Bangladesh’s off-spin all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz said he was taken by surprise over India’s attacking approach with the bat on day four of the rain-affected second Test at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Monday. Under sunny skies, India’s breathtaking approach with the bat saw them set records for the fastest team 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 in men’s Tests. On the back of half-centuries scored by Yashasvi Jaiswal and K.L. Rahul, India declared its first innings on 285/9 in just 34.4 overs after bowling out Bangladesh for 233.

With Bangladesh ending a frenetic fourth day at 26/2 in their second innings and trailing India by another 26 runs, the match is undoubtedly headed towards an exciting finish on Tuesday.

“They really advanced with a plan. Yes, I was somewhat surprised. After 2-3 overs, we realized they were following their strategy. We tried to play according to our strengths and aimed to break their innings.”

“Test cricket always presents various scenarios. Today’s game was quite similar to a T20 match. From their planning, it was clear they came to win. In the end, everyone played to score runs.”

“We tried to figure out how to stop the runs. We must give them credit; they are the number one team and are performing well, with many world-class players and plenty of experience,” said Mehidy in the post-match press conference.

He also felt Bangladesh are still not out of the match yet and that having an optimistic mindset will be the key. “In Test cricket, anything is possible. We haven’t completely lost yet. We’ve won many matches under similar circumstances before and have done well. There’s still an opportunity for us.”

“The wicket is good. It will be challenging, but I believe if we can form a solid partnership and bat responsibly for a session, it will be a positive outcome for us. We still have tomorrow. Let’s not think negatively just yet.”

Mehidy conceded Bangladesh’s batter could have given more support to batter Mominul Haque, who remained unbeaten on 107 in Bangladesh’s first innings, even as others fell without being able to hang around for a long time.

“The first innings is very important for Tests and Mominul bhai really batted well we could not give him support and if we could give him support in that case the game could have been different and it would have been better for us. He played well, and it’s been a while since he had a good innings. His commitment and temperament were excellent, which is why he could score runs.”

Off-spin all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz has earned a recall to the Bangladesh men’s T20I for the upcoming series against India, starting on October 6 in Gwalior. Apart from him, left-handed opening batter Parvez Hossain Emon and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan have also been called up to the squad, while Soumya Sarkar has been left out. Mehidy has been a consistent performer in Tests and ODIs for Bangladesh in over a year, which has propelled his return to T20Is 14 months since his last appearance in the shortest format.

This will be Bangladesh’s first series without the services of their star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who announced retirement from the format ahead of the second Test against India at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.

The three T20Is between Bangladesh and India will be played at Gwalior, New Delhi, and Hyderabad on October 6, 9, and 12 respectively. The T20I series opener will be the first time Gwalior’s Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium hosts an international game.

It will also mark the return of Gwalior as an international cricket hosting venue since the India-South Africa game in 2010, where the legendary Sachin Tendulkar became the first male cricketer to hit a double century in ODIs.

The last time Bangladesh toured India in the shortest format, it was in 2019, where they lost the three-match T20I series 2-1. The previous meeting between the two teams in this format happened in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, when Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten fifty along with Kuldeep Yadav’s 3-19 got India a 50-run win over Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah, Litton Kumer Das, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Rakibul Hasan.