Shadman Islam Defends Bangladesh Batters After First-Day Setbacks Against Sri Lanka

Shadman Islam, the opening batsman for Bangladesh, has voiced his support for the team's batting order following a subpar showing on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka.

Shadman top-scored for Bangladesh with 46 on a rain-hit opening day © AFP

Despite several batsmen managing to get starts, none were able to convert them into substantial scores. This was largely due to questionable shot selection, as Bangladesh concluded a rain-affected first day in a precarious position.

Shadman himself led the way with 46 runs. Other batsmen, including Mominul Haque (21), Mushfiqur Rahim (35), Litton Kumar Das (34), and Mehidy Hasan (31), also showed promise. However, after weathering the initial challenges, they faltered and lost their wickets.

"You can't score runs without taking risks," Shadman explained to reporters after the day's play. "We played aggressively in Galle as well, and those shots resulted in boundaries. Unfortunately, today might not have been our day."

When asked about the team's scoring tempo, Shadman replied, "It wasn't necessarily about trying to score quickly. Some shots might have been poorly chosen, but that's cricket."

He further commented on the pitch conditions, stating, "I felt the wicket was a bit slow. There wasn't much movement early on, but we gave away our wickets. Hopefully, we'll avoid that in the second innings."

Shadman also suggested that the interruptions due to rain had a negative impact on their performance, forcing batsmen to start over after losing their rhythm.

"Batsmen need to readjust after breaks. Perhaps that was a factor," he noted. "No one intentionally wants to get out. Maybe it was just a bad day for us."

The opener defended the captain's decision to bat first, asserting that a total of around 270 to 280 runs would be competitive on the slow surface at the SSC.

"I didn't see anything to suggest the decision to bat first was incorrect," he said. "The wicket played a bit slow. I hope 270-280 will be a good score. If we can bowl effectively, we can bounce back, Insha'Allah."

He added, "If we bowl in the right areas, we can make a comeback, as the wicket offers some assistance."

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's bowling coach, Thilina Kandamby, expressed surprise at the behavior of the SSC pitch.

He remarked that the surface behaved unlike anything he had witnessed in his 15-year playing career.

"The SSC wicket is quite unusual. Typically, you get consistent bounce here, but today it was a bit uneven. The pace and bounce weren't consistent, and the ball came off slower than anticipated," Kandamby said.

"The fast bowlers displayed great character. They took crucial wickets and kept us in contention," he added.

"They (fast bowlers) prioritized fitness and bowling workloads, and the coaches have closely monitored their progress. That effort is now paying off," he said, expressing confidence that players out of form would soon recover.

"Prabath is slightly out of form, but we have faith in his experience. I'm confident he'll bounce back," he concluded.