Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque admitted that his side “could not play as a team” and would take the defeat in the two-Test series against India as a learning experience.
“I think we could not play as a team,” Haque said after losing the pink-ball Test by an innings and 46 runs at Eden Gardens on Sunday, 24 November. “There are lots of areas to improve. If we can do that, then we can do well in the upcoming Test matches. I think we failed to make partnerships and paid the price for it. I think we have a lot of things to learn from this series. How to handle this kind of bowling unit and what kind of preparation we need for it.
India win their first pink-ball Test!
Paceman Umesh Yadav finishes off the game in style with a five-for, claiming the final wicket of Al-Amin Hossain.
“As a team, I think everyone will take this lesson and that would help us in the upcoming series. I don’t think there was any technical problem. There is no end to improving technically. I think we need to improve tactically.
“If we can learn our lessons, then, hopefully, we can do well in the future. You all know we don’t play too many Test matches. We have nearly 10 Test matches next year, and if we can play a lot of Test matches, then we can probably overcome these lackluster performances.”
India’s pacers were exceptional throughout, and accounted for all the Bangladesh wickets that fell in the second Test. Haque believed that his side should similarly come out of their dependency on spinners and work on promoting the fast bowlers.
India continue their reign at the top in the ICC World Test Championship table. Their 2-0 series win over Bangladesh has taken them to 360 points.
“We should come out of spin dependency. I think the pacers did well in the series. When they will be playing regularly at home and away, at that point we can say how much they have improved. If they are given opportunities at home and abroad, then I am sure they will improve.
“The pitches back in Bangladesh are now being made to assist the pacers, unlike those in the past, when they were being tailor-made to suit the spinners. During the last two years, the wickets are changing in the domestic circuit. Every team is playing three to four pace bowlers, and that is why our pace bowlers are coming up.”
Bangladesh were without the services of two of their top players, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal. The visitors felt their absence, but Haque refused to use that as an excuse for their underperformance in both Tests.
“There is no point making excuses, and I am not putting up any excuses either. We were saying from the start that we are missing them. There were opportunities for those who were available, but we failed to grab it.”
