Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed reflected on the factors that have affected his team’s performance in the first Test match of their tour in India, pointing out that the use of the SG ball in Indian conditions is something the Bangladesh team haven’t been able to acclimatise to yet.

Taskin, who had taken three wickets in the first innings and added on the scalp of India captain Rohit Sharma in the third innings, pointed out the shortcomings that the Tigers struggled with on the opening days of the first Test match.

“We played well in Pakistan overall and hence, we won,” said Taskin in a post-day press conference. “In India, the conditions are challenging. India are getting more advantage due to SG balls. Indian cricketers play with SG balls from their childhood. India know how to use the balls better than us.”

Bangladesh’s inexperience with the SG ball showed in the first innings, where they were able to extract value when the ball was new by making it swing but not as the innings wore on. Hasan Mahmud took 4 wickets before the 30 over mark, but the visiting attack became slightly toothless as the ball got older, allowing Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin to heap on the runs at a strong rate.

Bangladesh use the Kookaburra ball in their home Tests, while India is the only nation which opts for the SG ball, which has a far more prominent seam.

India succeeded in creating a gulf between themselves and opponents Bangladesh on day two of the ongoing Chennai Test match, entering day three with a 308-run lead. India made the most of the familiar conditions by bowling out Bangladesh for a paltry 149 runs, leaving them trailing by 227 runs after the first innings.

‘We could have batted well…’

Taskin Ahmed also pointed out how the Bangladesh batting struggled against the new ball themselves, without being able to enter the competition. “We could have batted well, although we struggled early. Batters accepted their mistakes. Had we played well with the new ball, we would not have lost so many wickets. For the middle order, playing with the new ball was tough,” reflected Taskin.

Taskin returned in the third innings and began the proceedings for Bangladesh by finding the edge of Rohit Sharma. Nahid Rana and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also earned wickets to leaving India at 81-3 at stumps.

Before the series had begun, wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das had also warned on the importance of adapting to the new ball after Bangladesh’s successful Pakistan series. “The ball will be a different one in India. It is a little harder to play against the SG ball,” Das told ESPN Cricinfo.

Bangladesh will want to learn as much as they can from their experience with the SG ball in this Test, with India’s lead ballooning and taking the match further and further away from Bangladesh. The visitors will want to provide a stiffer contest over the rest of the match.

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