File photo of Shakib Al Hasan.© AFP
Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan on Thursday admitted that travelling to India is the toughest Test assignment and pitches don't make much difference due to the sheer quality of the hosts. Bangladesh are still searching for their first Test win against India since 2000, when they first clashed in Dhaka. The two teams have played 14 times against each other with India winning 12 contests while the remaining two ended in draws.
"If you look at other countries, every now and then they will lose one or two games. But in India, you hardly see them losing in Test matches. So yes, I would say you are right," Shakib told reporters when asked if a tour to India was indeed the toughest assignment.
"We won against them in the ODI series in Bangladesh, we were very close to win a game against them in a Test match in Bangladesh. In Test cricket, we haven't got the success that we are looking for. Tomorrow we will have another opportunity.
"I thought in patches we played really well in Chennai. But having said that, finishing the match in three-and-a-half days wasn't ideal for us. We felt like we were a better team than that. So, we need to show that in tomorrow's match," he added.
Bangladesh did extremely well to win the Test series 2-0 in Pakistan before coming to India, and Shakib drew a comparison between the two teams.
"Pakistan is a relatively new team. In experience, I would say, if you look at the matches they played and if you look at our team and the matches we have played, we have got more experience than them. And in Test cricket I think that is a massive factor.
"If I talk about India, they are the number one team in the World Championship at this moment. They are probably unbeatable at home. I saw a stat somewhere where for some 4000 days they have been unbeaten in India. So, that shows how good they are in India.
"They have been doing well outside India as well. Any country that came to India finding it difficult, we are no different there. But having said that, we have to play really well against them to be able to show the fight that we feel like we can put on," he noted.
Asked if a spin-friendly pitch in Kanpur would help their cause, Shakib was clear that tracks are not a big factor when it comes to competing against quality teams.
"When you play against a team like India, Australia, England, pitches don't matter much because they will obviously have their weapon with which they can attack us.
"They will have quality spinners, they will have quality fast bowlers, they will have quality batsmen. So, I don't think pitch will have any effect. It's just we have to perform better than what we have done in Chennai." Shakib exhorted the young Bangladeshi batters to score big for the team to be competitive.
"If I talk about batting only, I think there has been an improvement. If you see from the first innings to the second innings. First innings we bowled out for about 150.
"In the second innings, we scored about 250. If we can score 350, somewhere there, I think that will be a huge improvement. And 350 to 400 on first innings will give us a lot of confidence and the dressing room will feel a lot more comfortable," he said.
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