BAN v ZIM 2020: Mushfiqur admits he had his eyes set on a triple hundred in Dhaka 

There were more than six sessions left in the Mirpur Test when Bangladesh declared with Mushfiqur on 203 not out.

Mushfiqur Rahim | GettyWith still another six sessions left in the Mirpur Test at the time, veteran batsman Mushfiqur Rahim felt he could've gone on to record a triple century against Zimbabwe and become the first Bangladeshi to do so in Test match cricket. 

Instead, a bad weather forecast and the intent to take the game forward after overhauling the visitors' first-innings total by a massive margin, made the home team's management declare with Mushfiqur batting on 203 not out.

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Rahim believes the way he was going, he wouldn't have needed more than a session on Day 4 to actually reach a triple ton.  

"I wasn't aware that we would be declaring today," ESPNcricinfo quoted Rahim as saying as he also revealed he wasn't aware of the overall team plan. "I felt that with two days in hand and by batting more on this wicket, we could have helped deteriorate it further. There wasn't any discussion about declaration during the tea break, and we only heard thirty minutes before that we want to give Zimbabwe six to eight overs to bat later in the session."

"If we were still batting, it would have been easier for me [to get a triple], had Liton got to his hundred. Perhaps in the first session tomorrow, I could have reached [the triple-century]," he added. "I didn't ask about the decision, but it could be [due to the weather]. But our bowling attack is capable to bowl them out."

The 32-year-old right-hander also rated this as the "easiest" of his three Test double hundreds considering the opposition attack and the conditions, having faced far tougher challenges in his career home and abroad. 

"This double-hundred was on the easiest wicket. They didn't have much threat in their bowling attack," Mushfiqur said. "There was no reverse swing or any outrageous spin by a mystery bowler. I think this was an easier innings compared to the other two."

"It is difficult to play on a rank turner. I think Bangladesh is the only team where the batsmen face tough conditions in overseas matches, as well as at home when they have to play on rank turners. It gets hard to make big scores," he added. 

"This time we got a good wicket, so we wanted to make the most of it. In future it may be a different wicket depending on the opposition, but as a batsman I prefer this type of wicket."

(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 25 Feb, 2020

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