The day 2 of the second Test between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka has been concluded as the visitors find themselves in a commanding position heading towards day 3. With a lead of over 300 runs, it is going to be very difficult for the Tigers to chase down whatever total the Lankans put up for them.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, however, feels that ‘anything can happen in a match’ and has refused to give up, while also believing that the pitch has a lot to offer for the batsmen.

‘Our target is to take the remaining two wickets quickly tomorrow. We have the confidence that we chase down the total they set for us.’

‘The wicket doesn’t have low bounce, but it has turn. It is not that hard for the batsmen, however [to score runs here].

He, however, accepted the fact that the batsmen have to stay more concentrated while batting on this surface, while also calling for them to learn from the mistakes of the first innings.

‘Batsmen have to stay more focused on this wicket when compared to the others. A bit of a drop in concentration could lead to downfall. If our batsmen can keep their focus here and bat, we can hope for something good.’

‘We have to take lessons from our mistakes in the first innings as the second innings is very important for us. We want to forget about our failures of the first innings and focus on chasing the target they set for us.

When asked whether team could chase down the total set by the Lankans, he said: ‘Of course! All our batsmen are confident. I would classify the first innings as an accident.’

While Bangladesh might have taken 8 wickets today, they were quite inconsistent in patches, which allowed the Lankans to score 200. That alone took their lead to over 300 runs, something which hasn’t gone unnoticed to the youngster.

‘We couldn’t bowl consistently. Sometimes I bowled poorly, sometimes Taijul [Islam] bhai didn’t bowl well. It would have been nice if we could have bowled well collectively. However, I don’t believe that we bowled badly.

Bangladesh don’t really have a great record while chasing in the fourth innings. However, the former U19 captain believes that the side can win at home, especially because they won against the Lankan while chasing in Sri Lanka.