Bangladesh begin 2020 Test journey aiming at a new beginning
Image : BCB
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh will be eyeing for a new beginning leaving behind their disappointing past in Test cricket as they begin their 2020 journey with the two-match Test series opener against Pakistan at Rawalpindi from February 7.
Pakistan got the better of Bangladesh in the recent T20 series and the hosts will be hoping for a similar outcome in the Test arena as they dominated against their Asian neighbour picking four wins from the last five Test matches.
Bangladesh haven't had a great time in Test cricket in recent times, having ended up on the losing side against New Zealand, Afghanistan and India since 2019 while they have also lost nine of the 10 Test matches they have played against Pakistan, with the other result being a draw.
Tourist enters the Test series against Pakistan on the back of two heavy defeats against India while the host will be confident after clinching the series against Sri Lanka in December.
The last Test match between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Pakistan took place more than 16 years ago and it was a heart-breaker for Bangladesh but the tourist can take inspiration from the fact that Pakistan have not won a Test in Rawalpindi for 23 years while they in their last four outing they lost thrice.
The tourists have plenty of work to do if they are to bounce back from those disappointing defeats and although they have a stronger squad available to them this time, Pakistan are likely to be too good on home soil.
Pakistan's bowling attack is their strength as their experience bowling attack will be handy on a pitch which may be batting-friendly for most of the Test match while host might try to exploit the weakness of the visitors against leg spin.
While the tourist are without two of their best cricketers on this tour- Shakib al Hassan and Mushfiqur Rahim- they will also have to operate with a pretty ordinary bowling attack in recent memory with Taijul Islam being their most skilled bowler while only Abu Jayed showed potential by offering a bit of control with the cherry.
Bangladesh will depend on experienced opener Tamim Iqbal as he returned to the Test side and will bring experience and confidence to the Bangladesh top-order having scored a record-breaking triple-hundred in a first-class game last week.
Mushfiqur Rahim who held the middle order firmly for the last nine years will be hard to fill but that gives Mominul Haquea chance to make a statement by filling the void of the experienced campaigner in the middle-order as well as proving his leadership quality in his second series as Test captain.
The absence of seniors provides opportunity for players like Mohammad Mithun, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Das to cement their spot in the longer format.
The forecast for these five days is better than December when most of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game was washed out. The pitch is likely to favour the batsmen although Bangladesh are anticipating a lot more bounce than they get at home.
