||CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah is relieved to have avoided an embarrassment by leveling the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe in Dhaka on Thursday (November 15).

Bangladesh drew level on the two-Test series with a comprehensive 218-run victory over the visitors in the second Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium after being humbled in the series-opener by 151 runs in Sylhet. For the hosts the defeat in the first Test was a shattering one considering Zimbabwe did not win any Tests since 2013 and won an away Test back in 2001.

Any further slip or inability to level the series would have naturally put the Tiger in some sort of embarrassment. “Everyone wanted Bangladesh to win against Zimbabwe. I think Zimbabwe must be credited, they played good cricket. They have done well in both batting and bowling. In the first Test, there was some lack of discipline, which is very important in Test cricket. We could not do that [reestablishing discipline] in the first Test what we have done this time.

“At the end of the first Test, everyone, including the team management, was very determined. After losing in the first Test, we were very hurt and we wanted to express that in the field,” Mahmudullah told reporters after the match. Mahmudullah added that he is happy because the victory came under enormous pressure. “I think it was a hard fought game and we did not earn the win easily. Everyone worked hard. Everyone was committed.

“The double-hundred of Mushfiqur and Mominul’s 150 runs or the 30 or 40 overs that Taijul bowled cannot be taken lightly because it is not easy to perform in this manner,” he said.