Bangladesh will face West Indies in Jamaica tonight

Published : 12 Jul 2018, 13:23

Sahos Desk

There have been quite a few occasions in the past when a Bangladesh team came back stronger after a disastrous performance and when the second Test against West Indies starts today, the main challenge for the Tigers will be to regain the self-belief which was obliterated in Antigua.

The second and final Test of the series starts from 9:00pm Bangladesh time at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

It will also be a mental test for the visitors to recover from the damage after collapsing to a humiliating innings and 219-run defeat in the first Test, during which the Tigers were bundled out for their lowest ever score of 43 in the first innings.

There were no signs of a fightback from the Bangladeshi cricketers after failing in the first innings in Antigua, which was reflected in the helpless surrender in their second innings. Bangladesh were all out for 144 runs to register another humiliating record -- their lowest Test match aggregate.

Once again, it will mostly depend on the senior members of the side like skipper Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad to lead from the front and provide the much needed confidence for the likes of Liton Das, Mominul Haque, Nurul Hasan and others.

Bangladesh's batting has remained the centre of all concern, especially on seam-friendly pitches overseas where the batsmen often fail to trust in their techniques and skills to cope.

It can be said that the green top in Antigua had take the fight out of the Tigers even before the start of the game, rather than Kemar Roach's five-over spell during which the right-arm pacer stuck to the basics and the rest was left to the batsmen's tendency to implode.

The disastrous batting has overshadowed the Tigers' bowling worries where apart from pacer Abu Jayed, none of the pacers in the likes of Kamrul Islam and Rubel Hossain utilised the pitch properly and remained insipid.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan expects a truer pitch at Sabina Park, the home ground of bowling coach Courtney Walsh, who will be expected to bring the pacers up to speed.

“There will be a little bit more consistent pace and bounce than the one we played in Antigua. I think it will be a true wicket. If we can apply ourselves we can do well,” said Shakib while training at the ground yesterday.

West Indies on the other hand will look to continue their dominance but will certainly miss Roach, who was rested after picking up a hamstring strain on his right leg in Antigua.

Pacer Alzarri Joseph, who was brilliant in picking up four wickets in the two-day warm up game against Bangladesh before the first Test, was included in the squad and is expected to pair up with another in-form pacer Shannon Gabriel, who will lead the bowling for the West Indies.

Source: thedailystar

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