Salahuddin blames ‘erratic bowling’ for Pakistan fightback

Bangladesh senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin blamed his side’s erratic bowling for allowing Pakistan to stage a strong comeback on the second day of the opening Test in Mirpur on Saturday.

After resuming on 301 for four, Bangladesh failed to build on their solid position and were bowled out for 413. Pakistan then responded aggressively, with openers Azan Awais and Imam-ul-Haq capitalising on Bangladesh’s wayward bowling.

“Sometimes poor bowling makes batting very easy. Today, we bowled a bit erratically, which allowed the runs to come quickly,” Salahuddin told reporters after the day’s play.

“There is still plenty for the bowlers on this wicket. We did not bowl well in one session, everyone understands that, and it is something that can be fixed quickly.”

Debutant Awais set the tone early as Pakistan raced to 50 without loss in just 10 overs before tea. Bangladesh’s bowlers continued to struggle after the break as the visitors maintained their aggressive approach.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz eventually broke the opening stand by dismissing Imam for 45, but Awais and fellow debutant Abdullah Fazal added an unbeaten 73-run partnership to steer Pakistan to 179 for one at stumps, trailing Bangladesh by 234 runs.

Awais remained unbeaten on 85 off 133 balls, while Fazal was on 37 after surviving a dropped catch by Shadman Islam off Taskin Ahmed late in the day.

Salahuddin felt Bangladesh’s pacers became overly eager after seeing grass on the surface and failed to maintain discipline with their line and length.

“When there is grass on the wicket, fast bowlers often get overly excited and can lose their line and length. It was very important for us to bowl in the right areas,” he said.

“With movement on the pitch, the bowlers may have thought they could overpower the batters with extra pace, but bowling in the right areas was the most important thing.”

The assistant coach also believed Bangladesh left valuable runs behind in the first innings.

“Pakistan bowled very well in the morning. It would have been much better for us if we could have added another 50 runs, although we did surpass 400,” he said.

Salahuddin admitted Pakistan had been the better side throughout the day but backed Bangladesh’s experienced pace attack to recover.

“Pakistan bowled much better than us today. They kept our batters under pressure throughout. Their new batters responded brilliantly to the demands of the situation,” he said.

“Our fast bowlers are experienced and have won many matches for us, so I am sure they will bounce back.”