'Mushy and Mominul delivered emotional speech'

The Bangladesh cricket team had a long meeting yesterday regarding their batting and bowling display in the first Test against New Zealand. Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha believes they were guarded against complacency creeping in and senior players such as Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque had talked emotionally in the dressing room to send a message to the rest of the team.

"I can't see complacency in the team. If I see any action of complacency, I will have one to one chat. We had a good chat inside the dressing room yesterday. Strong and experienced leaders like Mushy and Mominul spoke very emotionally. They spoke in Bengali. I can see there's no tall poppies in the dressing room," the head coach said at the press conference on Tuesday ahead of the second Test in Dhaka.

Bangladesh's first innings in the first Test against New Zealand in Sylhet drew criticism due to the approach shown by some of the batters. However, Hathurusingha said that the team had planned for a certain approach in the first innings even as he hoped they got more runs in that innings. He felt that his side will not be complacent in the second Test.

Top-order batting would be key for the Tigers if they are to seal, what would be a historic Test series win against the Kiwis.

Bangladesh were 180 for two in the first innings in Sylhet but slumped to 310 all out, with batters' approach coming into question. Stand-in skipper Najmul Hossain's approach in that innings was scrutinised due to his aggressive approach and he got out to a Glenn Phillips full-toss in that innings.

The second innings saw Bangladesh's approach improve but Hathurusingha divulged that the approach to score quickly was a plan in the first innings. The plan was made keeping in mind that the wicket would be difficult in the latter part of the Test. However, Bangladesh arguably enjoyed the best batting conditions throughout the first Test.

"Our second innings batting was crucial to win the game. We had two 90-plus partnerships -- Mominul in both of them," the coach said about the second innings which set the game up for the Tigers.

"We could have scored a little more in the first innings but we decided a certain approach when the wicket is good. Things can go your way when you approach it like that. It can sometimes go against you. We played according to the conditions and our plan. I am happy with the performance in both innings," he added.