Mahmudullah is confident of making a comeback in the second Test

The Bangladeshi team suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of South Africa recently, where the Tigers were simply outplayed by Faf du Plessis’ men. The main reason behind the shocking 333 runs defeat was the batting collapse, as the away side was all out for just 90 runs in the second half. Veteran campaigners like Mahmudullah Riyad, who form the backbone of the Bangladeshi batting lineup, failed to make a mark.

He fought hard for his 66 runs in the first innings but lost his wicket to Kagiso Rabada in the second after scoring only 9 runs. Knowing that people have already started accusing the Bangladeshi batters of being ‘home track bullies’, Mahmudullah knows the importance of the second and the final Team match of the series, winning which will bring parity in it.

While the most optimistic among the Bangladeshi fans also will find it tough to imagine a comeback, Mahmudullah feels it is well on the cards.

“We are disappointed. The pitch was good but we could not bat the way we wanted to. We made a lot of silly mistakes,” said Mahmudullah before boarding the team bus. “Our target was to draw out the game. But we couldn’t cope with the first session. Our execution was poor. But I am very confident that we will bat better in the second Test, whatever the wicket is. I am sure we can make a comeback,’ said the 31-year-old from Mymensingh, as per reports in The Daily Star.

No harm in playing shots

Many fans and pundits might feel that the batters of today’s generation lacks the required patience to succeed in Test cricket, and offer rash shots more often than not. But Mahmudullah feels there is no harm in giving a bad ball the treatment it deserves.

“It is not wrong to play shots. Why not hit bad balls for boundaries? He [a batsman] should play his own game. Conditions should be considered but it was good batting conditions. We couldn’t execute our skills. We were very poor,” the owner of 14 Test half-centuries concluded.