Ish Sodhi. (Photo Source: ASIF HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Following a crushing 150-run defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in the first Test of the series, New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi is confident of his team’a ability to make a strong comeback. He pointed out that they have experienced cricketers who can make a difference in Dhaka in the second and last Test of the series.
The 31-year-old pointed out that the Black Caps have been in these kinds of situations in the past and they know how to overcome such odds. Sodhi explained that the team was slowly coming into the rhythm in the last match but also acknowledged that Bangladesh outplayed them and dominated with the ball.
Sodhi, meanwhile, reminded that it is difficult for a team to make a comeback after a tough loss but he backed the experienced cricketers and stated that they will apply and commit harder in the next Test to make a comeback in the series.
“The great success this team’s had over the past decade has been being able to park these sort of things pretty quickly, whether it’s success or loss. That’s going to be tested though. It is never anything to take for granted. It is always hard to come back off the back of a loss. But with the experienced heads here, we’ve been there, we’ve done that. We know how to apply ourselves into the next games. Hopefully, that’s something that we can commit to really well and apply to this next game,” Sodhi was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Bangladesh gave us a blueprint on what’s successful in these conditions: Ish Sodhi
Despite the loss, there were plenty of positives for New Zealand according to Sodhi. He believes that the team now has the blueprint for what to do on the spin-friendly tracks of Bangladesh. Notably, the Kiwi batters struggled to get going in both innings. Sodhi explained that they understand the conditions better and will pose a threat to Bangladesh in the next match.
“It is obviously tough to come out on the losing side in that first game in Sylhet, but I think as the Test progressed, we found a bit more rhythm. Obviously, I haven’t played Test cricket in a while, so it’s always going to be tough in these conditions. 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,” he said.