Ind vs Ban: Najmul’s men can draw on new-found self-belief

The long break for Rohit Sharma & Co. is set to end soon with the first of their two-Test series against Bangladesh at home beginning in Chennai from 19 September. If the Bangla Tigers' discipline and resolve during their clean sweep over Pakistan is any indication, the hosts need to guard against complacency.

It was a stupendous turnaround on the part of India's eastern neighbours to carve only their third away Test series win in 33 attempts — spanning nearly 25 years since they were granted full membership at the turn of the millennium. Just ponder this: their previous two series wins came over the West Indies in 2009 (2-0 in two games) and Zimbabwe in 2021 (1-0 in a solitary Test match) until this historical feat at Rawalpindi.

How much does the 2-0 series win mean to the Tigers, whose cricket had been in the news for all the wrong reasons for the past year or so? If the build-up to the 2023 ICC World Cup was marred by the public spat between veterans Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, their performance in the T20 World Cup was insipid at best. Add to this the volatile political scenario in their country, which forced the team to leave for Pakistan early to begin their preparations. 

Making of a leader

It’s still early days to say whether the win over fancied Pakistan could be the beginning of a new chapter in their cricket but for now, the signs are encouraging. ‘’It means a lot to Bangladesh cricket and to all the players,’’ said young captain Najmual Hussain Shanto, whose calm demeanour and man management is helping him build the right ecosystem in a team full of seniors and often fraught with ego issues.

"I cannot express the feelings but I can say we are all very happy and overjoyed. When we came here, everybody was determined to do something special and we wanted to win. I am happy everyone did his job to the best and we have won a historic series," Najmul said on Tuesday.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has, for a change, shown the right vision in grooming Najmul as captain who has revealed in close quarters that he had been enjoying the responsibility. He was vice-captain for the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016 and though he was only a moderate success with the bat in Rawalpindi, the likes of an ageless Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib and Liton Das had made his job easier by playing for pride. 

What made the difference in the end for Bangladesh? The biggest change they brought about was in the approach of the top order batters — Shadman Islam’s brilliant 93 in the opening Test and Mushfiqur’s epic 191, which lasted for eight hours and 42 minutes, perhaps set the tone for the series.

Zakir Hasan’s quickfire start in the fourth innings of the second Test not only took Pakistan by surprise, but also gave rise to a belief that they were on the verge of creating history. Najmul came good in the last innings of the series with a resolute 38 but more importantly, the batters kept things simple by adhering to the tested principle of occupying the crease and playing according to the situation.

Meanwhile, the young pace bowling unit showed that the Allan Donald effect (the South African great had served as their fast bowling mentor) had left quite a positive impact on them. The rise of Nahid Rana, who had been regularly bowling at 150 clicks, was an extremely heartening factor and he looks capable of asking a few questions of the opening pair of Rohit and an undercooked Shubman Gill with the new ball.

The return of senior pro Taskin Ahmed after a Test hiatus of 18 months and the presence of Hasan Mahmud, often regarded as a white ball bowler, could be two of the redeeming features. Add to this the guile of spinners Shakib and Mehidy Hasan, and the Bangladesh bowling attack no longer looks pedestrian as in the past.