In the current series, Bangladesh’s bowlers have been “very good” at keeping India’s star Virat Kohli quiet, and bowling coach Allan Donald anticipates that trend to continue in the second Test, which starts on Thursday. In Chattogram’s first innings, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam bowled Kohli out for a duck with the former India captain was still unbeaten at 19. Even the stand-in captain, KL Rahul, had a difficult time in the opening test. Donald claimed that watching Kohli bat makes him think of Sachin Tendulkar in his playing days prior to the second Test.
“They are the prized wickets aren’t they, it is like bowling to (Sachin) Tendulkar. You know when that man walks into the crease the value of getting it right is absolutely paramount,” Donald told reporters on the eve of the game. “So when the great Virat Kohli steps out and you miss a chance against him, you are going to suffer because they don’t give many chances after that. I thought we have been very good against him and KL and hopefully that will continue. Virat is hungry, he wants to leave the series with a hundred under his belt.”
After being dismissed for 150 runs in the first Test, Bangladesh made a much better showing in the second essay to score 324 runs. India, however, easily prevailed by 188 runs. “We want to win. It doesn’t matter where you play India, you put that in your highest order of achievements. We know 150 didn’t cut it for us,” Donald said.
“We have spoken about the values of our partnership. We need to be much more resilient, which we showed in the second innings. We are desperate to win. A lot of people including me want to go home for a delayed Christmas with a win under our belt.”