Rana thriving under Taskin’s guidance

Experienced pacer Taskin Ahmed once again set the tone for another dominant day for Bangladesh in Test cricket as he claimed two wickets in the morning session on the second day of the Sylhet Test against Pakistan.

Taskin quickly removed Pakistan’s two in-form openers, Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal, exposing a middle-order that has struggled for runs in recent times. At the other end, Shoriful Islam, returning to the Test side after two years, kept things tight and created chances almost every over.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz then built on that platform with two wickets before Nahid Rana and Taijul Islam cleaned up the tail as Pakistan were bowled out for 232, handing Bangladesh a useful 44-run lead. Bangladesh ended the day with an overall lead of 156 runs.

Rana finished with 3-60 while Taijul picked up 3-67.

At the end of the day’s play, Rana admitted that Taskin and Shoriful’s opening spell laid the foundation for Bangladesh’s dominance under cloudy Sylhet skies.

“Yes, definitely. They bowled with a lot of discipline at the start and bowled in partnership. So when there is partnership bowling from both ends, the batters feel pressure and either go for wrong shots or, when runs are not coming on the board, they start thinking about many things. So our bowlers, Shoriful bhai and Taskin bhai, tried to take advantage of that. Alhamdulillah, they were successful,” he said.

Rana also said that Taskin’s guidance has helped him develop as a bowler.

“My relationship with him is very good. I have watched him play since I was young and since seeing him up close, I see him as an elder brother. He also always treats me with affection like a younger brother. And the mistakes I make, he always tells me, ‘Rana, it will be good for you if you do these things.’ Because he has already passed through my age and phase. So he always treats me with affection like a younger brother and I always see him as an elder brother. Our relationship is like that,” he noted.

Rana also addressed the growing attention surrounding him after his recent performances across formats.

“First of all, I am not looking at what people around me are saying. Because I do not really keep expectations on myself. Expectations never bring good things. I just try to execute my skills on the field and try to understand what my team wants from me and what plans my captain is giving me. My focus is always on whether I am able to execute those things or not.

“My focus is not on how much expectation people outside are placing on me. Because when you keep expectations on yourself, that becomes extra pressure. I am not putting that pressure on myself. I am just trying, as much as possible, to help my team according to my skills,” he stated.

Speaking about fitness, the 23-year-old said discipline off the field is equally important.

“And about fitness, as a sportsman this is part of my routine. Since I have chosen cricket, there are things I need to do outside the game as well. I never ignore those things or cheat myself. I always try to keep my effort and fitness at a very high level. That is what I am trying to do,” he added.

Rana also opened up about his aggressive mindset and issued a strong warning to anyone targeting him with short-pitched bowling.

“I do not know whether they will think twice or not, but I can say this much — if someone bowls bouncers at me, I will not spare them,” Rana said.

He also explained Bangladesh’s approach for the third day.

“Right now the plan is that since two days of the Test are over and there are still three days left, we will bat as long as we can tomorrow (Monday). There is no fixed target like 200, 250 or 300. Because there is still a lot of time left. After tomorrow, there will still be two more days. So we will try to bat the full day tomorrow,” he concluded.