Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto believes his side paid the price for failing to capitalise on the opportunities in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, which ended in a draw in the UAE on Tuesday.
Bangladesh were well placed to secure victory after ending Sediqullah Atal’s marathon innings on the final day. However, a series of missed chances in the field allowed Afghanistan to fight on and finish at 346/8 in their second innings, chasing a target of 479.
Atal, who scored 111 off 332 balls to register his maiden Test century, was dismissed eleven overs into the final session when a faint edge off Taijul Islam lobbed off his pad to Tanzid Hasan at short leg.
With Afghanistan reduced to 281-7 and around 23 overs remaining, Bangladesh appeared to have the upper hand. However, their fielding let them down at a crucial stage. Yamin Ahmadzai survived after an inside edge rolled onto the stumps without dislodging the bails, while Bangladesh missed two run-out opportunities off consecutive deliveries in the following over. Qais Ahmed, who remained unbeaten on 49, was also dropped at silly point and later at deep mid-wicket by Tanzid off Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
“I think we tried our best. We created a few opportunities, but we couldn’t capitalize on them. The opponent played brilliant cricket, so we have to give them credit as well, especially the way Sediqullah Atal batted,” Najmul said.
“Of course it is a bit disappointing, but I wouldn’t say we played very bad cricket. We played good cricket for all five days, especially the way the bowlers suffered today in this condition and on this wicket, we have to give credit to the bowlers,” he said.
“We had opportunities, but we couldn’t take them properly. Of course we made mistakes, we have to accept that. Because in such conditions, opportunities will come very rarely, so the small opportunities that do come must be taken,” he said.
Despite the disappointment, Najmul believes the experience of playing a five-day Test in demanding conditions will benefit Bangladesh in the long run, particularly given their limited exposure to the format.
“We play five-day Tests very rarely, so our team has less experience of a match ending in the first session on Day 4 or Day 5. Surviving in a match for such a long time and creating opportunities while tired or bowling better – this experience will help us in the upcoming series,” Najmul said.
“After the Australia series, we needed to play a match in this kind of condition before the West Indies series, so this experience will help us for the upcoming series,” he said.
Najmul also acknowledged Afghanistan’s batting effort, pointing out that the pitch remained conducive to batting throughout the match despite some assistance for the spinners on the final day.
“Honestly, we didn’t think it would end in four days because the wicket was very good on the fourth or fifth day, even today. Although some spinners got help today, the wicket was good for all five days. The way their batters batted in this condition against our quality bowling— we definitely have to give them credit for that. However, our quality spinners or pacers should have taken 10 wickets in this innings, and we missed a few opportunities in between. Because of these small mistakes, the match ended in a draw,” he concluded.
Leave a Reply