After losing to India by a close margin in the 2022 T20 World Cup, then Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said: “It’s been the story when we play India. We’re almost there but don’t cross the line.”
It has been the story of Bangladesh since they were awarded Test status during Jagmohan Dalmiya’s term as ICC president in 2000. Since making their Test debut in 2000 against India, Bangladesh have played 14 test matches against India and lost 13 of them.
It is not only in Test cricket which is not their strong suit, even in the white-ball format, they have failed to get out of jail against India. At Adelaide in 2022, in a rain-hit game, they looked set to pull off a surprise against India but once KL Rahul ended Litton Das’ blistering 27-ball 60 with a direct hit from the mid-wicket, the Bangladesh chase went haywire and lost the match by five runs.
Who can forget the premature celebration of Mushfiqur Rahim in the 2016 T20 World Cup? A jubilant Rahim after hitting two-back-to-back boundaries off Hardik Pandya celebrated like Bangladesh had already won the match. Mushfiqur was pumping his fists and the dressing room were gearing up to make a dash the moment Bangladesh famously knocked India out of yet another big competition, like they had done in the 2007 ODI world cup. Bangladesh needed two runs in the last two balls and their experienced campaigners Rahim and Mahmudullah threw their wickets going for glory shots and lost the match by one run. The game is famously remembered for MS Dhoni’s sprint to complete the run out off the last ball.
In 2015 Bangladesh were playing their first World Cup quarterfinals and they were on a high after knocking out England. Again they couldn’t overcome the India barrier in the quarterfinals and lost the match by 109 runs. Recently in 2022, in the Mirpur Test, India was tottering at 74 for 7 in the chase of 145 but they failed to get the job done again as Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin stitched an unbeaten 71-run stand for the eighth wicket to take India home.
Cut to the present, after their historic series win over Pakistan, Bangladesh have shown that they have the required skillset to beat any top team of the world. In Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana, they possess a good fast bowling line-up, who can take wickets on any surface. In the spin department, they have two of the finest in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Despite all the positives, they succumbed to India within four days, despite bossing the opening two sessions of the Chennai Test.
Do Bangladesh have the strength to beat India in Test cricket or do they have a mental block when it comes to playing against their Big Brother?
Bangladesh’s premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan downplays that they have any mental barrier when it comes to playing against India but admits they have never been able to keep the pressure intact.
“We won against India in the ODI series in Bangladesh the last time they visited. We were very close to winning the Test match, but Ashwin played a really good innings and with Shreyas they put on an excellent partnership and defeated us,” said Shakib. “In Test cricket, we haven’t had the desired result. In patches, we played well in Chennai but losing the match in three and a half days was not ideal for us. We felt like we are a better team than that and we need to show that in tomorrow’s match,” he said.
In Chennai, Bangladesh had India on their knees in the first innings as the home team was reeling at 144 for 6. A 199-run seventh-wicket partnership between centurion R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja rescued India and they won the match by 280 runs. “India are probably unbeaten at home. Any country who has visited has found it difficult here. We are not different. But having said that we have to play really well to put on a fight,” said Shakib.
Kanpur: Bangladesh team players during a practice session ahead of the second test cricket match between India and Bangladesh, at the Green Park Stadium, in Kanpur, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (PTI Photo)
Bangladesh’s batting woes
Barring captain Najmul Shanto, none of the Bangladesh batsmen scored fifty. Shakib himself scored 32 and 25 in Bangladesh’s 280-run defeat. The approach of the Bangladesh batsmen has been under scrutiny. There was a team meeting in Chennai after the first Test to dissect their mistakes.
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe had acknowledged the problem. He said: “The concern is what we talk about whether we do that (convert their starts) in the middle and we normally talk about if you get a start make it big; and that’s the biggest concern. Some of the guys are playing 30 to 40 balls, and in cricket, the hardest thing is to get in.”
For the Kanpur Test, Shakib has thrown a challenge to the Bangladesh batters, who in the second innings in Chennai, showed some resistance. “There was an improvement in the batting, especially in the second innings. I hope that if we score around 350-400 then it will be a massive improvement. 350-400 in the first innings will give us a lot of confidence and make the dressing room more comfortable,” he said.
Kanpur: Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir during a training session ahead of the 2nd Test cricket match between India and Bangladesh, in Kanpur, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (PTI Photo)
The Green Park pitch
The Green Park has traditionally been on a slower side that assists spinners, and Bangladesh will be banking on Shakib with the ball to do well.
“I don’t think pitch plays a major role when you are playing against India, England and Australia. We just have to keep the pressure on India,” he said. Shakib had figures of 0 for 50 in eight overs and 0 for 79 in 13 overs in Chennai and commentator Murali Kartik had said on air that Shakib is having a discomfort on his spinning finger and shoulder. But he allayed such fears.
“I am completely fit and will give everything in this Test match,” he said.
