Mehidy Hasan puts home side’s loss on top order after another underhwhelming performance with the bat up the order.
Mehidy pulls up Bangladesh’s top order after home Test defeat to South Africa.
On the fourth morning of the Dhaka Test, South Africa won by seven wickets, putting pressure on Bangladesh’s hitters. The top four scored 105 runs in the game, which was their lowest total so far this season. Only the lower order, captained by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, was able to save an innings loss as a result of Bangladesh’s collapse on the opening day of the match.
Even though the toss went their way and the pitch and circumstances were favourable, Mehidy, whose 97 in the second innings forced South Africa to bat again, claimed that the top-order’s failure on the first day eliminated them from the match too soon and that there was no chance to turn things around.
“Everything was in our favour as we won the toss and decided to bat first,” Mehidy said. “It is hard to bat on the fourth day on this wicket so we prepared ourselves in that way. We couldn’t score runs, unfortunately. If we could have scored our second innings runs in the first… We were in the back foot in the first innings. We were bowled out before the second session on the first day. 106 all out. First innings runs are very important in Test cricket.”
Mehidy stated that the middle-field decision-making of Bangladesh’s batsmen needs to be improved. Out of the top four, Mahmudul Hasan Joy was the only one to contribute in any way (30 and 40). In both innings, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, and Shadman Islam were unsuccessful.
All three of those players, though, have at least one noteworthy recent inning under their belts. Mominul hit a century in Bangladesh’s last Test in Kanpur, while Shadman scored a vital 93 in the opening Test against Pakistan. In the Chennai Test, Shanto scored 82 runs.
“I think decision-making is an important aspect [of batting],” Mehidy said. “We would do better as a team if the top order starts contributing again. We did it in Pakistan where the top four were contributing to the total. When the openers start well, it makes life easier for the rest of the batters. When the No. 5 and 6 batters are playing against the new ball, life becomes hard. We are working on how to improve the top order. I am hopeful that we will figure out where to improve in the coming matches.
“Batters have to take more responsibility. Lack of runs on the board makes life difficult for the bowlers. We bowled well despite all the pressure. Taijul [Islam] bhai bowled really well. We discussed that not all the batters will score every day. But at least three or four batters should turn their starts into big ones.”