It won't be easy: Mushfiq
||CF Correspondent||
Bangladesh finally crossed the 200-run hurdle after eight successive innings as Mushfiqur Rahim alone struck unbeaten 219 runs in the first innings of the second Test against Zimbabwe. With 522 runs on the board Bangladesh still have a long way ahead on their mission to mount a comeback after a defeat in the first Test.
The Tigers are eyeing to win the match without having to bat for the second time. Despite taking a cautious approach after coming on to bat for the last 18 overs of the day, Zimbabwe lost their captain Hamilton Masakadza.
The visiting side ended the second day’s play trailing by 497 runs. However, Zimbabwe did not really appear to be in pressure of scoring runs as they are already aware that nothing short of a win will work for Bangladesh to avoid a series defeat. The Masakadza-led men finished the second day scoring at a rate of 1.39 runs per over.
“It won’t be easy however,” Mushfiqur told reporters. “Our bowlers have to work hard for the wickets. We have to take 19 wickets. The first session is important tomorrow, so hoping we can capitalize on it.”
Bangladesh last took all 20 wickets of the opponents in a winning cause back in August 2017 when they claimed a historic victory over Australia, which is also their only win in the last nine Tests.
None of the last two instances, when Bangladesh scored over 500 runs after batting first, ended in a stalemate. They lost against New Zealand in January last year despite scoring 598 runs in the first innings and won against Zimbabwe in 2014, scoring 503 runs in the first innings.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, tasted deafeat on each of the last eleven occasions (since December 2001) when they conceded over 500 runs in the first innings. They also failed to combine 500 runs in both innings in their last two Tests.
