Cricket

Bangladesh's head coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, expressed his disappointment after his team's defeat in the second Test against India. The match, which was affected by rain, saw India adopt an aggressive batting approach that forced a result.Hathurusinghe acknowledged that India's strategy caught Bangladesh off guard. "This approach was not seen before and we did not react quickly," he said. "Credit to Rohit (Sharma) and his team for taking such an approach and making a game out of it."The defeat was particularly painful for Bangladesh, who had recently defeated Pakistan 2-0. "This defeat is really hurting us," Hathurusinghe said. "Batting has been disappointing. We have not been performing to our potential in the last few series."Hathurusinghe refused to compare his bowlers and batters, stating that both are his players. He also acknowledged the high quality of the opposition, saying, "We are learning a lot from here."The series has highlighted areas where Bangladesh needs to improve. "Going forward, we will know what the top standard is, since this is the best team," Hathurusinghe said. "Playing India is the toughest assignment at this stage, so we know how much we need to improve."Hathurusinghe remained uncertain about whether Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim should be promoted up the order. He also expressed concern about veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's future in Test cricket.

Hanuma Vihari, a key member of India's back-to-back Test series victories in Australia, believes the absence of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara will be a significant loss when the team aims for a hat-trick Down Under later this year. The five-match series begins in Perth on November 22.Pujara, who was out of favor, was the leading run-getter in the 2018-19 series with 521 runs off 1258 balls and was once again the backbone of Indian batting three years later when he accumulated 271 runs off 928 balls. Across both teams, the 103-Test veteran faced the most number of balls to wear out the opposition attack comprising Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc.As another Border-Gavaskar Trophy is on the horizon, Vihari wonders who can play Pujara's role this time around. "Pujara will be a big miss. He was the backbone of the batting line-up in the last two series for Team India. He took blows, he batted time, he stayed there for a long time, he saw the new ball, he got runs. He made the job easier for the other batters coming in," Vihari told PTI."So that kind of role... who will play is a question mark for me. Currently, I would say we have an attacking mode of a batting line-up (the top six). All like to play their shots. Virat is the only one I feel in that batting line-up who can be like a glue to the other batters. He can stay on and bat the most number of overs and you know batting in Australia is all about time. If you see off the new ball, it gets a little easier with the older Kookaburra ball," added Vihari, who played the last of his 16 Tests in July 2022.In the absence of Pujara, he also sees a significant role for K L Rahul at number six. He feels Rishabh Pant is best suited at number five. Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli form the top four."That's where KL Rahul's role also will be important because he is someone who's got the experience in playing in SENA countries and he can bat long. He has done well in SENA countries. I feel they are looking at KL Rahul at number 6 as well. By playing Rahul ahead of Sarfaraz in the current series (against Bangladesh), they are looking at a bigger picture. They want experience in number 6 when we tour Australia. Because in Australia playing at 6 you need to have good technique whether it's facing the second new ball or batting after an early collapse," he said.Vihari also thinks playing Australia in their own backyard will be the biggest test thus far for Jaiswal, who has done well at home but is yet to prove himself in overseas conditions. "It's his biggest test. But he's a very confident guy. Overall facing Australia in Australia, the mental preparation is key. This time we are playing five Test matches in Australia compared to four earlier. So it's even more mentally draining Down Under because everything is against you. The media is against you, the people are against you, and you are away from home facing Australian attack in Australia," added Vihari, who stitched a match-saving stand with R Ashwin in the Sydney Test on the previous tour.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has expressed his unwavering support for the struggling Shakib Al Hasan, emphasizing that the all-rounder is working tirelessly to regain his bowling form. In the opening Test against India at Chepauk, Shakib endured his most expensive bowling figures in his Test career, conceding 129 runs in 21 overs without taking a wicket.Despite Shakib's poor performance, Shanto remains confident in his abilities. "He (Shakib) is doing everything possible to get his form back," Shanto said at the post-match press conference. "I look at how much hard work a player is putting into his game."Shanto believes that Shakib's intentions and willingness to contribute to the team are more important than his current form. "I look at these things mainly," he said. "I try to look at everyone in the same way, whether it is, from Nahid Rana to Mushfiq bhai."Shanto also justified his decision to not bowl Shakib enough in the first innings, explaining that the pacers were performing well. "I didn't really need him (Shakib) in the first innings, seeing how the three pace bowlers were doing," he said.Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik revealed that Shakib had discomfort on his spinning finger and shoulder, having undergone surgery on his bowling finger. Shanto confirmed that Shakib's finger was taped and that he was bleeding from it.Despite the heavy defeat in the first Test, Shanto expressed confidence in a comeback in the second game in Kanpur. "We have to really focus on our strengths and believe in ourselves about how we can contribute to the team," he said.Shanto acknowledged the importance of the top-order firing in the second innings, but admitted that the batters caved in in the first innings. "I think it was very important learning wise," he said. "In first innings batting, especially top of the order, we must be a little careful as we need to put in some runs."Shanto believes that the team can bounce back from this setback. "I hope they will come back stronger," he said.