"This defeat is really hurting us" - Chandika Hathurusingha after Day 5 of IND vs BAN 2024 2nd Test
Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha admitted that Team India's aggressive batting on Day 4 of the second Test in Kanpur left them short of ideas, adding that they were hurt by the loss. At the same time, the 56-year-old lauded Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for deploying that approach and creating a win out of nothing.
With no play possible in the two days after the opening one, the home side acted quickly to achieve their mission. They bowled Bangladesh out for 233 on Day 4 and blazed away to 285/9 in only 34.4 overs before declaring. The final day saw them claim eight wickets in the first session and chase down the required 95 runs for victory.
Speaking at a post-game press conference, Hathurusingha said Bangladesh did not react quickly to India's approach and were found wanting. However, the former Sri Lankan cricketer said there is no reason for the tourists to feel that much down after losing the series. As quoted by Cricbuzz, Hathurusingha stated:
"This approach was not seen before and we did not react quickly. Credit to Rohit and his team for taking such an approach and making a game out of it. This defeat is really hurting us. Batting has been disappointing. We have not been performing to our potential in the last few series.
"We didn't get too high on ourselves for winning in Pakistan, so we shouldn't go down too much after this result. We knew what we did well to win in Pakistan and we know what we couldn't do here to compete with these guys."
The visiting batters also played some reckless shots in the second innings, characterized by Najmul Hossain Shanto's reverse sweep against Ravindra Jadeja. Mushfiqur Rahim also played a questionable shot to have his stumps rearranged by Jasprit Bumrah in the final ball before lunch.
"There's no point putting pressure on every individual player" - Chandika Hathurusingha
Hathurusingha added that the Bangladesh team has got plenty of learnings from their outings in India, given the skill level of the hosts. He said:
"Another factor is the quality of the opposition, and the skill level on display in this series was very high. We are learning a lot from here. Going forward, we will know what the top standard is, since this is the best team. Playing India is the toughest assignment at this stage, so we know how much we need to improve.
"There's no point putting pressure on every individual player and their every decision in the middle, if we are not getting the right support."
Bangladesh will next face South Africa in a home Test series, starting from October 21.