Belief in Victory for Bangladesh in Mirpur Test: Mushtaq Ahmed

After the third day of the Mirpur Test, Bangladesh is leading by 81 runs with three wickets in hand. Mehedi Hasan Miraz remains unbeaten on 87 runs, sparking hopes of victory for Bangladesh. Bangladesh's spin bowling coach, MushtaqAhmed, emphasized the importance of maintaining that belief.

In the post-match press conference, Mushtaq repeatedly encouraged belief in victory. He stated, "There are some concerns, but as we keep winning matches like this, the belief in victory grows, even among the top order. The beauty of Test cricket is in bouncing back. In any match, if the lower order of any team stands as a barrier, the opposition gets flustered. I think this is a great sign. Soon or in a few days, you will see these players challenging any team in the world."

Reflecting on how Bangladesh turned around a match against Pakistan after losing six wickets for just 26 runs, he added, "In the Pakistan series, we turned things around after being six wickets down for 26 runs. Everyone believed we could win and that we could bounce back from any situation."

Bangladesh aims to score as many runs as possible in the second innings. "We want to score as many runs as we can. We want to take as much time as possible to score. No matter how big the lead is, we must maintain our belief in victory. With belief and confidence, we can challenge any team. So, we are looking to score as much as possible now."

In the second innings, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mushfiqur Rahim had a good batting performance on the second day, but they couldn’t maintain that momentum in the first session of the third day, returning to the pavilion quickly. Regarding them, the coach said:

"They are even more disappointed than us. You know Mushfiqur; once he gets set, he aims for big innings. Joy is a young player with excellent temperament, fighting like a tiger. He performed well in the first innings when the game was tough. I was joking with him, and he mentioned how Rabada's deliveries were swinging a lot. I was trying to save my stumps and LBW. I believed that if we stayed at the crease, runs would come. Having this confidence among the young players means the team is in a good position."