After their first practice in Dhaka, Ish Sodhi remarked, “Yeah, obviously tough to come out on the losing side in that first game in Sylhet but I think as the test sort of progressed, we sort of found a bit more rhythm.”
When the series-deciding second Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh begins on December 6 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, they know exactly what to anticipate. After defeating the tourists by 150 runs at Sylhet, Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the ICC Test Championship series. In Dhaka, the spin bowlers tend to get more wickets than in Sylhet. They appear to know what to expect because they have chosen to rest the majority of their pacers in the BCB Academy nets and to bowl more spin at their hitters, including a few part-timers.
Ish Sodhi claims that after losing the first test, they have the blueprint to succeed in this region of the world.
“I think the way that Bangladesh played, they certainly outplayed us, but upon reflection, I think they gave us a blueprint on what’s successful in these conditions, and hopefully we can apply that to this next Test match.”
The leg spinner believes that having experienced players in the group will help New Zealand bounce back from that first Test defeat. “You know, off the back of a loss, but with the experienced heads here, you know, we’ve been there, we’ve done that, we know how to sort of apply ourselves into the next games, and hopefully that’s something that we can commit to really well and, yeah, apply to this next game,” he said.
Ish Sodhi anticipates a larger attendance for this match, particularly since the home team is about to win a historic series. “Yeah, I guess there are more people in Dhaka, and traveling by bus makes it obvious that the city is much more crowded. As a result, we should expect a few more people to visit this location, and it can get rather loud. They fervently support their team,” Sodhi remarked.
It’s a really popular sport in this nation. There’s a lot of enthusiasm behind it, so hopefully this Test match gives us a taste of that. Big audiences are always great, especially in Test cricket, because you get used to them in white ball cricket, but in red ball cricket, it’s even more thrilling.”
After spending a lot of time apart from the family, Sodhi is hoping to make a good homecoming. By the end of September, New Zealand had already played in Bangladesh. They then traveled to India for the World Cup, after which they played again in Bangladesh for the current series. It will be good to end strong, he acknowledged. “As you mentioned, it’s been a very long time coming, and the team has had a great run these past six months or so, but there are a lot of emotions involved.
The roller coasters of qualifying for a World Cup, making it to the semifinals, and losing that—you know, the amount of time people spend away from their loved ones, their homes, and other situations—will be wonderful to end on a positive note. The boys seem really driven to me. As we’ve traveled by bus thus far, the talks have already begun about how we plan to deal with these circumstances and a team that is exceptionally skilled in their own domestic setting.
They showed this in the most recent Test match, so the boys are really driven. Let’s go smell the beer and possibly grab some goodies here before we head out. Soon, the air will be as wonderful as it is in New Zealand.”
India
