It was a rare sight to watch Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha pour accolades on his side as the Tigers thrashed Afghanistan by a record 546 runs in the one-off Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday. The match was played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
After such a lopsided match, it is reasonable to doubt the quality of the opposition team that was played. On the other hand, Bangladesh deserves respect for having crystal clear intentions while carrying out the majority of their game plans and for doing so in the way in which they did so, with the fast bowling unit serving as the driving force.
The Tigers brain tank was able to avoid repeating the embarrassing blunder that cost them the match in 2019 against the same opponent who had defeated them by 224 runs at home due to the presence of a spin-friendly surface that allowed bowlers such as Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to perform to their full potential.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, decided not to use that strategy this time around and instead chose a course that was more suited to their highly skilled quicks.
When the Tigers have shown a desire to play on pitches that are green and provide assistance for the pacers at home, Hathurusingha has commended his players with overcoming the mental hurdle that the Tigers have frequently encountered. The 54-year-old lauded the approach that his team’s camp took toward playing on the pitch, which was a significant departure from the conditions that are often available in Mirpur.
“I don’t know if you have seen it but I’ve stated on social media that it is more than a Test win. I don’t know if you have seen it. When I said that, what I meant was that the method in which we prepared for this game is something that we have never done before,” Hathurusingha said to the press on Sunday.
“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,” the captain said. “If we think about the way we prepared the wicket, we won.”
“To play on a wicket of that type and then come away with flying colors is a big mental barrier that we broke,” the coach said after the game. “Before the game, I felt like a lot of people had doubts about the way we would go. To come away with flying colors is a big mental barrier that we broke.” Even beyond that, we played in a manner that was not typical for us. “We each had our own unique area of strength,” the older man of 54 years said.
Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Ebadot Hossain made up the Tigers’ fast-bowling three, and together they took 14 scalps and eliminated all forms of Afghan resistance. On a pitch that provided sufficient assistance for the quicks, Hathurusingha was “very pleased” to see his pacers maintaining their discipline despite the conditions.
“Now that we have access to quick bowlers, we have more alternatives to win matches. The encouraging thing is that even on that quick and bouncy pitch, they didn’t let their excitement get the better of them. They bowled in such a professional manner, which contributed to their excellent performance. They did not make use of the bouncer simply for the sake of making use of it.
The majority of wickets were taken when the batsmen were moving forward on their feet. These seemingly little details demonstrate the fast bowlers’ level of maturity. He replied that they had gone a very long way since the beginning.