Following a 150-run defeat in the first Test in Sylhet, where the hosts’ spinners dominated the show, New Zealand skipper Tim Southee expects another battle of spin at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National stadium as the visitors take on Bangladesh in the series-saving second and final Test, which begins on Wednesday.
At the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, the spinners claimed 32 wickets in four innings, while the pacers took six scalps and two run outs, which was a foregone conclusion for the Kiwis given the nature of subcontinental conditions.
“When you come to this part of the world, you expect the spinners to play a big role,” Southee told reporters today. We witnessed that in the first Test, and we expect the same in the second. Having said that, I believe Kyle [Jamieson] produced a number of opportunities during the first Test… he was looking quite good and threatening in these conditions as well.
“This part of the world is always a battle of spin, and that’s what we expected when we came here.” So, certainly, we’re expecting it in the second Test as well.”
Bangladesh spinners had taken 18 of New Zealand’s 20 wickets at Sylhet, with Taijul Islam leading the way with a ten-wicket haul. Southee indicated that his team was prepared for the spin challenge in Sylhet, but the experience will serve as a learning curve for some of the players.
Despite having five spinners in their squad, the visitors chose two specialist spinners for the first Test: Ajaz Patel and Ish Sodhi. Although Southee denied that they did not have an extra spinner in the form of Mitchell Santner or Rachin Ravindra in the first Test, the 34-year-old hinted that the visitors may have an extra spinner in Mirpur.
“Yeah, they’re obviously capable spinners [Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra].” But we went with the team we anticipated would win the first test match.
“Ish Sodhi was a standout spinner for us in the last Test series he played.” And, clearly, Ajaz has done an outstanding job for us. It’s just difficult to squeeze your 15 outstanding players into an 11-man roster. So it’s a matter of picking a team that you believe will accomplish the job for the next five days,” Southee added.