BANGLADESH TOUR OF ZIMBABWE, 2021

Warm-up game useful in Bangladesh's threadbare red-ball preparation

by Atif Azam • Last updated on Mon, Jul 5, 2021, 09:45 AM

Shakib picked three wickets after a quick-fire 74 off 56 balls in the warm-up match © AFP

Red-ball preparation for Bangladesh remains a talking point in the lead-up to their one-off Test against Zimbabwe. Bangladesh last played a red-ball match during their two-Test series against Sri Lanka in April-May and since then, their participation has been limited to white-ball matches only.

In the lead-up to the Test match in Harare, which begins July 7, Bangladesh didn't have the ideal preparation back home with first-class games but the players were instead playing in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier League T20.

Some of it was offset during their two-day warm-up game against Zimbabwe Select XI at the Takashinga Sports Club in Harare, which finished in a draw. The game saw Shakib al Hasan gearing up for action with his all-round performance, picking three wickets after a quick-fire 74 off 56 balls before he was retired out.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan grabbed three wickets while pacer Shoriful Islam picked two wickets as Bangladesh bowled out the hosts for 202 runs in 74.5 overs to complete an excellent preparation with the ball as well, after declaring their first innings on their overnight score of 313-2.

Apart from Shakib, Saif Hassan and Najmul Hossain spent considerable amount of time in the middle scoring 65 and 52 respectively while Mahmudullah scored unbeaten 40.

Bangladesh off-spinner Mehedy Hasan credited newly-appointed bowling consultant Rangana Herath for sharing his experiences apart from the immensely helpful presence of Shakib, who is making a comeback after skipping the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in favour of the Indian Premier League.

"Our new spin bowling coach (Herath) is obviously sharing his experience with us. He was a very successful bowler in his days and he has worked with us for three-four days,'' Mehedy said after the warm-up game. "He is working with our technical and tactical skills along with the mental aspect of the game, and the experience has been great so far.

"The spinners have bowled wonderfully, especially Shakib bhai who got a fabulous start and I tried to support him (from the other end). It's good news for us that the spinners have picked up wickets and we are looking to emulate that in the Test too."

Bangladesh's batting has always been a concern abroad but Mehedy insisted that they are in good stead as a batting unit.

''Our batsmen have played positive cricket, which would give us a lot of confidence in the Test match. If we can play just the way we had in the practice match, then the batsmen will undoubtedly prosper and score a lot of runs in the Test,'' he said.

Bangladesh can also be inspired by the fact Tamim Iqbal, who wasn't initially named in the 13-man squad for the practice match, came down and batted in the second innings and made an unbeaten 18 off 30 balls.

Bangladesh team management rested Tamim (knee) and Mushfiqur Rahim (finger) from the practice game as they are recovering from injuries. The duo also couldn't take part in the last round matches of DPL due to their respective injuries.

Bangladesh team official said that they are yet not sure whether Tamim and Mushfiqur will be available for the Test match but added that they will wait till the last minute to make a decision.

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