(From left) Shakib Al Hasan, Jubair Hossain, Shuvagata Hom, and Taijul Islam — the four-pronged spin attack © AFP
Bangladesh went in with four spinners and just one pace bowler in the one-off Test against India, and paid the price after the hosts were taken apart by openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. The move has not helped their cause, as they seem to be out of the contest at the end of Day One. Bangladesh will continue to struggle if they approach Tests in this manner feels Pramod Ananth. Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay dismantle a resurgent Bangladesh
The wicket at Fatullah is a flat track. But the interesting part is it was interpreted differently by both captains. Mushfiqur Rahim thought it would be a spinner’s paradise and they can get purchase early on. Virat Kohli on the other hand read the pitch well. He has three pace bowlers in his side, but has two off-spinners as well as he thought it would be the right combination considering the fact that Bangladesh have many left-handed batsmen in their line-up. Bangladesh have no chance of defeating India in the one-off Test at Dhaka
Other than Shakib Al Hasan, the other three Bangladeshi spinners are fairly inexperienced. Shuvagata Hom, Jubair Hossain, and Taijul Islam have played less than 20 Tests between them. Granted Taijul has had an excellent beginning to his career, scalping 35 wickets so far, but this is a challenge even he was not up for. Hom came on to bowl in the sixth over of the match and Shakib started his first spell in the 11th over. Taijul came on to bowl a little later, but by the time his turn came the batsmen were well set. With Soumya Sarkar opening bowling with Mohammad Shahid, it gave an ample opportunity for the batsmen to settle in well as his gentle medium pacers were far from threatening. Pujara’s form for Yorkshire bodes well for India’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh
Even Shahid did not have the best of days. This is after all his third Test match, and would have hoped to have another fast bowler to partner him in this match. Since this is a one-off Test, it automatically becomes a series decider. Rubel Hossain is fit and was also picked for this Test, but he did not make the cut in the playing XI. Having Rubel’s pace and aggression in this match could have tipped the scales in the hosts favour but it is too late now. Mushfiqur Rahim playing solely as a batsman in one-off Test vs India could help him regain lost form
The leg-spin option of Jubair too was of no effect. One gets the feeling Bangladesh do not understand the seriousness of Test cricket. Their approach going into this game is casual and if Vijay and Dhawan continue their good form on Day Two, they might find themselves in a spot of bother. Bangladesh make selection blunder by ignoring Rubel Hossain vs India in one-off Test
They might even stare at an innings defeat from there on. They could have learnt from India, who too have a couple of world-class spinners in the form of Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin but they have not compromised on their fast bowling options. Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay set a new record for opening partnership
Sub-continental pitches are known for the turn they generate, but not having a few good, quality fast bowlers in the line-up makes no sense. Once the batsmen get their eye in, the bowling team needs to introduce some change of pace so that the batsmen are caught off-guard. Having just one pace bowler does not enable the bowling team to do that. Cheteshwar Pujara’s omission from one-off Test against Bangladesh is shocking
You cannot bowl a lone fast bowler — in this case Shahid — in tandem with a spinner for a long time. Another fast bowler could have relieved the pressure on the team and also had the batsmen guessing. Had there been another pacer, perhaps the script could be slightly different. They could have picked up a wicket or two as well, and the spinners could have made further inroads into the middle-order. If this is going to be Bangladesh’s approach in Tests, it will not be surprising if they keep languishing at the bottom of the ICC rankings. Bangladesh might have made a giant stride in the limited formats, but as far as Tests goes, they are still very much infants. India tour of Bangladesh, 2015: Complete coverage
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)