After bailing Bangladesh out of trouble on the opening day of the ongoing second Test against Australia at Chittagong, a confident Sabbir Rahman has said he can become a batsman like none other than Virat Kohli.
Bangladesh’s decision to bat first turned out to be a disastrous one with Australia spinner Nathan Lyon running riot right from the word go.
Lyon took four wickets in no time, as the hosts found themselves reeling at 117 for five. However, Rahman, who had scored an impressive 64 not out in the fourth innings of his debut match against England last year, along with his skipper Mushfiqur Rahim steadied the ship with a 105-run partnership before being dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 66. Sabbir’s aggressive stroke-play took the Australians by surprise as the right-handed batsman reached his 50 off just 62 balls.
Impressed with Sabbir’s brave knock, Lyon compared him with Kohli, and the Bangladesh batsman too backed himself to become like the India captain.
“I can become a batsman like Virat Kohli, everything is possible,” Sabbir said at the post-day press conference. “But contributing to the team is more important than being compared to someone else.”
It looks like Sabbir is following Kohli’s footsteps not only with his batting but also with his on field conduct, as he made it clear that he would give it back to the Aussies if he is sledged.
“I sledge at them because they do it too,” Sabbir said of Australia. “I like to sledge when I am batting too, I enjoy it.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh finished the day on 253 for six with Mushfiqur Rahim batting on 62 while his partner Nassir Hossain was on 19. Nathan Lyon was the star of the show on an opening day, taking five for 77 including the important wicket of the dangerous Sabbir. The hosts are leading the two-match series 1-0 after winning the series-opener at Dhaka by 20 runs.