Head coach Phil Simmons has asked for āpatienceā as Bangladesh face an uphill task of bouncing back in the series against Zimbabwe with the second Test starting at the Bir Shrestha Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram today.
The match starts at 10:00am and BTV will televise it live.
After losing the first Test in Sylhet by three wickets, Bangladesh must win the second one to avoid a series defeat to the Zimbabweans for the first time since 2011.
One of the main prospects of improvement would be batting, as the frequent failures continue to haunt the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side.
Simmons also admitted that while talking to the reporters in Chattogram ahead of the second Test.
āI think we know as a unit we didnāt bat properly in the first innings, and that put us in the problem. The idea is that we want to play a positive brand of Test cricket. Not just sitting back and batting and scoring 200 runs in a day. That kind of a thing,ā said Simmons in the pre-match press conference on Sunday.
āThe word transition is āmentionedā in the press, and it takes a bit of time to be where you need to be. But the message to them is few soft dismissals and loose shots here, but we need to make sure that improves as we go along. We canāt have it for one, two, or three Test matches,ā added Simmons.
The former Caribbean all-rounder also mentioned that everyone needed to be a bit more patient if they wanted something good.
āI ask for patience, definitely. I ask for patience, particularly from the Bangladeshi people. I know how passionate they are about the game and for the team to do better. I request patience. We are trying to put the right things in place to get us to play better,ā he said.
After playing on a sporting wicket in Sylhet, it could be a different challenge for both teams in Chattogram. Simmons said the wicket for the second Test was āflatā but hoped that his bowlers could extract something from it.
He said, āOur pacers have skills. Hasan [Mahmud] has taken five-for in Pakistan, which is not far different from here. Khaled [Ahmed] has done well. (Tanzim Hasan) Sakib hasnāt played that much, but we know what he can bring to the attack. We still have the skills and depth from the seamers.ā
Bangladesh, however, last won in Chattogram in 2018 against the West Indies and lost six out of the last seven outings.
Bangladesh brought in Anamul Haque hoping to bolster their fragile batting, whereas pacer Nahid Rana was granted an NOC to play in the PSL.
Simmons didnāt reveal the playing eleven but mentioned that he would prefer five bowlers. That boosts the probability of making a debut for pacer Tanzim Hasan or spinner Tanvir Islam.
Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine thought that spin would play a big role in the match.
āWe found the nets a little bit slower. Maybe as the game goes on, spin will play a bigger part in this Test,ā said Ervine.
Zimbabwe have so far won only a series in Bangladesh, which came in 2001.