India may be the favourites but Bangladesh Captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha have nothing but a win on their minds for the Fatullah Test.
Published : 09 Jun 2015, 08:58 PM
The one-off Test kicks off at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium on Wednesday.
On the eve of the match, the captain and the coach said their side will go for a win.
“We will play for a win. It will be our prime target. I think our bowling unit is capable of taking 20 wickets,” said Mushfiq in a press conference on Tuesday.
“We have to bat well. It will be a very challenging match for the batsmen.”
A rejuvenated Bangladesh are on a high after putting up a great display in the Pakistan series following their successful World Cup campaign.
India have been going through a rough patch in the longest form in recent times with no win in their last seven matches.
Their last Test win came in July last year, against England at the Lord’s.
“The current Indian team is naturally strong. We have improved much as well - both individually and as a team.
“We are confident that we will be able to put up a fight in bowling, batting and fielding,” the Tigers captain added.
He thinks Indian spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin will pose the biggest threats.
“They have two great spinners. But if our batsmen do well, we will be in for something special.”
Hathurusingha said Bangladesh always played to win and this time, there would be no exception.
“We will not play for a draw. Our plan is to win matches and that will not change for any team.”
Bangladesh have lost six of seven Tests they played against India while one ended in a draw in Chittagong.
The teams played their last bilateral Test series in 2010.
Although Bangladesh had lost both the matches, there were several brilliant individual performances from which Mushfiq draws inspiration.