Bangladesh are ready to play the second Test after stunning hosts Australia in the first earlier this week. The second and final game starts on Saturday morning at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in South Mackay, and the visitors have a great opportunity to get their first series win in Australia. Even a draw would do.
Only India from the sub-continent have beaten Australia in Australia in a Test series. In the first game, Bangladesh’s batters enjoyed the warm and batting-friendly conditions in Darwin but things in South MacKay will be very different as a lot of bounce awaits them. However, as far as Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is concerned, they are prepared for that type of challenge.
“In these conditions, there will be a little bit more bounce than in Darwin. Before we came here, we had been preparing for this kind of bouncy track. We had a series against Zimbabwe, where we got an almost similar [pitch], so we have the idea [of how to play on it]. In the last couple of days in the nets sessions, the batters have been doing their skill stuff. I think they will cope with this extra bounce,” he said on the eve of the second Test.
‘So, this is an opportunity’
In the first game after bowling Australia out for 198, Bangladesh posted a massive 426 against a bowling unit that boasted names like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. Then they had to chase a modest 57 in the fourth innings after another Aussie failure with the bat. Shanto said that kind of performance with the willow has given them confidence that’s going to stay for some time.
“Personally, I really wanted to face this kind of bowling attack because I always believe that if I can score against this kind of bowling attack, I’ll be able to score against anyone.
“So this is an opportunity. This is a very big challenge as a batting unit. When you score against this kind of team, it gives you a lot of confidence going forward when we play in these kinds of conditions or against this kind of bowling attack. So those are the things I was thinking [about] before we came here, and it helps a lot.”
The Test match starts at 05:30 am IST.
