'Batting was our weakness'

A lack of application and a ridiculous shuffle in the batting order saw the Tigers end the two-match series against Australia in a disappointing manner, but Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim focused on the ground realities while examining the outcome yesterday.

According to him the win in the first Test against a hardened team like Australia was a big achievement while the disappointing defeat in the second Test was a big lesson as it reminded them that they have to do a lot of work to maintain their progress in Tests. 

"It's not as if we became a big force in world cricket after a win and a loss has taken away everything. Personally I don't treat it that way," said Mushfiqur during a marathon press conference.

"When your opponents show you respect, feel that Bangladesh are a dangerous Test side and are gradually going to be a mighty opposition in home conditions like in ODIs and T20Is… it's a huge inspiration," he added.

He identified the first innings batting performance as the biggest disappointment of the series and the reason behind the defeat in the second Test inside four days. At one point he also indentified their batting as the real weakness throughout the series but tried to defend the inexplicable batting order shuffle in the second innings.

While talking about all the deficiencies he once again rued the lack of opportunities for the Tigers in Test cricket.

 The biggest question however was what went wrong in the second Test.

"We knew that the wicket usually starts to deteriorate from the second day. But I felt that they made better use of the wicket. Nathan Lyon was the only dangerous bowler who made life difficult for our batsmen. Some dismissals were unlucky. But I feel we could have batted another session if we had better application.  I think the first innings had a bigger role to play in this game. The spin on the first day wasn't unplayable or risky. It was flat. We missed out on at least 150 runs in the first innings. Throughout the series, our batting was the real weakness," explained Mushfiqur.

 "We had planned to mix up the batting orders with the left-handers and right-handers. It wasn't based on what someone did in the previous innings. We gave each of them a game plan but if they can't execute it, the team management can't be blamed," he continued when asked about the changing the batting line-up.

Australia opener David Warner (C) is congratulated by Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Mustafizur Rahman at the end of the second Test in Chittagong yesterday. PHOTO: STAR

"We still don't have a specialist at No 4. We were not getting what we expected from Sabbir. He did well at No 7 in the last innings, so we kept him there. Shakib always plays at No 5. We had three openers in the top order so we couldn't change in that area. We wanted to send out a right-hander to make it harder for them," he explained the decision to send Nasir Hossain at number four and move Mominul Haque to number eight in the second innings.

When asked why the skipper himself did not bat at number four, he said that it was a difficult one for him to answer, adding that it would be better ask the higher authorities about redefining his role.

On whether the pitch caused any confusion, Mushfiqur said: "The pitch had some help for the spinners. We missed a great opportunity on the first day. Everyone got out after getting set. We missed the straight deliveries."

Why Bangladesh could not think about a draw?

"We had a chance to draw the game in Galle [earlier this year]. In these critical situations, we end up having one really bad session which makes it hard for us. I think we lack maturity and there are some technical problems too. This adds to the lack of confidence when you are trying to play defensively. We have room for improvement in terms of our technique. Warner was a great example for us. He is an aggressive batsman but he probably scored his slowest hundred this time."