The day might have ended with covers spreadeagled across the Rawalpindi Stadium as monsoon rains lashed the ground, but Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie has been through a baptism of fire in his new role. With one day to go in a Test Pakistan must win to ward off a first ever series loss against Bangladesh, Gillespie acknowledged the visitors were favourites, calling for more discipline from his bowlers, and application from the batters.
“Admittedly, the odds are probably in favour of Bangladesh,” he said at the press conference once play had been suspended. “We don’t shy away from that, but we’ve already lost if we walk out there expecting to lose. We took 6 for 26 in the first innings so we know that we can have an impact with the ball if we bowl really well.”
That situation arose a little more than 24 hours earlier, but in the way the Test has gone, might easily have happened a lifetime ago. Since then, Bangladesh dug in with a 165-run seventh-wicket stand to eventually finish at near-parity; the 262 they posted was the highest score in Test history for a side that lost their first six wickets under 50. Gillespie said Pakistan’s bowlers needed to understand how to manage those situations more effectively than was on evidence on Sunday.
On the fourth morning, Bangladesh replicated the success Pakistan had enjoyed the previous day, skittling the hosts out for 172, with all ten wickets falling to the quicks. Under dark clouds, with conditions as helpful to the quicks as Rawalpindi will ever provide, Zakir Hasan flayed Pakistan’s new-ball bowlers, helping the team to 42 without loss in seven overs before bad light suspended play.
“We’ve spoken to our bowlers about being ruthless, being disciplined and bowling with intent,” Gillespie said. “And we just went away from our game plan and I’ve challenged the bowlers pretty strongly on that. We need to make sure that we’re on each and every time, because Test cricket can get away from you. The opposition is very good and I’m not going to shy away from saying Bangladesh played well. No question. But I know that our bowlers can do better in that situation than what they showed and we just need to make sure that execution is absolutely bang on each and every time.
“On reflection, and I spoke to the bowlers about it this morning, we’ve got to identify those periods where maybe the ball’s got a little bit older and maybe the surface settles down. We’ve just got to really hang in. And not try to search for wickets, because you can fall into that trap. And I think that’s probably what we did a little bit.”
The tale of this series, though, has been Pakistan’s off-field decision making, where they can’t seem to do right for doing wrong. In the first Test, the hosts, anticipating a bouncy, seaming surface, went all pace, dropping Abrar Ahmed, a decision whose optics aged poorly when Bangladesh’s slow bowlers took seven wickets on the final day to bundle Pakistan out cheaply and race to a 10-wicket win. This time around, having prepared a pitch so seam-friendly, all of their second innings wickets fell to Bangladesh’s pace bowlers – a first – Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were out omitted from the playing XI, a call that left Pakistan without genuine pace or old-ball threat.
This game can create all sorts of drama. So I’m hoping that we can create some theatre and put a smile on a few people’s faces here in Pakistan tomorrow.
Jason Gillespie
Naseem is Pakistan’s most effective bowler at cleaning up the tail, taking a wicket every 16 balls with the opposition seven down. It is a better strike rate than any current Pakistan bowler, or even Yasir Shah, and a quality sorely needed when Bangladesh’s ninth-wicket stand put on 69 runs and batted nearly 25 overs.
Gillespie has stuck with a “horses-for-courses” mantra, and struck a similar note this time. “We looked at conditions and surfaces, what we thought the best combination was,” he explained. “We took into account what we saw before the game, reflected on the previous game, and this is where we landed. In the first innings we had Bangladesh in a bit of strife at one point and we bowled quite well. Our lines, our lengths, were excellent.
“But on that decision, obviously, there’s a few things we’re hoping [those two] can work on. Shaheen’s obviously had a pretty eventful time in his personal life as well. Naseem’s fine. I think what we’ve got to understand is we’re trying to build a squad mentality and not just rely on a few players here and there. We want to create an environment and a squad where we can look at conditions, look at surfaces, look at what holistically what is coming up and make the best decisions.”
Gillespie said he had no issues with the surface or conditions, but also pointed to Mohammad Ali’s absence for the second half of the third day as a factor in Pakistan’s struggles. “That was a bit of a blow. But obviously his health was the most important. He was just struggling out there a little for a while. So we needed to get him off and get him assessed, and thankfully, he’s okay.”
And while the odds don’t suggest Pakistan’s bowlers will prevent Bangladesh from securing a clean sweep, Rawalpindi’s weather well might. Steady rain peppered the ground for the best part of three hours after the players walked off the pitch, with plenty more forecast overnight and on the morning of the final day. Failure to get on would still secure Bangladesh their most famous series win, and Gillespie was keen for his side to get an outside shot at preventing that.
“I hope we get on tomorrow so we can try and win a Test match,” he said. “We’ve got to have that mindset. Because if we we walk out there expecting to lose, well, I guarantee you will lose. But if we walk out there with the mindset and the belief that we can try and shake this game up, then there’s hope. Sometimes, you need those 50-50 things to go your way but we’ve got to have that attitude and mindset that we’re going to go there to win the Test match for Pakistan.
“We need to take our catches, take any opportunity that comes our way and you never know. This game can create all sorts of drama. So I’m hoping that we can create some theatre and put a smile on a few people’s faces here in Pakistan tomorrow.”
It would require Pakistan needing to do many things of the final day they haven’t in the first nine, but as Gillespie said, Test cricket can create lots of drama.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
