NEWS
Follow UsBangladesh will be eyeing a historic win on the final day of their Test series against Pakistan. Beginning Day 4 of the second Test in Rawalpindi, Pakistan were 9/2, 21 runs ahead. The Bangladesh pacers (Hasan Mahmud 5/43, Navid Rana 4/44, Taskin Ahmed 1/40) ran through Pakistan’s batting, bowling them out for 172 in the second innings.
Set to chase 185, Bangladesh finished the day at 42/0 in only seven overs before a lengthy shower spell truncated the day’s play.
Bangladesh will begin Day 5 as favourites, admitted the Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie, but he mentioned his team would be going in with a fighting spirit.
"Admittedly, the odds are probably in favour of Bangladesh," Gillespie said at the press conference after the day’s play.
"We don't shy away from that, but we've already lost if we walk out there expecting to lose. We took 6/26 in the first innings so we know that we can have an impact with the ball if we bowl really well."
Bangladesh were 26/6 in the first innings with Pakistan having put 274 on the board. The defeat in the first Test made it a must-win game for Pakistan and the hosts put themselves in a strong position. However, Bangladesh turned the game upside down. Litton Das (138) and Mehidy Hasan forged a 165-run stand and later the seamers combined to bring Bangladesh storming back into the game.
Considering the pitch's pace-friendly nature, Gillespie hopes his pacers can dig in and show intent with discipline.
"We've spoken to our bowlers about being ruthless, being disciplined and bowling with intent," Gillespie said. "And we just went away from our game plan and I've challenged the bowlers pretty strongly on that. We need to make sure that we're on each and every time, because Test cricket can get away from you. The opposition is very good and I'm not going to shy away from saying Bangladesh played well. No question. But I know that our bowlers can do better in that situation than what they showed and we just need to make sure that execution is absolutely bang on each and every time.
"On reflection, and I spoke to the bowlers about it this morning, we've got to identify those periods where maybe the ball's got a little bit older and maybe the surface settles down. We've just got to really hang in. And not try to search for wickets, because you can fall into that trap. And I think that's probably what we did a little bit,” Gillespie spoke on Pakistan’s plans.
Weather can play a spoilsport on the final day. Due to heavy rainfall, only 50 overs of play were possible on Day 4. The forecast for Day 5 isn’t promising, with overnight and early morning rain predicted on Tuesday (September 3). Gillespie hopes enough play is possible for them to have a crack at squaring the series.
"I hope we get on tomorrow so we can try and win a Test match," he said.
"We've got to have that mindset. Because if we walk out there expecting to lose, well, I guarantee you will lose. But if we walk out there with the mindset and the belief that we can try and shake this game up, then there's hope. Sometimes, you need those 50-50 things to go your way, but we've got to have that attitude and mindset that we're going to go there to win the Test match for Pakistan.”
The head coach also spoke on the team selection that has raised question marks. In the first Test, Pakistan played a four-man seam attack, going ahead without a specialist spinner. On a more lively pitch for the second Test, they benched both Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Gillespie clarified that the selections are based on the conditions and the lessons from the previous Test match.
"We looked at conditions and surfaces, what we thought the best combination was," he answered. "We took into account what we saw before the game, reflected on the previous game, and this is where we landed. In the first innings, we had Bangladesh in a bit of strife at one point and we bowled quite well. Our lines, our lengths, were excellent.
"But on that decision, obviously, there's a few things we're hoping [those two] can work on. Shaheen's obviously had a pretty eventful time in his personal life as well. Naseem's fine. I think what we've got to understand is we're trying to build a squad mentality and not just rely on a few players here and there. We want to create an environment and a squad where we can look at conditions, look at surfaces, look at what holistically is coming up and make the best decisions."
(Cover image credits: TheRealPCB on X/Twitter)
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