Tigers face off Pakistan in 2nd Test for elusive victory

Emboldened by the return of ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh are keen to make a strong comeback when they take on visiting Pakistan in the second and series ending Test tomorrow (Saturday) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The match starts at 10 am.

Shakib missed the entire T20 series and the first Test due to the hamstring injury he sustained during Bangladesh’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign. Bangladesh lost all of those matches in absence of him.

If Pakistan also wins this Test, they would inflict series whitewash on Bangladesh.

The star all-rounder was on his way to make a comeback in the first Test, only to be sidelined after failing to pass the fitness test. Bangladesh were thumped by eight wickets in the first Test despite taking a 44-run lead.

Liton Das struck 114, his maiden Test century and Mushfiqur Rahim scored 91 and those batting performances were complemented by left-arm spinner Taijul Islam’s seven for 116. But their individual performances mattered
little at the end as Pakistan roared back in the second innings to win the game at a comprehensive margin finally.

Despite taking the lead, Bangladesh seemed to have a lack of confidence to win the game. The home side’s batting and bowling indeed came unstuck apart from Mushfiqur, Liton and Taijul and here where Shakib’s absence was felt vigorously.

There was a sense of belief that if Shakib had been there, he could spread the confidence amongst the players and also could play around them to make their individual performances worthy.

But what ailed Bangladesh, was their top order batters’ performance. Bangladesh were reduced to 49-4 in the first innings and 39-4 in the second innings, which played a key role in Bangladesh’s defeat from an advantageous
position, according to skipper Mominul Haque, who is also the part of the top order.

He said if Bangladesh couldn’t make the things right, there is no way that they could make a comeback in the Test series.