Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed believes bowlers will have to bowl well and be patient to be successful in Chittagong.
Bangladesh take on India in the first of a two-Test series at Chittagong starting on Wednesday with pre-match pitch predictions saying the wicket is likely to be flat and batsman-friendly.
Reports suggest pitch curator Praveen Hinganikar has left a patch of grass in the middle of the wicket but if the third ODI between these sides is anything to go by, the first Test looks like it will be a run-fest.
India scored 409-8 in their innings, with Ishan Kishan scoring the fastest ODI double century at Chittagong just five days before the first Test is set to get underway.
However, Taskin is convinced it is not all doom and gloom for the bowlers and believes a bit of patience is all that is required to get some wickets.
“It’s the same everywhere: top of off [stump],” Taskin said, according to ESPNCricinfo. “If we try to force the issue, it won’t work in our favour. We will leak runs. They are good players, so we have to get the new ball to swing a bit.
“Maybe get reverse swing with the old ball. We have to try to break their patience. We have to bowl patiently and wait for their mistakes. It won’t be right to say that we want to blow them away.
“Fast bowlers ideally want to bowl on green tops. Conditions are not in our hands. We have got slow and flat tracks in South Africa and New Zealand.
“We have to make ourselves so skilful that we can bowl well on all types of wickets. Great bowlers are also getting five-fors on flat tracks. We have to focus on our self-improvement rather than [look at] conditions.
“As a pace bowling group, we are hungry for improvement. We are all in it together. Work ethic has improved. This is all we have in our hands.”
