It has been 24 years going on Bangladesh earned the Test status and the Tigers are no longer a Test babe but they can’t prove it on the field.
The way Bangladesh played the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, it’s hard to think that Bangladesh has past 24 years of their Test career and have already played about 150 Test matches.
Specially, the way they played the Tests matches against Sri Lanka, was extremely disappointing. It was very much unexpected of their getting out for such a low scores on what were not terribly challenging surfaces. At the same turf, Sri Lanka played almost smoothly with full controlling over Bangladesh and set a mammoth target of 511 runs to win for Bangladesh. But Bangladesh failed even to score a respectable runs when they suffered a massive 328 runs defeat in the first Test in Mirpur.
Tigers had the opportunity to bounce back in the second Test to recover the failures of the first Test. But it was similar exposure when Sri Lanka scored 531 runs in the first innings and declared the second innings for 157/7. Again set the target of 511 runs to win for Bangladesh and again, it was woeful performances from Bangladesh, this time they were all out for 178 in the first innings and starting to mission impossible could manage 318 runs. Thanks to a just fifty and unbeaten 81 runs from the tale ender Mahidy Hassan Miraz could manage 318 runs, which could only reduce the margin of defeat.
But, if Sri Lanka would not declare the innings and call the Tigers to follow on, Bangladesh would have to suffer innings and 35 runs defeat. Thanks to the visitors, they did not call for follow on, as the Tigers just escaped from another innings defeat to Sri Lanka when they suffered eight innings defeats to the Islanders in their previous 25 meetings.
However, Tigers are still unstable in the longer version cricket when after a 1-1 draw in a two-match Test series against New Zealand in December, after three months they turned like a rooky Test sides against Sri Lanka in the ongoing series.
However, the trend actually have been going on from the inaugural Test match against India, when Bangladesh scored just 400 runs in their first innings but were bundled out for 409 runs in their second innings. The Tigers, the then newborn Test nation were out only for 90 runs in their second innings and predictably, India won the match by 10 wickets. It was nothing embarrassing to concede 10 wickets defeat, as it was debut Test match for Bangladesh but lack of consistency could not make another respectable total in the second innings, as they did in the first innings.
After that, Bangladesh had been struggling much for a long and at one stage some of the Cricket pundits also raised questions about the Bangladesh’s Test status.
Whatever, Bangladesh, after a huge struggle and going through tough times, have gradually overcome the controversies with winning and making draws some matches.
But, they are yet to be stabled and comfortable in the Test cricket, sometimes their approaches are very much confused when Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh in their inaugural Test, which is one of the most disgraceful for Bangladesh since having their Test status.