"Our batters need to be as positive as Pakistan were": David Hemp

Yesterday, Bangladesh had a day to forget in Rawalpindi. On the second day of the Test, Pakistan declared their innings at 448 for 6. Bangladesh ended the second day trailing by 421 runs. Tomorrow, on the third day, the innings will resume with the two unbeaten openers, Sadman Islam and Zakir Hasan. Batting coach David Hemp, speaking at the press conference after the day's play, said, "There is still a lot of cricket left." Hemp was pleased with the batting performance of the two openers and believes that the Rawalpindi wicket is still favorable for batting.

In response to Pakistan's first innings total of 448, Bangladesh scored 27 runs in 12 overs. Sadman Islam, with 12 runs, and Zakir Hasan, with 11 runs, will resume their innings tomorrow. Before Bangladesh’s innings, Pakistan's innings was largely dominated by Saud Shakil and Mohammad Rizwan, who added 240 runs to the scoreboard. On the second day, the Tigers' bowlers were struggling to make an impact on a batting-friendly pitch!

However, after a disappointing bowling performance, all eyes are now on the batting. To take the lead, Shanto and Shakib will need to perform exceptionally well. At the end-of-day press conference, David Hemp outlined their plans, making it clear that the match is still open and the pitch remains favorable for batting.

"We are preparing to tackle aggressive bowling. Based on tomorrow’s batting, we will plan for the fourth and fifth days. There is still a lot of cricket to be played. If we can get close to or surpass their total, then we will see how it goes. For now, the pitch seems good for batting," said Hemp.

“Pakistan has four very good pace bowlers, which will be a challenge for us. We want to stay as positive as possible and score as many runs as we can. The wicket still seems good for batting, and that’s what we aim to exploit in the coming sessions.”

Shakil and Rizwan, who both scored centuries, caused significant trouble for Bangladesh's bowlers and fielders. Their substantial partnership for the fifth wicket pushed Bangladesh onto the back foot on the second day. To understand the dire situation of Bangladesh's bowlers, one can look at Nahid Rana’s statistics. He spent 18 overs for 101 runs without taking a wicket, with an economy rate of 5.52.

Ending the day without a wicket and trailing by 27 runs was disappointing for Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the batting coach was somewhat pleased, saying, “I’m very happy with the way they played in the last 12 overs of the day. It was a very challenging situation. We had to bat for the last half-hour, especially after a full day of fielding. But we need to maintain our discipline and score a lot of runs.”