Bangladesh need to carry ODI confidence to Tests

Although it ended with a 328-run defeat, which conceded yet another Test series to Pakistan, Bangladesh have every right to call the last 25 days one of their best times in international cricket.

Sabbir Rahman's 99-ball 123 in the practice game in Fatullah should have served as a warning to the visitors but they only had a day to prepare for the three-match ODI series. If the one-wicket defeat wasn't enough to explain how much Bangladesh cricket has progressed since their last bilateral series in 2011, they would soon find out.

On April 17, Bangladesh beat Pakistan in an international match for the first time in 16 years as the 79-run win was set up by Tamim Iqbal's first ODI hundred in more than two years. The new-look Pakistan side was left by the wayside in the next two games too, losing by 7 and 8 wickets respectively. Bangladesh added Pakistan to their growing list of major ODI whitewash victims, along with New Zealand and West Indies.

Shakib Al Hasan had been the first to call Bangladesh the favourites for the ODI series and he was proved right. Bangladesh played like favourites and looked the part too, for the first time against Pakistan. The lone T20 too was won easily. If it looked remarkable at the time, even two weeks later the ridiculous ease with which Bangladesh won these four games continued to amaze.

The celebratory wave that began with Bangladesh qualifying for the World Cup quarter-final in March was felt again in mid-April. There were question marks on the lack of experience in the Pakistani team but you could not fault Bangladesh for playing against an opposition which was in transition. As the two teams left Dhaka for Khulna for the first Test, the palpable confidence from the ODI wins was slightly tempered by the arrival of Paksitan's stalwarts Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan for the two-Test series.

Like in ODIs and T20s, Bangladesh had never beaten Pakistan in Tests either. Worse, Bangladesh had not even drawn a Test with Pakistan. Not until the fourth day of the first Test and a blitz from Tamim and Imrul Kayes assured that there were to be more changes to Bangladesh-Pakistan contests. The opening pair added 312 runs in the second innings after Pakistan took a 296-run lead. It was the highest opening stand in the second innings of a Test match and the highest lead that was wiped off without losing a wicket.

Bangladesh also found some help from Taijul Islam's six-wicket haul, but it took their four-man bowling attack 168.4 overs to bowl Pakistan out. Somehow it was felt that a sporting wicket was what Bangladesh needed to close out their best-ever series against Pakistan.

But there were gaps between Bangladesh's confidence, their intention to play on a sporting wicket and team selection. Deciding to field first added to the confusion. When Shahadat Hossain fell on his first ball and withdrew after the second ball of the match, it looked like Bangladesh's luck had run out in the Test series.

Azhar Ali and Younis, both having survived catches taken off no-balls, made 226 and 148 respectively. Asad Shafiq added a hundred of his own too. From the high of making their highest-ever second innings score, 555 for 6 in Khulna, Bangladesh accumulated only 424 runs in the two innings put together, their third-lowest match aggregate against Pakistan.

There were clear differences between the confidence seen in the limited-overs formats and the confusion in strategy and planning in the Tests. In the end, and particularly after Mushfiqur Rahim said that the decision to prepare a sporting wicket for the second Test in Dhaka was due to criticism of the pitch in Khulna, it was clear that Bangladesh were not being led by a no-nonsense leader like Mashrafe Mortaza.

Still, Bangladesh had many more reasons to be happy about. At an individual level, the emergence of Soumya Sarkar as an ODI opener, who was unafraid to push the envelope, was much needed. Arafat Sunny continued to show how effective an ODI bowler he is while Taijul flourished at a time when Shakib was not at his best with the ball.

Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Shahid have done enough to be regular in ODIs and Tests regularly, as long as they remain fit. The lone international performance of Mustafizur Rahman was a reminder that all is not lost in pace bowling in Bangladesh. But there is a huge gap to be filled, especially in the Test team.

The series was also played in the backdrop of a tussle between coach Chandika Hathurusingha and chief selector Faruque Ahmed, and also between Hathurusingha and BCB's cricket operations chairman Naimur Rahman. To their credit the trio kept the series free of controversy but when Mushfiqur decided to field first in the second Test, or when questions were raised about Shuvagata Hom's selection, there were no definitive answers. It suggested a lack of communication.

What's crucial now is for Bangladesh to continue the way they did in limited overs and come up with some better strategies for Tests. Regaining fitness, especially having played continuously since February, would be on top of everyone's agenda. The players return to their business in the third week of May, first for a fitness Test and then for a first-class match from May 24.

But there is still time to celebrate, perhaps quietly, a monumental effort over 25 days. Bangladesh had never done well after a World Cup campaign and had not defeated Pakistan since 1999. All that is now history.