"These 30s, 35s won't help Bangladesh...": Tamim urges openers to make every opportunity count

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 21 (ANI): Former Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal has urged the team batters to convert their fine starts into big scores, especially openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam. Three wickets from ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pushed Bangladesh back in their massive 515 run chase in the first Test against India on Saturday.

At the end of day three, Bangladesh were 158/4, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51*) and Shakib Al Hasan (5*) unbeaten. Bangladesh started the final session of the day at 56/0 with Shadman Islam (21) and Zakir Hasan (32) unbeaten on the crease. The openers stitched a promising 62-run opening stand which was broken by Jasprit Bumrah. Speaking on JioCinema, Tamim urged both the batters to make every opportunity count since their small, but promising scores would not help the team in longer run.

"Both the openers looked very solid and were batting very comfortably. But these 30s, 35s won't help Bangladesh in the longer run. We talked about how good they were for an hour or so, but people will still see it as 30s and won't understand how well they batted. That's why it's very important for openers to make it count whenever they get an opportunity," Tamim told the broadcasters.

"We know that facing the new ball in Test cricket is very difficult. But when you get a start, you need to make it count. The openers will be very disappointed but they played much better than in the first inning," he added. Coming to the match, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first.

The top-order collapsed, and India were left at 34/3. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (56 in 118 balls, with nine fours) and Rishabh Pant (39 in 52 balls, with six fours) stitched a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket, bringing India into the game. After India was reduced to 144/6, Ravichandran Ashwin (113 in 133 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (86* in 117 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes) stitched a 199-run partnership, helping India reach 376 in 91.2 overs.

Hasan Mahmud (5/83) was the top bowler for Bangladesh, destroying the Indian top order, removing skipper Rohit Sharma (6), Shubman Gill (0), and Virat Kohli (6). Taskin Ahmed also took three wickets for 55 runs.

In their first innings, Bangladesh lost wickets regularly. Shakib Al Hasan (32), Litton Das (22) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (27*) put up a brief fight for Bangladesh, but Bumrah (4/50) and Akash Deep (2/19) broke the back of Bangladesh batting. Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. Bangladesh was bundled out for 149 runs in their first inning and trailed by 227 runs.

In their second innings, India once again lost their top-order quickly and was struggling at 67/3. But centuries from Gill (119*) and Rishabh Pant (109 in 128 balls, with 13 fours and four sixes) helped them reach 287/4 before the innings was declared. Bangladesh was set a massive 515 to win.

Bangladesh started off the run-chase well, with openers Zakir Hasan (33) and Shadman Islam (35) putting up a 62-run opening stand. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51* in 60 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) held the innings together as Ravichandran Ashwin (3/63) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/18) were among the wickets. At the end of day three, Bangladesh was 158/4, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51*) and Shakib Al Hasan (5*) unbeaten. (ANI)