Bangladesh off-spinner Nayeem Hasan said that a big partnership could put them in good stead for winning the first cricket Test against West Indies despite a batting slump.
The hosts were reduced to 79-6 in its second innings after a batting collapse and extended its lead to 106 runs so far. With the pitch still offering turn and bounce aplenty, Nayeem thinks a substantial partnership could do the wonder.
Nayeem himself would have to take the responsibility in batting as he was unbeaten on 18 alongside Jaker Ali who was also on 18 when the Day 3 play was called off.
Nayeem said the immediate target was to bat as long as possible and put as many runs on the board as they could, adding that reaching 200 would be a good achievement from their current position.
“We will try to score as many runs as possible. By the grace of Almighty Allah, Jaker bhai and I are batting now. If we can bat for a long time, it will be good for us. Even 200 runs would be a very good total, but we will try to score more,” Nayeem told reporters after the day’s play.
Nayeem earlier took 4-33 to help the side bowl West Indies out for 245 in its first innings and handed the side 27-run lead.
He said Bangladesh needed to maintain a positive approach on a turning pitch, where scoring regularly could put the opposition bowlers under pressure.
“There was no specific plan when I came to the crease. I wanted to react according to the deliveries. On this wicket, you have to look for runs because the ball is turning. If you keep the scoreboard moving, the bowlers will come under pressure,” he said.
Nayeem also admitted that Bangladesh’s top order could have batted better under the lights, when the ball was behaving differently.
“When Shanto bhai and the others were batting, it was under lights. The ball was behaving differently, sometimes coming straight and sometimes turning. We probably needed to bat a little better in that situation, but we will try to recover from here,” he added.
Nayeem said captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had encouraged him to concentrate on bowling in one particular area rather than trying too many variations.
“Shanto bhai told me to bowl in one particular area. He said I could bowl there throughout the day, even if things did not go well initially. So I focused on maintaining my line and length and bowling in good areas without conceding runs,” he said.
He revealed that Mehidy Hasan Miraz had jokingly challenged him during the lunch break to share the wickets between them.
“Miraz bhai told me that he would take two wickets and I would take two from the other end, so that we could share four wickets between us and not give any to Taijul bhai. Later, he reminded me that I had already taken three,” Nayeem said with a smile.
Nayeem, who reached the milestone of 50 Test wickets in his ninth year of international career, said he had no regrets about the limited opportunities he had received.
“That is not in my hands. Whenever I get an opportunity, I try to give my 100 per cent and do what is best for the team,” he said.
