There were not many twists and turns in the ongoing Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong until late drama unfolded with the fall of three Bangladesh wickets in their second innings on the fourth day.
Imrul Kayes's mindless shot, Tamim Iqbal's wrong judgment and finally Mushfiqur Rahim's bad luck saw the home side faced with a big challenge as a seemingly mundane Test affair, following a batting spree on a flat track, burst into life at the end of the fourth day's play.
Bangladesh resume their second innings today on 81 for three, with a 119-run deficit and a documented history of their inability to bat well in the second innings, where they have crumbled on many occasions under self-inflicted pressure after stupendous performances in their first innings.
However left-arm spinner Taijul Islam -- who bore the maximum bowling load (67.3 overs) during Sri Lanka's mammoth 713 for nine declared, in the process becoming part of an ugly record as the first Bangladeshi to concede over 200 runs in an innings -- made it clear that it would not be an easy task for the Tigers to get something out of this Test.
"We have to save the game. It will not be easy on the fifth day but if our batsmen can play good cricket, then we may get something out of it. It would have been better had we lost one wicket. Losing three wickets was too much," said Taijul, who attended the press conference after the day's play.
"The wicket deteriorated as the match progressed. There was some more turn today," was the spinner's opinion of the fourth day's pitch. And he predicted the fifth day's track as well, saying: "There are rough areas that are created as bowlers bowl from different angles. The rough can sometimes make a bad ball into a good one. As a batsman, it will be tough to survive."
Taijul expressed his dissatisfaction over Bangladesh's bowling attack and he was equally unimpressed with the Lankan bowlers.
"It's a batting wicket, but we didn't bowl to that level. I don't think they [Sri Lanka] bowled really well. We made 80-odd runs during this short time [in the second innings]. There were some deliveries on good areas, which gave them the three wickets," he said.
"I think if we bowled better, I wouldn't have had to get close to such records," he said while reflecting on his bowling record.
Bangladesh spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi also rued his spinners' performance in the match despite the pitch having nothing to offer them.
"I think they could have been better. They could have had more consistency. If you don't get wickets in the first session, you can always get them in the second and third sessions. You need to be patient. The young Bangladesh spinners need to understand the way they can perform in Test cricket," he said.
