Shadman confident of good batting performance in Tests

Bangladeshi left-handed opening batsman Shadman Islam says he is confident of doing well against hosts New Zealand in the Test series.

He is brimming with confidence after scoring a fifty on the first day of the two-day practice game against New Zealand XI on Saturday.

Bangladesh suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss in the three-match ODI series. Now, they are hoping to bounce back in the Test series to regain their confidence ahead of the Ireland tour and the World Cup. 

Tigers showed a positive intention on day one of the practice game. They scored 411 runs at the end of the day for six wickets. Shadman scored 67, the individual top score of the team. 

“There was so much wind in the middle,” he said. “We have prepared under the same weather. Our batting coach Neil MacKenzie told us that we need to adjust with the condition as quickly as possible. We have tried to that and it helped us today (Saturday) to bat well.”

Liton Das (62), Mahmudullah Riyad (59) and Mehidy Hasan (51) have scored fifties for the Tigers while Tamim Iqbal (45) and Soumya Sarkar (41) also showed signs of comeback.

“Most of our batsmen showed their skills today. We hope to replicate the performance in the main series. I think we have adjusted with the wicket well,” the 23-year-old said. 

Bangladesh have played 13 Tests so far against the New Zealanders but failed to win a single of them.

In the ongoing tour, Bangladesh will face New Zealand in three Test matches. The first one will take place at Hamilton from February 28. The remaining two will be held on March 8 and 16 at Wellington and Christchurch respectively.

Source: unb