'Our goal is to win both Test matches at home'

Bangladesh are yet to win a home Test against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka won six out of eight Tests between the two teams while two ended in draws. But Bangladesh, who won their last home Test nearly two years ago, are confident this time to get the better of Sri Lanka. Batting coach Jamie Siddons has said that the team is confident and wants to win both the Tests.

"Our goal is to win both the Test matches at home," Siddons told the media in Chattogram. "We always want to win all the home matches but it doesn't always happen. Sri Lanka are a good side and we have to be on top of our game to win. We are confident. We have played well here [in Chattogram]. We have to make sure we turn up every day and play good, hard cricket for five days."

The members of the team arrived in Chattogram ahead of the first Test on 8 May. Siddons mentioned that they have got enough time for preparation. "Most of our players came back and made runs in the [Dhaka] Premier League. We've had a great couple of days here [in Chattogram] so far. We talked a lot about our batting and worked on a few areas. We've still got a lot of talking to do. We've got three more days [before the start of the first Test] which I think will be more than enough."

The Bangladesh batting coach pointed out that the Tigers haven't been able to put good second-innings scores on the board and that hurt them in South Africa. But he further said that the main focus still remains on scoring more in the first innings and pushing the opponents on the back foot. 

"The South Africa tour was a long one and a successful one in my opinion. Yes, we haven't played well in Tests. Then again, you will have good days and bad days in cricket. A couple of bad days made us look really bad. I think we played well in the Test series too. Taijul [Islam] got a nine-for, [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy made a hundred, very early in his career. We got off to good starts in the first innings but didn't do well in the second innings. But getting bigger first-innings scores is currently the main focus."

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque, two of the most vital cogs in the wheel for Bangladesh in Tests, haven't been at their best of late. Both of them failed miserably in South Africa but Siddons believes that both of them will turn the corner soon.

"Every batter goes through patches when they don't make runs. We've worked on a couple of little things with Mushfiq. I have seen some good signs and am really confident that he is going to have a great series," he said.

"I keep saying that he has got nine hundreds in Chattogram and there is a chance of making another couple. He is very confident," Siddons added.