The spinners take centre stage as Bangladesh eye their first bilateral series win in almost one and a half years when they face the West Indies in the second ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.
The match is scheduled to begin at 1:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time.
The wicket is expected to be similar to the first one, where Bangladesh won by 74 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-game series despite scoring 207 runs.
The spinners bowled 62 of the 88.4 overs in the first ODI when Rishad Hossain took 6-35. Bangladesh further added Nasum Ahmed, a left-arm spinner, to the squad.
However, the spin-bowling coach of Bangladesh, Mushtaq Ahmed, reminded everyone that the spinners needed to be more disciplined on these types of wicket.
鈥業 think as a spinner, when you see that kind of wicket, you get excited. And when you get excited, you don鈥檛 remember your process. Process is everything,鈥� Mushtaq said during a press conference in Mirpur on Monday.
鈥榊ou [have to] bowl good overs to get wickets, not just good balls. On turning pitches, you鈥檝e got to bowl maidens and good overs, and the wickets will come. And I think that is my message [which is] simple: that [if] you remember your process, wickets will come,鈥� he added.
On the black soil pitch, batters from both sides found it hard to score. While Bangladesh batters came with the plan to grind it out, the visitors fell apart once their opening partnership of 51 runs was broken.
Now, both teams want to take learning from the experience of the first match and apply it in the second.
Bangladesh focused on rotating the strike in the middle phase after conceding 183 dot balls in the first match.
鈥楶hil Simmons and Mohammad Salauddin were trying to tell them [the batters] how to take singles in the middle overs. The spinners also set field positions, making it very close to an actual match situation,鈥� said Mushtaq.
They also emphasised using their feet more to negate the turn.
鈥楢s a spinner, you know, when somebody starts using the footwork very nicely鈥攂ack foot and front foot鈥攐n your good ball, [and] if somebody starts getting singles, I know I鈥檓 gonna give you a bad ball because you鈥檙e getting singles off the good balls,鈥� Mushtaq added.
The West Indies, on the other hand, were focusing on adapting to the challenging conditions.
鈥榃e as batsmen have to adapt and adapt quickly. We have a lot of great batsmen on our team. It鈥檚 just about adapting,鈥� said Khare Pierre, the left-arm spinner who conceded only 19 runs from 10 overs in the first match.
鈥楢nd this is international cricket. So it鈥檚 going to be tough; it鈥檚 going to be challenging. But we have to find a way,鈥� he added.
Pierre mentioned that they needed to adapt as bowlers too.
鈥榃e had a lot of team talk. We had a lot of team conversations. As I said before, it鈥檚 all about adapting, trying to put the ball in the right areas, and trying to restrict the Bangladesh batsmen as much as possible,鈥� he said.
鈥楢nd, you know, whatever it takes, we know we have to do it. We already know the situation, and we have to try and win the next two games. So, it鈥檚 all about putting the ball in the right areas and trying to keep these Bangladesh batsmen at bay,鈥� he added.
