Ahead of the solitary Test against India in Hyderabad, Bangladesh speedster Taskin Ahmed has said that it would be a good feeling for him if he took the wicket of India captain Virat Kohli in the game, starting on Thursday.

“India have very good batsmen and the top order is very strong. It is always challenging to bowl against the top batting line up which has (Virat) Kohli in it. It will be a good feeling if I take the wicket of Kohli. After all he is the No.1 batsman in the world. Taking early wickets will be very crucial for us but getting Kohli’s wicket very early in the innings will be a dream come true for me,” Taskin said on Saturday.

In case you didn’t know..

The visitors are at present involved in a two-day warm-up game against India A in Secunderabad and will leave for Hyderabad for the game starting on Thursday.

The heart of the matter

Taskin and the rest of the team will know that among all the established batsman in the Indian side, it is Kohli’s wicket, that will matter the most for the visitors. The right-hander had a regal 2016 with the bat in hand, and in the second half of the year, dominated Test cricket, scoring double hundreds against West Indies, New Zealand and England to stamp his authority as a world-class batsman.

Kohli finished as the fourth highest run-getter of the year in Test cricket and with the Bangladesh Test, will look to get going from where he had left off in the whites in 2016.

What’s next?

With three days to go before the start of the game, The Mushfiqur Rahim-led side will need to devise a strategy, which would either get Kohli out early or stem the flow of runs considerably from his bat.

The 28-year-old will be hungry as ever to begin the year in Tests off to a positive note, both from a personal as well as a team’s perspective and stretch his unbeaten run in the longer format further.

Sportskeeda’s take

There is no doubting that Bangladesh are a talented outfit, but it will take a herculean task for them to test this Indian fit. Removing Kohli early will now doubt be key for them, but there are many other players in that Indian side, who are equally capable of putting pressure on them.

0 votes