Mehidy Hasan, an all-rounder for Bangladesh, supported the team management’s choice on Wednesday, December 6, to have a spin-friendly wicket at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, believing that this would provide the home team the best opportunity of winning a Test match.
Mehidy Hasan, an all-rounder for Bangladesh, supported the team management’s choice on Wednesday, December 6, to have a spin-friendly wicket at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, believing that this would provide the home team the best opportunity of winning a Test match.
Bangladesh had the better of the day after being bowled out for 172 in the second Test in Dhaka, despite a poor batting performance that saw them take five wickets by Stumps of New Zealand. New Zealand finished the day with a 55-5 total, 117 runs behind Bangladesh with three wickets from Mehidy and two strikes from Taijul Islam.
Going for spin-friendly wickets helped Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha win Test series victories at home against Australia and England, and it appeared to be the same strategy against New Zealand.
“If we can’t bowl out our opponents, we won’t be able to win Tests,”
Mehidy told reporters after the opening day’s play.
“We won on similar pitches against England and Australia. We have good spinners who create opportunities in home conditions,”
he said.
“A better wicket will obviously be good for batters. They struggle on these wickets. But it is part of the planning of the team management. Since we are on top, we will definitely want to take this advantage,”
he said.
“I think we are ahead of them. We took five wickets so it changes the scenario for tomorrow. We know that a big lead will be a huge advantage in this game so we want to bowl them out quickly. It is difficult to score in the first innings so every run is important. Our job will become easier if we can take a substantial lead.”
However, the all-rounder wishes to see more sporting pitches for the limited-overs matches.
“It depends on the team management. Players try to adjust to the conditions whether it’s a good wicket or not. I think we can take these advantages in Tests, but we probably should play on better wickets in white-ball cricket. But look, if we can’t bowl them out, it is hard for us to win. We usually bowl sides out after conceding a lot of runs in overseas Tests. I think it will take time for things to change,”
he said.
Mehidy added that aside from bowling in the right places, he did not try anything different to get the three wickets. Mehidy secured the prized scalp of Devon Conway and Kane Williamson, the two primary pillars of New Zealand’s batting lineup.
“It is important to keep things simple for bowlers. I tried to turn the ball in the first few overs. I tried to keep my spot knowing that the pitch would play its part,”
he said
“I didn’t try anything big, but I just tried to confuse him (Williamson). A confused batter is bound to make mistakes on this pitch. I wanted him to think which way to play against me. I tried to keep him under pressure. This dilemma often produces a wicket,”
he concluded.
On the first day of the Test match in Dhaka, as many as fifteen wickets fell, but nothing came close to Mushfiqur Rahim’s dismissal. Rahim became the first batter from Bangladesh to be dismissed for ‘obstructing the field’ in Test cricket.
The former captain of Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal, who was on TV commentary at the time, appeared shocked by Mushfiqur’s dismissal.
“A cricketer who has played over 80 Tests should know he can’t do that,”
Tamim said on air on Wednesday.
“Practice habits can make this happen. In the nets, batters often take the ball in hand and return it to the bowler. Maybe Mushfiqur did it unconsciously and extended his hands. But this obviously can’t be an excuse.”
Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan, however, was not ready to blame the senior campaigner.
“Look this one was not intentional, it just happened with the flow. Nobody wants to get out knowingly,”
said Mehidy.
“There are lots of things going around at the back of the mind during different situations in a game.
“In the World Cup, we got a timed-out dismissal against a Sri Lankan batter in our favor but today what happened with Mushfiq Bhai, it all happened in a flow. When I am batting after playing a shot and when the ball is coming near the stumps, you have to make quick decisions about what you can do and what you can’t. Certainly, he didn’t do that intentionally.”
Mushfiqur was the best batter of the day, dominating a pitch that was heaven for slower bowlers without regard to how he was dismissed. After getting struck in the left leg, he continued to do that despite discomfort in the calf muscle.
These types of dismissals were classified as “handled the ball,” but a 2017 legal amendment moved them under the heading of “obstructing the field.”According to Law 37.1.2,
“The striker is out obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, in the act of receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she willfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat. This will apply whether it is the first strike or a second or subsequent strike. The act of receiving the ball shall extend both to playing at the ball and to striking the ball more than once in defense of his/her wicket.”