Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal said there are no excuses for their disastrous performance against host West Indies in the first of two Test matches in Antigua last week. The left-handed batsman also said the team are as shocked as the supporters for producing a humiliating performance at the start of the tour.
A horrific failure by the Bangladesh batsmen saw the Tigers concede the game by an innings and 219 runs within the third day of the Test. The visiting side’s struggles began in the first innings when they were skittled out for 43 after being asked to bat first. This is the Tigers’ lowest Test total. In the second innings, Bangladesh were all out for 144.
The second and final Test begins at Sabina Park in Jamaica Thursday.
“We are shocked like everyone else as we know we are capable of performing better than what we did. We are not trying to make any excuses as we are aware that our mistakes were responsible for our downfall. The way we performed certainly cannot be acceptable,” said Tamim in a video circulated by the BCB media and communications department Sunday.
Despite the batting collapse, Tamim believes they are capable of scripting a comeback in the Jamaica Test. A Bangladesh defeat in the second Test will see the Windies jump to No 8 in the ICC Test ranking. The Tigers will drop down to ninth in the event of a West Indies win in the Jamaica Test.
“For us the most important thing is to have faith on our abilities and back ourselves. We must trust our own ability and believe that we can score big runs in difficult conditions. We have to believe that we are better than our opponent, both individually and team-wise,” said Tamim, who reached the 4,000-Test run landmark in Antigua.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
