I agree that the strategy here seems to be to grind and bore the Kiwis into submission, or at least a draw. A score of 300 in 180 overs is not out of the question at this point...yawn. But some of my takeaways were:
- the partnership between Rajin and Ashraful was as important as any played so far by 2 Bangladeshis. That much is obvious - they almost broke the 4th wicket record established in the WI earlier this year. What I liked is the way they came out of their shell to attack and increase the run rate once they got out of the immediate danger of 5/3. They both knew their roles and played them to perfection. Of course they got out and to bad shots but that happens.
- Nafees Iqbal: is he a naturally aggressive player like Bashar. If so should he just play his natural game instead of facing 30 balls to open his scoring - something I notice in the last few innings he has played including warmups. Maybe he is trying to hard to adapt his game to the test arena, he should just be himself. It may mean some cheap dismissals, but it can also work to pile up some runs.
- Is the pitch really as slow as Ashraful said in an interview (BBC page)? What happens if NZ blasts 350 in a day?
- I think going into the 2nd day with 4 wicket in hand is a morale booster for the team. Remember their past scores against NZ are 104, 135, 135 and 205. However, at the rate they are scoring they have to be worried about how to increase the run rate without scoring wickets.
- Bunch of people (incl. Ashraful) have said 250 is a reasonable score. That sounds like a good target. We need one a couple more 50s to get there.
Edited on, October 19, 2004, 4:39 PM GMT, by rafiq.
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