"The Indians play with SG ball since childhood" - Taskin Ahmed admits not bowling with Kookaburra a big challenge for Bangladesh
Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed has admitted that bowling with the SG ball in the ongoing Test series against India is a challenge for the visitors. He added that India have a huge advantage since they know how to use the SG ball.
Bangladesh players are used to playing with the Kookaburra ball, which has a flatter seam than the SG ball. However, playing in India, opponents have to make the best of SG balls instead of Kookaburra.
Speaking after the end of the second day's play in the first Test between India and Bangladesh in Chennai on Friday, September 20, Taskin shared his thoughts on the different ball used in Indian conditions. He said (as quoted by PTI):
"Playing with the SG ball is a challenge. The Indians play with SG ball since childhood, so they know how to use it properly, giving them a huge advantage."
The 29-year-old also added that Bangladesh made some mistakes with the new ball. The right-arm pacer explained:
"What I felt about the SG ball and this condition is that there were some challenges, especially for the first 10-12 overs. India is a formidable side against any opponent at home. And everyone tries to make the most out of the home advantage, the same as we will do when we play at home soon."
After an underwhelming Day 1, Taskin claimed three wickets in India's first innings and dismissed opposition skipper Rohit Sharma in the second innings in the last session of play on Day 2.
"We lost too many wickets" - Taskin Ahmed
While the Bangladesh pacer had an impressive day in the office, the visitors are firmly on the back foot heading into Day 3 of the Chennai Test. Responding to India's first-innings total of 376, they folded up for 149 in 47.1 overs.
Taskin admitted that Bangladesh were not smart with the bat. The pace bowler said:
"Overall, our batting was a little bit disappointing. Yeah, there is some help for the fast bowlers, but still, we could have done much better than that. So yeah, we are disappointed. We also lost too many wickets in the first 10 (overs), which cost us our game."
At stumps on Day 2, India were 81-3 in their second innings, with an overall lead of 308 runs. Shubman Gill is batting on 33 and Rishabh Pant on 12.