We congratulate you, Tigers

THE Tigers have done it and won the on-going 3 Tests series 2-0 in Khulna on Friday. They did it after long 9 years as hosts on their own ground. But it has history too, not so glorified. However, a win is a win.
From July 2009 to October 2014, Bangladesh have drawn five Tests and won against Zimbabwe in 2013, which helped them level that series 1-1. They also held 0-0 against New Zealand last October, which looked like an improvement until they were thumped by Sri Lanka in Dhaka in January 2014. They bounced back with another draw in Chittagong, but were so abysmal against West Indies a couple of months ago that they barely looked like they could win a tape-tennis game in their backyard.
It was a win which should make their fans happy as many have been complaining about their supposed lack of mental prowess in playing Test matches – although it is equally true that they have played the second least number of Tests between their last series win in 2009 against the West Indies. Part of the reason for the stagnation in Bangladesh’s Test performance might be the preference given to ODIs. A prime example was when the BCB agreed to forgo a Test series against New Zealand in October 2010. Seniors in the Board, at the time, were conscious of preparing the team for the World Cup. Bangladesh didn’t do well in the tournament, went 14 months without playing a Test and resumed with a loss to Zimbabwe, who were making their own comeback into the Test arena after six years.
Individual appearances dominated the scene, with a solid performance from Shakib Al Hasan whose all-round prowess was a reminder of what Bangladesh missed in West Indies in August, as he became the third player in Test history to hit a century and claim 10 wickets in a match as Bangladesh rolled Zimbabwe over on the final day to take the series 2-0 in Khulna. Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Taijul Islam have also been in the runs or wickets, but more importantly all of them clicked when the team needed them to be calm and stay patient.
While the second ever series win is a welcome relief to their fans more work is obviously needed to ensure that we can eventually win against the Big Players – India, Pakistan, England, on a regular and consistent basis. For this to happen we need to achieve far more than the mere clicking together of the top players in an individual match. We need more training, more exposure to the top Test playing nations so that we get the mental stamina, and a greater focus on our ability to focus as a team. Only then can we win on a continuous basis, hoping that they will make it 3-0 taking the Chittagong Test also. And for this series win, we congratulate the boys as well as the people behind the win.