The Pakistan cricket team have found themselves in deep trouble, needing to bowl out Bangladesh with just 143 runs left to defend at the close of play on day four of the second Test match. In the press conference, Jason Gillespie, the new head coach of Pakistan, spoke about how if the players walk out onto the field expecting to lose tomorrow, then they are already lost.
The proceedings on day four at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium firmly belonged to visitors Bangladesh, who bundled out Pakistan for just 172 runs in their second innings. Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana, the two pacers from the Bangladesh cricket team, shared nine wickets amongst themselves, to inflict major damage on the Pakistan batting lineup.
With that, Bangladesh were given a 185-run target, to win the second Test match, and register a historic 2-0 series win over Pakistan. In the run chase, Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan complemented each other wonderfully in the first seven overs, reaching the score of 42/0 before bad light and the subsequent rains meant that the play was called off for the day early.
The odds are probably in favour of Bangladesh: Jason Gillespie
During his interaction with the reporters in the press conference, Jason Gillespie, the new head coach of Pakistan, addressed the tough situation his team find themselves in. He said, per Cricbuzz, “Admittedly, the odds are probably in favour of Bangladesh. 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.”
“I hope we get on tomorrow so we can try and win a Test match. We’ve got to have that mindset. Because if 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,” he added.
Moreover, with the weather expected to interrupt play on day five, Pakistan might escape with a draw, but still, in that particular case, Bangladesh will be taking the two-match Test series 1-0.