Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha blamed the abysmal batting for their 2-0 loss against India and hoped his wards display better execution and decision making in the upcoming series against South Africa. Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said the defeat to India was painful, especially coming to these shores after a 2-0 series win over Pakistan.
Bangladesh were not ready for India’s assault in the first innings in Kanpur, admitted head coach Chandika Hathurusingha. The Sri Lankan said they were late in reacting to India’s batters’ ultra-aggressive approach because they hadn’t seen anything like that in Test cricket before.
India’s inspiring win at Kanpur hurts Bangladesh chances in WTC
After eight sessions were lost due to the weather and wet outfield at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, there were only two days of play remaining in the Test match. Bangladesh were 107/3 when play resumed on Day 4. India’s bowlers took a little more than a session to take the remaining seven Bangladeshi wickets and bowl them out for 233 but what followed after that was simply mindboggling.
India’s innings and captain Rohit Sharma charged down the track to the first ball he faced and deposited it for a six over long on. India brought up their 50 in 3 overs, the fastest-ever in Test cricket’s history in. The Carnage didn’t stop. Rohit was dismissed but Jaiswal kept going as India broke their own record for the fastest-ever team hundred in Test cricket by reaching there in 10.1 overs.
Jaiswal scored 72 off 51 balls, Virat Kohli hit 47 off 35 balls, while KL Rahul blasted 68 off 43 balls as India declared their innings 285/9 in 34.4 overs, enjoying a lead of 52 runs. Bangladesh were made to bat again towards the end of Day 4 and they lost a couple of wickets by stumps. On the final, Ashwin, Bumrah and Jadeja stifled the Bangladesh batters and bowled them out in the extended first session. Chasing a target of 95, Jaiswal once again took centerstage with 51 off 45 balls as India reached home in 17.2 overs to sweep the series.
India won the first Test by 280 runs and the second Test by 7 wickets. The second Test win was quite a special one for India as they managed to finish the match inside four and a half days, despite two and a half days being abandoned due to rain, wet outfield, and bad light. India displayed an ultra-aggressive approach with the bat, hitting the fastest 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 in Test cricket history. In the end, they got a small 95-run target, which they chased easily.
The 0-2 defeat at the hands of India, left Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha dejected. He said that they were not prepared to deal with the attacking approach of the Indian team.
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha blasts batting for 2-0 series loss vs India
Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha admitted that Team India’s aggressive batting on Day 4 of the second Test in Kanpur left them short of ideas, adding that they were hurt by the loss. At the same time, the 56-year-old lauded Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for deploying that approach and creating a win out of nothing.
With no play possible in the two days after the opening one, the home side acted quickly to achieve their mission. They bowled Bangladesh out for 233 on Day 4 and blazed away to 285/9 in only 34.4 overs before declaring. The final day saw them claim eight wickets in the first session and chase down the required 95 runs for victory.
Speaking at a post-game press conference, Hathurusingha said Bangladesh did not react quickly to India’s approach and were found wanting. However, the former Sri Lankan cricketer said there is no reason for the tourists to feel that much down after losing the series. As quoted by Cricbuzz, Hathurusingha stated:
“This approach was not seen before and we did not react quickly. Credit to Rohit and his team for taking such an approach and making a game out of it. This defeat is really hurting us. Batting has been disappointing. We have not been performing to our potential in the last few series.
“We didn’t get too high on ourselves for winning in Pakistan, so we shouldn’t go down too much after this result. We knew what we did well to win in Pakistan and we know what we couldn’t do here to compete with these guys.”
The visiting batters also played some reckless shots in the second innings, characterized by Najmul Hossain Shanto’s reverse sweep against Ravindra Jadeja. Mushfiqur Rahim also played a questionable shot to have his stumps rearranged by Jasprit Bumrah in the final ball before lunch.
“There’s no point putting pressure on every individual player” – Chandika Hathurusingha
Chandika Hathurusingha added that the Bangladesh team has got plenty of learnings from their outings in India, given the skill level of the hosts. He said:
“Another factor is the quality of the opposition, and the skill level on display in this series was very high. We are learning a lot from here. Going forward, we will know what the top standard is, since this is the best team. Playing India is the toughest assignment at this stage, so we know how much we need to improve.
“There’s no point putting pressure on every individual player and their every decision in the middle, if we are not getting the right support.”
The former Lankan batter said he is not sure whether Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim should be promoted up the order. The coach said he was not sure if veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan had played his last Test.
“As far as I know, he will be playing the Test against South Africa,” he said.
Shakib had expressed the desire to play his farewell Test at home when South Africa arrive for a series, but feared for his safety upon return to Bangladesh where he is facing murder charges. Bangladesh will next face South Africa in a home Test series, starting from October 21.