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Tuesday April 23, 2024

No experience, no problem!

Shakib exudes confidence ahead of first Test against Pakistan

By our correspondents
April 27, 2015
KHULNA, Bangladesh: Their Test attack might lack experience but such is the confidence of Bangladesh that the hosts are looking forward to maintaining their winning spree against hapless Pakistan when the two-Test series gets underway here from Tuesday (today).
Ask senior Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and he will tell you that the home team is ready to give its best in the Tests against a higher-rated Pakistan team.
“Except me, everyone has played in the longer version this season,” Shakib said.
“Still I don’t think it will be a problem. I will definitely try to prepare myself in these two days, and then apply it in the Test match.
“It is important to train to bowl more overs, because I get to bowl fewer overs in the other formats. The first innings will be vital though I wouldn’t want to bowl for a long time. If I do, they will get to bat longer. We will try to bowl them out quickly, for which I will need rhythm. It is necessary that I get the rhythm,” said Shakib, who is the most successful player Bangladesh ever produced.
He said that it is possible for this attack to take 20 wickets, if they get help from the pitch in Khulna.
He said that changing the mentality to Test mode will be crucial. “It will depend on the wicket. I don’t know how it will behave though. There are a lot of Tests where neither side could take 10 wickets.
“We have to bowl well. The big question is how the pitch will be prepared. If the bowlers can get help from the wicket, we will have a chance to pick 20 wickets.
“I think it will be possible to change our mindset to Test cricket. There are a few changes in the team, we have some new players. Those who played in the ODI series, they obviously have the belief within themselves. We have also played most of their bowlers, so it won’t be very difficult.
“I don’t think we should keep a goal in mind in this Test match. I think this will be a good series if we can transfer the confidence from the ODI series. They have an experienced batting line-up while we have a number of batsmen in form.
“I think we have a better bowling attack than theirs, plus I think our fielding is also good too. Doing well in all three formats… this will be a tight series,” said the seasoned all-rounder.
Meanwhile, Pakistan hope to recover while Bangladesh look to keep dominating as the current cricket series between the two rival nations continues this week with the first of two Test matches that will close out the Pakistan tour.
So far, the Pakistan tour, which was finalised in early April just a couple of weeks ahead of the first One-day International match on April 17, has been an unqualified disaster for the tourists.
For the hosts each of the four games played so far has proven more historic than the one before.
After losing 46 of the 47 matches in all formats of cricket played between the two countries, Bangladesh have humiliated their visitors from Pakistan — the country from which Bangladesh broke in a bloody war of independence 44 years ago — by sweeping the three-match ODI series that opened the tour, then cruising to a one-sided victory in the lone T20 match.