Ebadot hands Afghanistan mission impossible
Despite the fact that Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for just 20 runs upon resuming the second day on 362 for five, by the end of the days' play, it was the Bangladesh bowlers who kept the hosts in the hunt to clinch the lone Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
It was a breath of fresh air to see the pacers utilised on a seam-friendly Mirpur surface to great effect, especially Ebadot Hossain, who picked up four wickets as the visitors were bundled out for 146 runs in their first innings just after the tea break. Another pacer, Shoriful Islam, also bagged two wickets and made a mark.
Ebadot also had no regrets about missing out on his second five-wicket haul as the seamer was happy to execute the game plan in such conditions.
"I think this is the first time we got such a pitch and I think we were fortunate enough to be able to play with three seamers in such conditions. We tried our best to bundle out the opponent cheaply and it feels good to be able to successfully execute our game plan," Ebadot said.
The recent rise in Bangladesh's pace-bowling unit has been significant in breeding a positive mindset for the team management in the longest format.
When asked if they were sending the message that the pace unit had the ability to make an impact in conducive conditions, the Sylhet native replied: "Our pace unit has improved a lot in the past three years or so. I won't say we have become good, but we have been trying to improve the graph for the past three years. We are trying to grab the fast-bowling dominated mindset which world cricket is witnessing at the moment," he said.
The hosts did not enforce the follow-on despite their 236-run lead and, with half-centurions Najmul Hossain Shanto and Zakir Hossain at the crease and the lead growing to 370 runs, Afghanistan will have a daunting task to save the Test match.
Visiting head coach Jonathan Trott admitted that it would be a tough task for the visitors but believed that they should play with pride when asked if it was possible to save the Test.
"It's going to be tough. Obviously, the way the pitch is playing, it's going to be tough. So, yeah, you just have to fight and put up as strong a performance as possible with a bit of pride and show a bit of character.
"We're going to have to bowl really well tomorrow morning and then have a mammoth effort with the bat. But anything's possible. We've seen some funny things happen in cricket before, but we are going have to play out of our socks," said Trott.