"We will not know how challenging it will be on Day 3 and Day 4" - Najmul Shanto on pitch after Day 2 of 2nd IND vs BAN 2024 Test is washed out
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is unsure how the Kanpur track will behave on the third and fourth days of the Test match since the surface is not getting enough sunshine. He admitted that the pitch played decently on Day 1, but added that frequent weather interruptions were unsettling.
Only 35 overs have been bowled in the second India-Bangladesh Test being played at Green Park in Kanpur, with rain and poor weather conditions wreaking havoc. Day 2 of the Test match on Saturday, September 28 was completely washed out.
Speaking after no play at all was possible on Day 2, Bangladesh captain Shanto shared his views on the pitch and the state of the Test match. Assessing the wicket, he said it played decently on Day 1 but was uncertain how it would behave on Day 3 and Day 4. Shanto said (as quoted by Cricbuzz):
"The wicket was decent. I think the bigger challenge was to play through the breaks on and off. The rain remains a continuous threat with batters having to bat keeping that in mind which is difficult. Apart from that, I can tell the wicket so far has been pretty good. We will not know how challenging it will be to play on Day 3 and Day 4 because it is not getting enough sunshine. "
After Akash Deep dismissed Bangladesh's openers on Day 1, Mominul Haque and Shanto added 51 for the third wicket. The latter was, however, dismissed for 31, trapped lbw by Ravichandran Ashwin.
Shanto acknowledged that Bangladesh lost one wicket too many on a rain-hit day, but asserted that the game remains in the balance. The 26-year-old commented:
"I think we lost one extra wicket. We had a good start. I won't say we are in a bad position, given the wicket we are playing on. We have a few more batters. If we can have two big partnerships, we can be in a good position. But at this moment, I think it's balanced right now."
At stumps on Day 1 of the Kanpur Test, Mominul was batting on 40 and Mushfiqur Rahim on 6.
"As a player, it's very frustrating" - Shanto on constant rain interruptions
Bangladesh captain admitted that constant interruptions in play due to rain and weather conditions are very frustrating. The left-hander batter, however, pointed out that the situation is beyond their control. He said in the same interaction:
"As a player, it's very frustrating. The game started after a lot of difficulties, then we got to play for a while and then it got stopped again. There was no play today. So, overall it's really frustrating as a player. But we have nothing to do with it. It's not in our control. But it would feel better if there was some play."
While there was no heavy rain in Kanpur on Saturday, the covers were on throughout the day. The super soppers were at work, but play was called off in the afternoon, much ahead of the scheduled close of play.