Attack could be the best defence for Bangladesh in Tests

After adding 273 with Imrul Kayes for the first wicket at a tick under 4.5 an over in an attempt to overcome a 296-run deficit against Pakistan, Tamim Iqbal attended the press conference after the end of fourth day's play of the 2015 Khulna Test and borrowed a quote from Sun Tzu to sum up Bangladesh's approach. 

"Attack is the best defence".

It's something England's Bazballers believe firmly and are staying true to that philosophy in a big series like the Ashes. England have found overwhelming success with this new attacking approach and many have been suggesting Test cricket will see a seismic shift with teams scrapping the traditional approach.

Bangladesh, by no means, are in the same league as the big Test nations and that they finished at the bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) table with just one win shows their misery in this format.

But in a couple of low-key Tests against non-WTC sides, Bangladesh showed they have players in the mix who can bat with positive intent in Tests too. The bowling line-ups might not be the best ones in the world but Bangladesh batters have found success, albeit sporadically, by playing aggressively in the past too.

Back to the Khulna Test. Tamim's 206 in the third innings came at a strike-rate of 74. He is Bangladesh's fastest and slowest century-maker in Tests. To show his range, that Test in Khulna is enough. He played 74 balls for his 25 in the first innings but hit the bowlers to all parts of the grounds and famously hit Wahab Riaz for a six down the ground to complete his double hundred. 

Tamim has received a lot of criticism for his low strike-rate in ODIs but in Tests, it is not a problem. In fact, since 2017, Tamim is the fastest-scoring opener in Tests (minimum 1000 runs). His 90 and 92 against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in 2021 and 133 against the same opposition at home last year showed the effectiveness of the approach. 

Najmul Hossain Shanto has become a household name recently in Bangladesh as he is having a stellar year. After proving his worth in white-ball cricket, the southpaw has turned a corner in Tests as well with twin tons against Afghanistan. Notably, out of his four Test hundreds, three came at strike-rates of over 80. Shanto is a natural strokemaker. He hit 40 boundaries (38 fours and two sixes) against Afghanistan. Like Tamim, Shanto understands that looking for runs can work in Test cricket too.

"Why leave a 'hit me' ball when you can actually hit it?" said stand-in captain Litton Das after the match. "If a batter thinks he can hit it, he should hit it. If there are runs on the board, the opponents will be under pressure. Test cricket is called a game of five days but nowadays most of the matches are not lasting five days. For the last few years, teams have been looking for quick runs and opting for declaration if they have good bowling attacks."

Litton did not say all these just for the sake of it. He has been an aggressive batter in Tests. His 114-ball-102 in Christchurch last year was an innings and a half against the New Zealand quicks in tough conditions. If we keep the Bazballers aside, only Rishabh Pant and Travis Head have scored quicker than Litton (strike-rate of 73.8) since July last year. And Bangladesh are the second-fastest scoring team during that period.

Shakib Al Hasan, who missed out against Afghanistan because of an injury, has been one of the most attacking Test batters since his Test debut according to ball-tracking data. Mominul Haque is a Test specialist but loves to take the bowlers on and most of his big innings have come at a rapid rate. In fact, eight of his 12 Test hundreds have come at 60-plus strike-rates.

The recent improvement of fast bowlers indicates that Bangladesh can actually start playing the way they did against Afghanistan on a regular basis. Against Afghanistan, 14 of the 20 wickets went to the pacers, the highest for Bangladesh in Tests. Taking all 20 wickets in a Test match is an important facet of England's attacking approach as well.

Bangladesh have been a poor Test side and they need something, probably a fresh approach, to get things started in this format. Litton talked about the waning seniors and he knows very well they won't stick around for long. If he becomes the next Test captain and Chandika Hathurusingha remains head coach, we might see a shift. It has not been yet named "Banglaball" or "Hathuball" or something funky but there is a strong possibility of Bangladesh playing regularly like the way they did against Afghanistan and Ireland.