standard of one of the best all-rounders in the cricketing world. And, Sabbir Ahmeds reverse sweep was simply beyond belief. A player with very limited intelligence will refrain from going for such a shot when staying in wickets rather than scoring runs is more important.
Instead of asking Bangladesh to follow on, India scored 159/4 in the second innings leaving Bangladesh to score a near impossible 459 in the fourth session to win the match. One does not need to be a cricket expert to understand that the only objective of the Tigers would be to be glued to the pitch to secure a draw. And, perhaps they were trying to do so. They finished the fourth day at 103 losing three prime wickets.
The fifth day was all about to pass three sessions with remaining seven wickets. Having lost Shakib in the second over in an apparent unplayable spin, Bangladesh found itself in trouble. When Skipper Mushfiq and Mahmudullah were building a partnership, the captain selected a poor shot to throw away his wicket to dip the Tigers in dearer trouble. Thereafter, the other batsmen tried to stick to the wicket, but failed as Indian spinners and pacers were getting a lot of help from the wicket on the fifth day.
Despite the defeat, the Tigers should return home with their heads held high. They made the best Test team in the world to toil in the last session of the fifth day. If Shakib, Sabbir and Mushfiq did not play the shots they have and catches were not dropped, who knows, a draw could have been very much possible.
India, a country of over 125 crore people, has been playing Test since 1932 while Bangladesh with a populace of 16 crore has been in the longer version of the cricket for only 16 years. Indian cricket board is the richest one in the world with excellent infrastructure. On the other hand, Bangladesh is still, in a manner of speaking, in teething stage. India plays a lot of Tests in a calendar year while Bangladesh gets much less opportunity. Considering all these aspects, Bangladesh should feel positive and the players should not be demoralised.
If the Tigers believe that they have done their best that would be fair enough because none can go beyond his or her limit. Therefore, concentration now should be given to enhance their best. In all formats of cricket-- T20s, ODIs and Tests -- temperament is the key. In order to do well, the cricketers need to well-adjust with the format. One might be forgiven to suggest that the Bangladeshi batsmen have an issue with their temperament. They, sometimes, tend to forget that they are playing Test cricket and as a result they appear to select shots as they do in T20s and ODIs. They will have to get out of this temperament issue. The Tigers will have to understand that patience is the most important ingredient of Test cricket. It does not mean to say that sometimes the batsmen will not have to be aggressive. The main thing is that one has to act in accordance with the need of time. Team Bangladesh will also have to focus on bowling, fielding, stamina and fitness.
As Bangladesh plays lesser number of Test matches, there is no alternative to playing more and more longer-version matches. The national league of four-day matches will have to be strengthened and made regular with the development of infrastructure. If the national league can be made attractive as well as lucrative, overseas players will be interested to play through which the Bangladeshi players would be benefited. And, money should not be a problem, as there are many out there to sponsor cricket. Even if sponsors are not found, the government can fund. The development of longer-version cricket will enable the Tigers to do well in Test anywhere in the world. And, the Tigers will not have to wait for 17 years to get an invitation to play a Test match in a country.
