Fast bowlers part of Tigers’ winning formula

'To win a Test match, you need to pick up twenty wickets' is a common cricketing phrase and perhaps Bangladesh's biggest challenge in the lone Test match against Zimbabwe, starting from tomorrow in Harare, will revolve around this particular aspect of the game.

Keeping the seamer-friendly conditions in mind, Bangladesh think-tank is likely to deploy three front-line pacers in the playing eleven.

Head coach Russell Domingo, in the recent past, did emphasis on developing fast bowling culture by providing enough exposure to the seamers. And although Bangladesh went on to lose the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka 1-0 in April this year, the visitors did field a pace trio in both Tests on relatively flat surfaces.

The likes of Taskin Ahmed, Abu Jayed, Ebadat Hossain and young Shoriful Islam are the current lot of pacers in the Tigers Test squad where three of them are expected to feature in the upcoming Test.

Ever since his comeback to the side, Taskin has been a revelation where the 26-year-old picked up eight wickets in the two Tests in Sri Lanka, and more importantly, he has bowled past thirty overs in both Tests.

Jayed, an asset of the Tigers pace bowling unit for his ability to swing the ball both ways along with his accuracy, has regularly featured for the Tigers Test side of late.

Similar to Jayed, Ebadat is another tall fast bowler who is mainly considered as a Test specialist, but the 27-year-old still lacks consistency, having played seven Tests so far.

Left-arm seamer Shoriful made his Test debut in the second Test in Sri Lanka where the youngster impressed with his ability to bowl fast and his tendency to hit the deck hard makes him a handy option.

Especially away from home, things have not gone well in general for the Tigers pacers however, the visitors can extract some inspiration from their last tour of the African nation back in 2013.  It was pacer Robiul Islam who took 15 wickets at an economy of 19.53, bowling 110 overs—the most overs bowled by a Bangladeshi pacer in a Test series. Robiul was also the only Bangladeshi pacer to become the Man of the Series in Tests and also the last fast bowler of his nation to take a five-wicket haul in the longest format as Bangladesh managed to draw the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe.