Tamim blames batsmen for Hamilton batting collapse
Tamim Iqbal blamed his teammates for batting collapse in the ongoing Hamilton Test against New Zealand where Bangladesh tumbled for 234.
Tamim was the only batsman to put up resistance against New Zealand’s quality pace attack, recording his ninth Test century while the others batsmen of team accumulated only 177 runs, reports the UNB.
‘We had a dream start. It’s not easy for us to manage an ideal start in Tests regarding the condition of New Zealand. But we failed to capitalise this (opening stand). It’s a big disappointment,’ he told a press conference after the end of the day’s play.
He said Tigers lost most of their wickets playing wrong shots. ‘We failed to select the right balls to play. We just helped them (New Zealand) make their plan successful,’ he said.
Bangladesh lost the first wicket at 57. They were 122/2 at lunch. Tamim completed his ninth Test ton after Colin de Grandhomme gave away an opportunity of scalping him when he was on 65.
Niel Wagner recorded five-wicket haul in the first innings. He got most of his wickets by short deliveries, laying bare Bangladesh’s weakness.
Tamim said his plan was to keep ducking while facing Niel, who ‘always loves to ball targeting the body’. ‘Now, it is up to you how you face him,’ he told reporters.
The southpaw said he went to the middle with a clear plan to hit the ball ‘if I get pure chances’.
‘I think the wicket was good enough for the batsman. We should have scored more runs. At the end of the day, we have ourselves to blame,’ he said.
At the end of the day one’s play, New Zealand scored 86 for none in 28 overs. They are trailing by 148 runs.