We need to hold on to our patience: Tamim Iqbal

Veteran Bangladeshi batsman, Tamim Iqbal, has urged the fans to keep their hopes alive in the ongoing Test against Australia. The hosts looked in firm control of the game by the end of the second day’s play. They had a handy first innings to play with and could have dictated terms with a big score in their second innings. However, a six-wicket haul from Nathan Lyon saw the hosts bundle out for a mere 221 in the second innings.

Later in the day, Steve Smith and David Warner took Australia to a commanding position of being at 109/2 with 156 runs more needed for the win. Needless to say, the visitors look favorites for the match. However, if Tamim Iqbal is to be believed, then the surface can change any time. Hence, it all depends on how well they bowl on day 4. As per the quotes in Cricbuzz, Tamim noted that even if they fail to pick wickets, they must continue bowling dot balls.

“We need to hold on to our patience. It is very unpredictable and things can change pretty quickly. Although it might look not a very healthy total on the board but if we can bowl in the right areas tomorrow that we failed to do today we still do have a chance. It can do a lot of things and you have seen that some quick wickets can fall pretty quickly after a partnership is broken,” quoted Tamim Iqbal.

“Even if we don’t get wickets we need to carry on bowling dot balls as it will create pressure. Yesterday if the lead was around 260 runs we would have been happy and today we had the chance to take over 300 runs. But still we can make a game out of it,” added the Bangladeshi opener.

Questioning the track

The Bangladesh side saw a bitter collapse in the second innings. However, Tamim Iqbal continued to defend the batsmen. He rightly pointed out that the players are often subjected to grassy tracks in domestic cricket and get dust bowls in international games. He hopes that the system changes soon wherein the players get similar tracks in domestic games as well.

“My question is how many times do we play in these sorts of wicket? In the domestic circuit we play in grass laden wicket while we play international cricket in this sort of wicket. This theory must change as we play in grassy wickets abroad as we make a tour in a year. If we want to play international cricket in this wicket we need to play domestic cricket in similar wicket. If not in all venues but at least in one or two grounds,” remarked Tamim.