Shadman Islam Defends Bangladesh Batters After Day 1 Stumble Against Sri Lanka Hoặc (một lựa chọn khác): Bangladesh's Shadman Islam Shows Support for Teammates After Frustrating First Day vs. Sri Lanka

Shadman Islam Stands Behind Bangladesh Batters After Difficult First Day

The Bangladesh team's batting lineup has received the backing of opener Shadman Islam following their performance on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka.

Shadman's solid innings of 46 led Bangladesh © AFP

Despite a number of batsmen making starts, none were able to convert them into substantial scores, leading to a disappointing close to the first day, which was interrupted by rain.

Shadman led the way with 46 runs, while Mominul Haque (21), Mushfiqur Rahim (35), Litton Kumar Das (34), and Mehidy Hasan (31) all managed to get themselves set. However, after weathering the initial challenges, they ultimately faltered and lost their wickets.

"You can't score runs if you don't take chances. We went for our shots in Galle as well, and they resulted in boundaries. Perhaps today just wasn't our day," Shadman commented to reporters after the day's play.

He further clarified, "It wasn't necessarily about trying to score quickly. Maybe some of the shots were ill-advised, but that's part of the game."

Shadman added, "I thought the pitch was a bit slow. There wasn't much movement in the morning, and we gave our wickets away. Hopefully, we can avoid that in the second innings."

He also suggested that the interruptions caused by rain contributed to their underwhelming performance, as batsmen had to restart their innings after losing their rhythm.

"Batsmen have to re-establish themselves after a break, which may have played a role," Shadman explained. "Nobody wants to get out deliberately. It just might have been a bad day for us."

Shadman defended the captain's choice to bat first, asserting that a total of around 270 to 280 runs would be competitive on the slow pitch at the SSC.

"I haven't seen anything to suggest that the decision to bat first was incorrect. The pitch was a bit slow. I'm hoping that 270-280 will be a good score. If we can bowl well, we can stage a comeback, Insha'Allah," he stated.

He concluded, "If we can bowl in the right areas, we can make a comeback, as there is assistance on the pitch."

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's bowling coach, Thilina Kandamby, admitted surprise at the SSC pitch's behavior.

He pointed out that the surface at the SSC was behaving unlike anything he had witnessed in his 15-year career as a player.

"This is a very unusual wicket for the SSC. You usually get consistent bounce here, but today it was a bit inconsistent. The pace and bounce weren't consistent, and the ball came off the surface more slowly than we had anticipated," said Kandamby.

He continued, "The fast bowlers displayed great character. They took crucial wickets and kept us in the match."

"They (fast bowlers) concentrated heavily on their fitness and bowling workloads, and the coaches have been closely monitoring them. That effort is paying off now," he said, adding that he is anticipating those out of form to return soon.

"Prabath is slightly out of form, but we have faith in his experience. I am confident that he will recover," he concluded.