DHAKA: Bangladesh will face Zimbabwe in their second Test of Bashundhara Cement Test Series on the spin-favourable track at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna on Monday.

Earlier, Tigers’ claims of superiority in batting and bowling almost lost relevance in Dhaka, where Zimbabwe’s seamers pushed them into a corner from which they found an escape, thanks to captain Mushfiqur Rahim’s patient knock and Taijul’s cameo.

It may have been hard to come by, but a win is a win and it has brought Bangladesh a step closer to wrapping up the series.

Zimbabwe perhaps missed their best chance because the conditions in Dhaka favoured their seamers as much as Bangladesh’s spinners. Khulna is not likely to come to their aid.

Despite the top-order collapses, Bangladesh are still the better batting team and are miles ahead of Zimbabwe in the spin department.

However, Khulna will present challenges for Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

For Zimbabwe, the foremost would be their ability to handle spin. They were found utterly short of skill against Bangladesh’s trio of spinners and appeared walking wickets at times.

In Dhaka, it was the bounce. In Khulna, it could be turn. Although Zimbabwe resorted to novel methods of training after the first Test, like putting a piece of net on the pitch to add unpredictability, playing spin is not a skill developed in a few days.

So they will remain susceptible to collapses and will depend on their experienced players like Brendan Taylor, most of who have played a lot of cricket in Bangladesh, to apply themselves.

Zimbabwe’s second area of concern is their spin bowling. They have variety in the squad but are short of experience. In Dhaka, Zimbabwe’s seamers made up for the disappointing performance of the spinners but they will have to bowl a lot more overs as the series proceeds.

Bangladesh have won the first Test match of Bashundhara Cement Test Series by three wickets at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur in Dhaka.

BDST: 1728 HRS, NOV 02, 2014