Bangladesh batting coach is keen on stands

Hyderabad: Bangladesh batting coach Thilan Samaraweera feels his side can come unscathed in the Test but their batting in the second innings remains a concern.

“I think the biggest concern for me is our second innings batting... we blow away quickly,” the former Sri Lankan batsman said after the fourth day’s play.
He said building partnerships would be the key for Bangla batsmen. “We have another four- five batters left, as a group we have to build partnership of 60s 70s,” the 40-year-old said.

He rued the dismissal of Mominul Haque’s dismissal though. The coach felt the first hour’s play on the final day would be crucial. “The first hour is important. You have to get through that hour because if we hand momentum to the Indians we are in trouble,” he said, adding “you have to understand how good those spinners are in those conditions.”

But Bangladesh could be done in by inexperience in cricket’s longer version. “Some batsmen have never faced reverse swing in domestic cricket, so it’s hard in international cricket. I can only tell them about the shiny side but they need to do it on their own to feel mentally strong,” he said.

The Sri Lankan was also in awe of India’s legacy of producing great players. “I am the biggest believer in legacies. Like Sunil Gavaskar set the benchmark and then Sachin Tendulkar chased that. He set a higher benchmark and
now Virat Kohli is chasing that. Ashwin is chasing the benchmarks set by Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. If he plays for another 7-8 years, he will take anything between 600 and 800 wickets,” he said.