Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha hailed Tigers’ Test win against Afghanistan a ‘more than just a Test win’ and believed the mental barrier is now broken after winning a game in this format on green wicket.
The Tigers crushed Afghans by 546 runs to seal their biggest margin of victory in Tests, in terms of runs — the largest of the 21st century by any team and also the third-highest ever in the Test cricket history.
“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. 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,” Hathurusingha said here today.
“To play on that type of a wicket and then come away with flying colours which 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 and even we played in a way that we normally don’t play, we had a different strength. Gamini, the curator is also to be given credit for preparing that kind of a wicket. So I think it’s more than just a Test win,” he added.
Hathurusingha spoke highly on the youngsters like Zakir Hasan and Mahmudul Hasan Joy, saying that their maturity was beyond the expectation.
“I was very impress actually (with the young players). For the first time I saw Zakir batting. You know that he got injured during the India series. So here a really good start in Test career but for the first time I saw him batting in front my eyes and what I saw is very impressive,” Hathurusingha said.
“He is good against both pace and spin and very rarity for an opener in modern cricket. And Joy showed good temperament the way he batted… his record also says that if he gets a good start, go it’s with. So really positives from those two youngsters as well as very pleased that Mominul coming into on stage as well.”
Both Zakir and Joy got half-century in the Test, while Mominul ended his century draught after two years. Najmul Hossain Shanto meanwhile became second Bangladesh batter after Mominul Haque to hit century in both innings of a Test, to show he had come of age.
The Tigers indeed put up a free flowing batting but Hathurusingha said condition will determine to how they would bat.
“If condition is conducive to positive batting, we’ll do. That’s how all we trained and we’ve given them freedom to score runs,” The Sri Lankan coach
revealed.
“If the condition is difficult yes we will be smart enough to bat the way the condition is allow us to bat. In the same way we must give credit to Shanto the way he batted in two innings of this Test. Specially in first two hours, he and Joy batted nicely and calmed the nerves of everyone in the dressing room.”
Bangladesh fielded three-pronged pacer attack for the first time in Mirpur and it paid the rich dividends with the pacers claiming 14 wickets, the highest for the country in Test cricket.
Ebadot Hossain led the way in the first innings with a four-wicket haul and Taskin Ahmed followed him in the second innings with his career-best 4-37. Shoriful, the other pacer complemented both with further accurate bowling as Afghanistan found them in wanting in both of the innings.
