Begin typing your search...
Don’t take Bangladesh lightly
Batsman Cheteshwar Pujara asserted that India would look to continue their winning run in the upcoming one-off Test against Bangladesh but cautioned his team against complacency.
By
migrator
migrator
Hyderabad
The match is scheduled to take place from February 9, and Pujara felt the visitors cannot be taken lightly, considering they shocked England in a Test match last year. "They have been playing well in the sub-continent. So, probably, that is one team that have done well against England. We can't take them lightly. But, at the same time, we played very good cricket in 2016. So, probably, we would stick to the same thing. We are number one team in the world at the moment.
We would like to maintain that, the way we played our cricket in 2016, we would like to repeat the same thing in 2017," Pujara told reporters here. The Indian team arrived here on a high, having tasted success against England in all the three formats.
"When it comes to strategy, we will have a chat about it later on. But I think if we play good cricket, we can definitely beat them," Pujara said. Noting that the playing conditions would not be much of an issue as they are almost similar in the sub-continent, Pujara said the team that played good cricket would win.
"I think it will be a fair contest. Because, when we tour Bangladesh, we have a similar experience. When we tour Bangladesh, we get similar conditions. I don't think for them conditions will matter a lot. Whoever plays good cricket, I think they will have an opportunity to win this game.
"Probably, we will have the upper hand because the way we played last year in 2016, fast bowlers bowled well, lower order continues to hit and batsmen have been batting well. One thing I believe is that if we play as a team and we play to our potential, we will have the upper hand in this game," he said.
Replying to a query, he said hectic scheduling is not an issue as the players are young and fit. "I think it is always good to play cricket. So, whether it is hectic schedule, I always believe that cricketers, all of us are young and we always enjoy playing cricket," Pujara said.
Asked about Bangladesh's Mehadi Hassan, Pujara said the youngster did well against England and that he can't speak more on the player until he faced him. "I have seen him bowled little bit against England. Looks like a good bowler,” he said.
Shankar, Iyer, Panchal slam centuries
Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer and Tamil Nadu’s Vijay Shankar cracked hundreds as Bangladesh, who conceded a first-innings lead of 237 against India A, drew their two-day match here on the second and final day of the two-day warm-up game at the Gymkhana Ground in Secundarabad.
India A declared at 461 for 8 in reply to Bangladesh’s first-innings tally of 224 for 8 declared, before the visitors reached 73 for 2 in 15 overs in their second dig when play was called off. Resuming on 91 for 1 in the morning, India A rode on a stellar 159-run partnership for the second wicket between Iyer and Panchal, as the Bangladesh bowlers struggled to find a way to make inroads.
Iyer was the aggressor, scoring 100 off 92 balls, while Panchal took more time, scoring 103 off 148 deliveries to frustrate Bangladesh. Both batsmen departed retired out to allow the rest of the batsmen to get some match practice, and it was only after that Bangladesh found some success with the ball.
Subashish Roy, the right-arm medium pacer, removed Ishank Jaggi (23), who returned a catch to him off his own bowling, and Rishabh Pant (19) soon after Panchal’s exit to give Bangladesh some respite. Ishan Kishan (11) and Hardik Pandya (7) too left soon, but then came the late resistance from Shankar and Nitin Saini, who added 115 runs for the eighth wicket to leave Mushfiqur Rahim & Co. scratching their heads once again.
Saini, batting at No. 9, hit 66 off 85, before being caught by Mehedi Hasan off Taijul Islam’s bowling in the 84th over. Vijay continued the good work alongside Jayant Yadav, reaching his century off 81 deliveries before the hosts declared to give the Bangladesh batsmen some much-needed practice ahead of the one-off Test against the national side. Bangladesh lost Soumya Sarkar (25) and Mominul Haque to Kuldeep Yadav, the chinaman bowler in the 13th over.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
Next Story
