Jahirul remains upbeat
The platform was not perfect for debutant batsman Jahirul Islam to deal with the press as defeat was looming for the home team at the end of the fourth day's play of the second and final Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
But there was no shortage of confidence when the newcomer talked about his team's chance to earn a credible draw, his effort in the second innings after a first innings duck and obviously on poor umpiring and the pitch.
"We should draw the match because we have played good cricket. It will be really nice for us if we have two more wickets in hand at the end of the day. But still we are hopeful because Shafiul scored a fifty in the first innings while Naeem is yet to bat," said Jahirul when asked whether it would be possible for his side to save the match on 172 for six.
"You never know what can happen in cricket. Still it is possible to draw the match if we can spend time in the middle for two sessions on the final day. The first session will be crucial for us and we must play the first session without any damage," he added.
Jahirul said that he could have prolonged his innings if he had avoided playing too many shots and dealt with spinner Graeme Swann more carefully. "Actually I stepped into a trap. I was a little bit excited as it's my first match and I went to bat on the back of a duck. I wanted to get back my confidence by playing some shots but it was not my plan to hit sixes," he said about his innings.
"I played a lot of four-day matches but Test cricket is a totally different ball game because the intensity is too high here. And what is important is that everybody is looking to me when I'm playing for my country which is not the case for the domestic or other competition,” he added.
Like his captain Shakib Al Hasan told on the previous day, Shafiul also said that nothing could have been better than a spin-friendly wicket when they play at home.
Jahirul could barely hold back his emotion when asked whether he believed that they lost their focus following some bad decisions, which went against them on the third day.
"It's right. We were working hard yesterday and if you don't give out one specialist batsman, then you may not get the second chance. They didn't give out Matt Prior, he scored 62, then same mistake for [Tim] Bresnan, and he scored 91. If we had got those two wickets, they might have been bowled out for 275 to 300 runs. Then we would have been in a strong position," he said.
He also said that the umpires made mistakes when asked about today's decisions some of which went against England bowlers. "We want a fair result."
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