Bangladesh’s senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin believes the hosts lost ground on Saturday’s second day of the opening Test against Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium after letting early over-excitement take over. Mirpur offered a green-top surface, and that look and feel encouraged Bangladesh’s pace unit—Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana and Ebadot Hossain—to keep reaching for the short ball in an attempt to force mistakes. In the end, that approach did not pay off, and Bangladesh were left without enough control or consistency to capitalise on the conditions.
Salahuddin pointed to an underlying mental error as the key reason for Bangladesh’s struggles. He said that when bowlers see grass on the wicket, they often get carried away, and the temptation becomes to believe that pace alone will do the job. The coach also contrasted Bangladesh’s execution with Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas, who used a gentle-medium style to devastating effect. Abbas finished the day with figures of five wickets as Pakistan bundled the home side out for 413 in their first innings, turning the morning and parts of the day into a clear advantage for the visitors.
Within that spell of pressure, Nahid Rana’s early impact was visible but not sustained. He began his stint by striking Pakistan’s debutant opener Azan Awais on the helmet with a quick bouncer, showing the wicket was offering something to the fast bowlers. However, the tempo slipped as the session went on, and by the end of the day his economy rate was above five. Taskin Ahmed’s returns were similarly underwhelming, with his bowling run rate also settling around five, while Ebadot Hossain’s figure of 4.75 reflected the inconsistency across the innings. Salahuddin read those numbers as part of a broader pattern—erratic bowling across the day rather than a single isolated problem.
“It’s mostly a mental thing. When bowlers see grass on the wicket, they tend to get excited. I think that’s where we made the mistake,” Salahuddin told reporters after play. He added that maintaining disciplined bowling areas was crucial, and that Bangladesh had not quite done enough of it. In his view, the excitement that comes with movement and a ball that travels quickly can push fast bowlers into thinking the batters can be beaten purely through pace, instead of sticking to the right lengths and angles that Test cricket demands.
Beyond the bowling, Salahuddin said Bangladesh must also improve in the slip cordon, where catches have been missed too often. On the second day, Mahmudul Hasan Joy put down Imam-ul-Haq, while Shadman Islam failed to hold onto a chance created by Abdullah Fazal in the cordon. “We definitely need improvement in some areas, especially slip catching,” Salahuddin said, stressing that it is a specialised role. He said the team will discuss how to raise standards in that department before the next session of the match.
Even with the first-innings deficit, Salahuddin felt Bangladesh still have a path back. He noted that the hosts were roughly 50 to 60 runs short, but insisted the situation remains manageable because there is plenty of time left in a Test. He also felt Pakistan’s morning bowling made it hard for Bangladesh to build partnerships, and that if the team had managed another meaningful stand, the total would have looked far healthier. “Pakistan actually bowled very well in the morning. It was very difficult for us to build partnerships. From there, I think if we could have had another good partnership, it would have been better for us. But at the end of the day, we still crossed 400 runs. I think if we had added another 50-60 runs, it would have been much better for us,” he said.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s action, Salahuddin said Bangladesh will reassess the areas they target on the wicket and focus on which parts of the pitch can trouble the batters more. He argued that fast bowlers still have a lot to work with on this surface, particularly because the ball was not used well for one session earlier in the day. “On this wicket, I think there’s still a lot for the bowlers, especially the fast bowlers. As we said, we didn’t bowl well for one session today, and that’s visible. Everyone can see we didn’t bowl well. Fixing that is very possible, and we have to do it quickly because our fast bowlers have always won us matches, and they are experienced. I think they’ll do well tomorrow,” he added.
