Photo: Firoz Ahmed
It was a rare sight to see Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, known as a hard taskmaster, heap praises on his side as the Tigers crushed Afghanistan by a record 546 runs in the one-off Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday.
While the calibre of the side fielded by the visitors can be brought into question after a thoroughly one-sided affair, Bangladesh can be credited for having sheer clarity while executing most of their game plans, carrying it out in the manner in which they did, spearheaded by the pace brigade.
The Tigers think tank learnt from the mistake that embarrassed them in 2019 against the same side who handed a 224-run defeat at home, owing to a spin-friendly track which the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman used to full advantage. This time around, however, Bangladesh veered away from that ploy and opted for a track that suited their much-accomplished quicks.
Hathurusingha credited his team for overcoming the mental barrier that the Tigers have often faced when showing the willingness to play on tracks that are green and offer help for the pacers at home. The 54-year-old praised the mentality his camp had about playing on such a wicket which was a far cry from what is usually offered in Mirpur.
“I don’t know if you have seen it but I’ve written on social media that it is more than a Test win. What I meant was, the way we prepared for this game is something we haven’t done before,” Hathurusingha told reporters on Sunday.
“If we think about the way we prepared the wicket, which was fast and green, I think that it was a big win for us.
“To play on that type of a wicket and then come away with flying colours is a big mental barrier that we broke because, before the game, I felt a lot of people had doubts about the way we would go. We even played in a way that we normally don’t. We had a different strength,” the 54-year-old added.
The Tigers’ fast-bowling trio of Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Ebadot Hossain shared 14 scalps as they disallowed any kind of Afghan resistance. Hathurusingha was “very pleased” at seeing his pacers being disciplined on a wicket that offered enough assistance for the quicks.
“Now, we have options to use fast bowlers to win matches. The pleasing thing is even on that fast, bouncy wicket they didn’t get carried away. The way they bowled was so good, a very professional approach. They didn’t use the bouncer for the sake of using it. Most of the wickets came when batters were on the front foot. Those little things show the maturity of the fast bowlers. They have come a long way,” he said.
