Taskin Ahmed: We could have had five-six wickets instead of three

Taskin Ahmed: We could have had five-six wickets instead of three

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Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed said the visitors could have taken five to six wickets instead of just three had they grabbed the chances that came their way on the opening day of the one-off Test against India in Hyderabad. Taskin spoke of the importance of patience in Test cricket.

Opener Vijay got a reprieve early on when Mehdi Hasan missed an easy run out opportunity, and the Tamil Nadu batsman made the most of it by scoring a century.

“Yes, if that run-out had taken place, we could have had five-six wickets instead of three. We had a catch missed, and a run out missed … but this is a part of game. We are hoping to start well tomorrow – that’s all what we are thinking about right now,” Taskin told reporters at the end of the first day.

Taskin was the most impressive of the Bangladesh bowlers on view.was especially impressive early on, bowling with good pace, thus curbing India’s run-flow.

“It was a new experience for me because I am playing my third Test but in India it’s my first time, and Indians like to score big,” he said. “First one hour it was moving a bit but after that it was a dry and flat wicket, and the batsmen all batted well.

“This is a matter of patience. You have to bowl with patience when it doesn’t swing, then you have to try reverse swing. I tried to reverse later, but they are the No. 1 team and they handled it well. You can’t bowl loose deliveries at all. If the batsman makes mistakes, then he will get out. If you bowl short or wide or half-volley, they are going to score easily. We have to bowl a tight line and length according to the field, then we can survive here.”

Kamrul Islam Rabbi bowled long spells but seemed to lose control as the day progressed, bowling short to Vijay and Virat Kohli. 

“We are the pacers – I also bowled short and so did he. After lunch, the ball was going slow off the pitch and they picked it up well. The bouncers at the start carried well, but after the wicket got slow, the short balls went for boundaries. But if you bowl full, then they are easy to drive on this pitch – you have to bowl a good length," Taskin said.

“We are new players. Yes, today we bowled too many short balls, maybe because he bowled short balls in New Zealand (where it worked). We didn’t bowl that badly. It would have been better if the score was 300."

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