'It’s not acceptable', Shakib on Tigers' batting woes

Shakib Al Hasan, of Bangladesh, celebrates his half century during the third day of the 1st Test between Bangladesh and West Indies at Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, on 18 June, 2022

After losing the first of the two-match Test series against the West Indies by seven wickets, Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan said the batting performance in this Test is not acceptable to him, UNB reports.

Asked to bat first after losing the toss, Bangladesh scored only 103 with six ducks— the fate they endured for the second time in two Tests, and after that, they amassed 245 in the second innings.

Be it the top-order or the middle-order, Bangladeshi batters failed to impress in every position. However, Shakib recorded a fifty in each innings and Nurul Hasan Sohan hit a fifty in the second innings. Apart from these two, every other batter failed with the bat.

Kemar Roach (L) and Kraigg Brathwaite (C), of West Indies, celebrate the dismissal of Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury (R), of Bangladesh, during the third day of the 1st Test between Bangladesh and West Indies at Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, on 18 June, 2022
AFP

“It’s not acceptable,” Shakib said about the performance of the batters after the match. “We are doing it regularly in Tests now. In the last five or four Tests, we have done it. We need to work on our batting and get better. At least we can survive in Tests if we can bat well.”

Shakib seemed to be happy with the performance of Nurul who failed to score anything in the first innings, but hit a fifty in the second. Shakib said the other batters should learn their lesson from Nurul and perform accordingly.

“He was under pressure, but he took the challenge and proved his character. I think every other batter should learn from his performance. I hope they will learn from Nurul and play well in the next match,” Shakib said.

While batters failed to impress in the first match, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Khaled Ahmed did well with the ball. The right-arm spinner, Mehidy, bagged four wickets in the first innings, and in the second, Khaled took all three wickets that the hosts lost.

yed Khaled Ahmed (2L), of Bangladesh, celebrates the dismissal of Nkrumah Bonner, of West Indies, during the third day of the 1st Test between Bangladesh and West Indies at Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, on 18 June, 2022
AFP

In the ongoing tour, Bangladesh will play one more Test, three ODIs and three T20Is.