‘No more paddy fields’: Taskin’s pride at win on sporting wickets

Over the years, the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur earned the unfortunate tag of a paddy field. Bangladesh, too, became a side often reliant on bullying opponents on low and slow tracks, only to falter when conditions turned tricky. That, however, has begun to change in recent series, as a pattern of solid, sporting wickets takes hold at home.

Taskin Ahmed and company are now savouring the pride of dismantling Australia on tracks with pace and bounce, sealing a five-wicket win in the second and penultimate One-Day International to clinch the series 2-0.

If Tigers had been a one-trick pony, the pace attack has ignited aspirations to go beyond the usual norms.

“It’s a wonderful feeling … we aren't playing on bad wickets anymore. It's not like we are playing in a paddy field. We are playing on good wickets and winning against a good team. So, it's a great achievement,” Taskin said at the press conference, reacting to the win.

Bangladesh pacers are now thriving not only with the new ball but also the old ball. Taskin ripped through Adam Zampa’s defences with a reversing in-dipper, to stop Australia short of where they wanted to be. The skill levels are seeing improvement. He and unlikely new-ball partner Mustafizur Rahman caused early ruptures when Australia lost three wickets without a run on the board.

“Fizz is always a chill guy. Experience matters a lot, and you can see that in his bowling. After playing for so many years, when the team needs him with the new ball, he tries his best,” Taskin said on the exploits of Mustafizur, who bagged three for 27 in a match-winning effort.

“He could probably do well whenever he wants, but if he bowls with the new ball more, he might get called for Tests!” Taskin joked on a lighter note, considering Mustafizur’s aversion to the red-ball format.

On getting reverse swing, he said that control was key, something he developed better with the Pakistan Tests.

“If it does reverse, controlling it is very important. That’s something that helped me in the last Test series too -- bowling long spells with the old ball, having self-belief, and executing reverse swing with control. Thanks to my teammates, they maintained the ball beautifully,” he said.

The pace attack has been dominating for the last three home series, starting with the Pakistan ODIs. Taskin, seemingly the leader of the pack, quite enjoys Nahid Rana terrorising teams with pace. Far from thinking of the spotlight, he thrives on the pace power.

“It’s a great feeling because everyone in our pace bowling unit is making a name for themselves, and everyone is contributing, which shows our overall improvement. Previously, when we played abroad or against big teams, we didn't have an express fast bowler who could strike fear into the opposition. Now we have an express bowler [Rana] with a great run-up. Even the Australian middle-order batsmen were looking intimidated by his pace.”

Taskin further said they feel they are in the top three among bowling groups. This series too is turning out to be a statement from the Tigers’ pace unit. Taskin said skill is what they want to improve.

“We are improving by playing on good wickets and in good conditions because our ultimate goal is to perform well in major tournaments, which still hasn't fully materialised for us. That's why our board and the players all want us to develop our skills and adapt by playing in good conditions,” he said, his smile showing the newfound confidence instilled by a disciplined but aggressive pace unit, gathering required skills.