After a rocky first innings where Bangladesh managed just 149 runs, the team has shown remarkable resilience in their second innings, scoring 158 runs for 4 wickets by the end of day three of the Chennai Test against India. This significant improvement has raised questions about what sparked the change in performance among the Bangladeshi batsmen.

In a post-match press conference, batting coach David Hemp shed light on this transformation, particularly noting the confident opening partnership between Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam, who added 62 runs before both fell. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto then took charge, remaining unbeaten on 51 runs off 60 balls, marking his first half-century in 11 innings and his first on foreign soil in 16 innings.

Hemp acknowledged the quality of India’s bowling attack, emphasizing their confidence playing at home. “Everyone knows how formidable they are anywhere in the world, but particularly at home, because of the confidence of playing at home. But whoever you are, you still look at it in my view, what we've talked about is, yes, you got to look at what those strengths are, but also look at what those opportunities present. And you have to have that in the front of your mind. Otherwise, there's no point coming and playing if we don't think we can compete, and, manage the pressure that's put on us and deal with that,” he said.

Hemp further highlighted the importance of capitalizing on scoring opportunities, stating, “For us, it's about, yes, we understand that there are threats because they're good players, but also what are the opportunities and how we can impact the game from our strengths and use our strengths to impact the game. As an example, nullify bowlers at certain times, but be really conscious of where the fields are to obtain strikes. They can't get into a pattern of bowling at one particular person.”

Despite the challenging situation, with India setting a massive target of 515 runs, Hemp remains focused on maintaining a positive mindset. He concluded, “We have to look to score so that if they do miss, we cash in when people miss because, again, Indian bowlers are also human. They're not going to execute all the time. But then if you're not looking to score, you're going to miss out on the scored opportunity. That's the mindset we try to put into play. I will keep striving to do that because we need to challenge, especially against the top ranked teams, like India, Australia and England. That's the mindset.”