The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh middle order batsman Mehrab Hossain Jr. doesn't think there was a Murali scare among them before going to the crease on Saturday on the 2nd day of the 1st test against Sri Lanka.

"To me, it's not like that. Most of our batsmen were able to read Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) though he got wickets. Murali wasn't much of a threat in the day's wicket. Rather, we committed some mistakes," he said at a post-match press conference at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) here Saturday.

About the current state of the match, Mehrab Jr said that only two days have gone and three more days are still to come. "The match is still open. If we could bowl well in the 2nd innings, wrapping them (Sri Lanka) up for a low total, there will be a good chance for us," he added.

The left-arm spinner also told a questioner that their batting plan in the 2nd innings will depend on the target they will have to chase.

Asked why they were not able to play big innings, the 21-year-old lad said: "It's also my question why we are not able to do that. Perhaps, we get a good start, but after that we get out playing some silly shots. After that couple of wickets also started to fall and we fell under pressure. They (Sri Lanka) were also under pressure when Shakib and I were batting. But, we (Bangladesh) then fell under pressure following our departure."

Asked about his expectations from Bangladesh bowlers in the 2nd innings, he said that they bowled well on the first day, especially Shakib. "Shakib is now in good form and we are very much dependent on him. Hope, he (Shakib) will come out good also in the 2nd innings. Our pacers also did well on the first day and for that we were able to pick up all the 10 wickets," he added.

Mehrab, who hails from Dhaka, believes that the national cricketers should have some big scores in domestic cricket. "There must be a fair amount of difference between the domestic players and the national players. This, I think, is not prevailing at the moment. The difference of averages between these two forms should be big."

He, however, thinks that the inability of Bangladeshi players to play big innings like double centuries and triple centuries is not a problem. "I don't think so. Although there were not much of double centuries, but there were a couple of centuries."