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Tigers look to take fight to India with balanced attack
PHOTO: FIROZ AHMED
SPORTS REPORTER
Bangladesh are going into the India series on the back of a historic away series sweep against Pakistan. Their previous tour of India in 2019 hadn’t gone to well for them but all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz is adamant that this time the side is ready for the ‘fight’ against the ‘big side’.
On Sunday, India named their squad for the first Test with all their major red-ball stars in the mix. Their home record, unlike Pakistan’s, is formidable, having won against strong sides like England and Australia in home Tests in the last two years.
Miraz hoped that the momentum from the Pakistan series will help them bridge the gap between the two sides.
“Every series is challenging. I feel that since we have done well in Pakistan and there is not too much gap [between series], everyone is in a good rhythm. If we can continue the same way, we can expect good results,” Miraz told reporters in Mirpur yesterday.
“India is that obviously a very big side. If we think about performing instead of focusing on results, that would help us achieve positive outcomes at the end of the day,” he added.
The Tigers had spoken about being competitive ahead of the Pakistan series, which they eventually won 2-0. The talks in the camp before the India has been similar with Miraz saying he wanted to put up a tough fight against India.
In their last trip to India, Bangladesh were blown over by India’s pace bowlers and conceded an innings defeat in both Tests. This time, however, spinners are expected to come into play in the two-Test series in Chennai and Kanpur.
“The challenge is there. We have played in India before and our past performance there was not that good. We are going in with confidence this time and we will try to make use of their conditions. If we can put up a fight, we can create chances to bring results.”
If spin comes into play, Bangladesh have Miraz along with Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Nayeem Hasan in their ranks. Miraz believes, however, that a message has been sent through their pace dominance in Pakistan and they are now capable of dictating with spin or pace.
“We never had the right balance. When the spin attack was great, the pace attack wasn’t and vice-versa. We have good pacers now.
“Nahid Rana is bowling at 150 kph. You can send a message through that, that this side has a 150 kph bowler. The way Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful [Islam] and Taskin [Ahmed], obviously you have to credit the pace attack for how they bowled in difficult conditions and took wickets.
“The batters were not being able to play big knocks but it happened in Pakistan with Mushfiqur [Rahim] bhai scoring 190 plus and Liton bhai almost making 150. Shadman [Islam] was there too and I contributed as well. If batters can only get scores of 50-60, the morale comes down but in the last two Tests, it was perfect,” he concluded.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz interacts with some of the men’s Under-19 players at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Getting to meet Miraz -- who established himself as a key player for the national team after having been the player of the 2016 U-19 World Cup -- is set to motivate the young Tigers as they begin 20-day long training in Rajshahi, starting today, ahead of their upcoming home series against the UAE.