Bangladesh batting coach David Hemp on Saturday asserted that his side’s batters certainly did better in their second innings than the first but warned them of the challenges ahead against a quality Indian bowling attack in the first Test in Chennai. India have put themselves in a prime position to win the first Test with Rishabh Pant (109) and Shubman Gill (119 not out) hitting magnificent hundreds on the third day. The hosts set Bangladesh an improbable target of 515 runs to win the Test. Bangladesh showed some spunk in their second innings to reach 158 for four when play was called off early due to bad light. They still need a whopping 357 runs for the result to be in their favour.
“The difference with the second (innings) is we got people that got in, so they faced balls. It’s all about scoring runs, and you’re looking to score, so that hasn’t changed,” Hemp said during the post-day press conference.
“We got tested or players got tested early on in their innings around the stumps more, and that was a big difference. Obviously, we’re playing against India, who possess some quality bowling, a very confident side, especially playing at home. So, you’re going to be challenged.”
The third day saw fine batting conditions, with less heat and the pitch still looking good.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was batting on 51 not out off 60 balls and giving him company was star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (5 not out) at stumps on Day 3.
Hemp somewhat regretted that his batters failed to get going in the first innings on Friday.
“Obviously, we were in a really good position against India in the first innings, but building on that was unfortunate. I certainly believe the skill level within our group was good enough to deal with a certain number of balls.
“I think the difference between the first and the second innings was obviously ball space. So, I think the Indian bowlers certainly challenged the stumps really well in the first innings, and they knocked people over.
“So, when we sit back and look at it, review the game whenever that ends, that certainly would be a discussion point in terms of how can we improve our performance because that’s what we want to do.” In terms of bowling, their star spinner Shakib Al Hasan has curiously failed to get any wickets in this Test. Hemp, however, brushed aside any speculation that the 37-year-old Shakib might be suffering from a finger injury.
“No, not aware of that at all, sorry,” he said.
Hemp said that the Cheapuk track is still a “reasonable” one to bat, and expects his batters to put on a show on Sunday.
“In terms of days to bat, it’s still a good wicket. Today, we’ve seen that (Ravichandran) Ashwin obviously got a couple of balls to bounce quite significantly.
“But, if you still miss, you can still score. So for us tomorrow, it’s still a reasonable surface,” he signed off.
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