“There is nothing much for bowlers in the pitch. But we need to patient in these kinds of pitches, as taking wickets in a sniff is not easy. We hope we can use morning conditions and make some early inroads tomorrow,” Kirsten said here on Tuesday.
“Zaheer is a master of reverse swing and he was getting a bit of that in the evening, hopefully he can get some early wickets tomorrow,” he added.
The former South African opener said it was an entertaining experience to watch Tamim Iqbal batting. The left-handed opener made 151, the second highest individual score in Tests for Bangladesh, to give his team a glimmer of hope.
“It was entertaining to watch him bat as he is an aggressive batsman. But we are happy to get his wicket towards the end of the day’s play,” Kirsten said.
The day’s protagonist, Iqbal, said it was a special experience for him to get runs against India.
“It was special for me to get runs against India, a different experience. India are the world’s number one side, so it’s special to get runs against them,” Iqbal said.
Agressive approach
On his aggressive approach, Iqbal said, “This is the way to play Test cricket. Coach Jamie Siddons told me to enjoy the game and bat in my natural way. I have always believed that I can score runs against any side in the world. I am sure now more hundreds will come for me.”
On the support and encouragement from the dressing room, he said, “When Virender Sehwag bowled a lot of balls outside off-stump, they were shouting from dressing room, ‘don’t touch it’.”
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks