The Bangladeshi cricketer Mehidy Hasan Miraz comes to aid on head coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s decision to have spin-friendly wickets in the second test against New Zealand.
Hathurusingha spin-friendly wickets method on second NZ Test
The Bangladesh vs New Zealand first test concluded with the victory of Bangladesh by 150 runs. With the hosts leading the series 1-0, they started their second Test at Dhaka.
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat where they were folded for 172 runs on the 67th over of their innings. On this occasion, the Bangladesh head coach decided to have spin-friendly conditions in New Zealand’s innings where New Zealand lost 5 wickets for 55 runs on the first day of the match.
New Zealand is 117 runs behind Bangladesh where Mehidy Hasan picked three wickets and Taijul Islam dismissed two strikes. The spin-friendly conditions planned by the coach Hathurusingha were successful against England and Australia in the home test series and it worked well against New Zealand also.
His method was criticized heavily during the time, but his method has proved to be successful over time. Mehidy backed the head coach on his decision saying, “If we can’t bowl out our opponents, we won’t be able to win Tests,” on media.
“We won on similar pitches against England and Australia. We have good spinners who create opportunities in home conditions,” he said.
“A better wicket will be good for batters. They struggle on these wickets. But it is part of the planning of the team management. Since we are on top, we will want to take this advantage,” he said.
“I think we are ahead of them. We took five wickets so it changes the scenario for tomorrow. We know that a big lead will be a huge advantage in this game so we want to bowl them out quickly. It is difficult to score in the first innings so every run is important. Our job will become easier if we can take a substantial lead.”
“It depends on the team management. Players try to adjust to the conditions whether it’s a good wicket or not. I think we can take these advantages in Tests, but we probably should play on better wickets in white-ball cricket. But look, if we can’t bowl them out, it is hard for us to win. We usually bowl sides out after conceding a lot of runs in overseas Tests. I think it will take time for things to change,” he said.
“It is important to keep things simple for bowlers. I tried to turn the ball in the first few overs. I tried to keep my spot knowing that the pitch would play its part,” he said
“I didn’t try anything big, but I just tried to confuse him (Williamson). A confused batter is bound to make mistakes on this pitch. I wanted him to think which way to play against me. I tried to keep him under pressure. This dilemma often produces a wicket,” he concluded.
Mehidy dismissed key players Kane Williamson and Devon Conway of the New Zealand batting unit. With the day concluded by the fourth ball of the 13th over in New Zealand’s innings, it will be continued on the second day at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
