Taskin Ahmed admits tough ask ahead

Hyderabad: A wicket in the first over of the match and then the leather hunt. Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed may not have been prepared for this but India’s 350-plus score on the first day is definitely demoralising.

“It was a new experience for me as I am playing my third Test. But India normally score big against every team,” he said after the day’s play.

The wicket too didn’t help though. “The initial hour the ball was moving a bit but after that it was a dry and flat wicket. The bouncers at the start carried well, but after lunch, the half-short balls went for boundaries as the pitch got slower,” he said, adding, “However, the Indians also batted well. You can't get away with bowling loose deliveries to them.”

The 21-year-old then got down to the root. “Fast bowlers in our team are very inexperienced and we are learning every day, every session. Honestly speaking, this is a new experience for me. You have to be patient. When the ball doesn’t swing, you have to try reverse. I tried, but they being the number one team, handled it well,” he said.

Taskin also rued the missed runout chance when Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara were stranded at the same crease as bowler Mehedi Hasan could not collect a low throw from short mid-wicket. “If that runout had taken place we could have had 5-6 wickets instead of three. But we are hoping to start well tomorrow. If we can bowl them out for 450 it will be good for us,” he said.