Lost opportunity, says Mushfiqur

A Test that began with plenty of hope ended up with two washed-out days and witnessed Bangladesh achieve their first-ever draw against South Africa yesterday. However, unlike their previous rain-affected draws, seven in total, this one felt like a lost opportunity.

The Tigers crossed a number of landmarks in this Test. This was the first time they scored more than 300 runs against the Proteas, they posted their highest-ever lead while batting second and also bowled with rarely-seen consistency which helped them bundle out the visitors for a paltry first innings score.

It therefore wasn't surprising when skipper Mushfiqur Rahim described the result as 'frustrating'.

"Such opportunities obviously come rarely. To take such a lead and then having four to five spinners in your side on a fourth day wicket, we were doing well. It is frustrating. Our players were hungry to perform.

"Bangladesh have been playing well in ODIs and there were questions as to why we have not been able to replicate that form in Test cricket, so we had something to prove here as well," said Mushfiqur at the post-match press conference.

"It's not as though the perception would have changed after just one match. But it shows that if we can do everything according to our plan and be a bit more strong mentally, then we can do well in Tests as well," added the skipper.

When the last ball of the match was played, South Africa were 17 runs behind Bangladesh and had all their second innings wickets intact. The visiting skipper, Hashim Amla reckoned that the visitors held the advantage.

Mushfiqur however, believed that the hosts were just a wicket or two away from putting the visitors under pressure.

"What he said was his opinion. They were behind by 17 runs and they also wanted to score quickly. You never know, had they lost a couple of wickets, things could have been different. Our bowlers bowled quite well in the first innings after all and our spinners would get more help," said Mushfiqur.

"They probably would have had the advantage if they had world-class spinners. So from that aspect I think we were ahead in this game. Regardless, they will come back hard at us in the next Test and we need our planning and application to be better," he added.

While there are plenty of positives that the Tigers can take to the second Test, Mushfiqur is also aware of the areas that needed improvement.

"I think we could have bowled better with the new ball and taken more early wickets. But then again it would have been difficult for any side to take wickets on a flat track early on. We need to work on this.

"Our set batsmen often get out. They should try to score at least 100-plus runs. When you play against such a big side, you won't always be able to be in such a strong position if you don't make the most of it. Had they scored a bigger first innings total, we would have been under more pressure," said Mushfiqur.

The skipper was also happy with the way the new players have been performing in the side. Their consistency, according to him, had an astounding effect on all of Bangladesh's opponents this year.