Shanto has no complaints about the pitch, where 36 wickets fell in 178.1 overs, as it gave Bangladesh the edge – it’s just that “we didn’t bat well”.
Mohammad Isam
New Zealand beat Bangladesh by four wickets in Dhaka to level the two-Test series, but Tim Southee still called the pitch the “worst” he had seen in his career.
Thirty batsmen were dismissed by spinners as 36 Test wickets fell in just 178.1 overs of action – the third fewest balls bowled in a Test (1,069) for so many wickets to fall – and Southee felt the pitch was too much in favor of the bowlers, making it Unequal competition.
“This is probably the worst wicket I have faced in my career,” Southee said. “The balance between bat and ball was very much in the player’s hands. I think having the match finished in 170 overs kind of reflects that. So, it was very pleasing for our guys to walk away and then come out with the win. .
“I think it was just an up-and-down Test match. Obviously it was a tough wicket. Runs were hard to come by, and those little moments and partnerships throughout were crucial, whereas in other matches, I think when the conditions are a little more even between bat and ball, it doesn’t get done.” Notice them often.”
However, Najm Hossain Shanto was good on the field and was happy that Bangladesh tried to make the most of their home advantage after winning the first Test in Sylhet.
“When we play Tests, we are not here to improve. This is not a place to practice. We are trying to win the Test,” Shanto said. “It is important that we prepare to win the Test, but we must definitely take those kind of advantages. We can prepare in first-class cricket by having good wicket experience. We must prepare wickets like these and wickets like the outside conditions in the NCL [National Cricket League] OPCL [Bangladesh Cricket League]”.
Asked if the pitch in Sylhet for the first Test, where play began on the final day, gave the team more “home advantage”, Shanto pointed out that the bowlers faced difficulties there.
“It was not a very helpful wicket for the Sylhet bowlers. The bowlers had to work hard for their wickets. There was little help for both the bowlers and the batsmen,” he said. “We didn’t bowl well in Dhaka. We should have scored 230-240 runs in the first innings. The wicket looked bad because we got 172 runs. The new ball was a challenge, but that’s also true anywhere around the world. It wasn’t” No “There is something different here, but we could have avoided this situation if we had played better in the first round.”
Muhammad Essam is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent in Bangladesh. @isam84