Bangladesh’s batting coach David Hemp said on Saturday that they are disappointed not to bat more overs in their first innings against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series opener at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

Bangladesh demonstrated a poor batting display to be all out for just 188 runs in 51. 3 overs in their first innings that helped Sri Lanka earn a 92-run lead in their first innings.

In the second innings, Sri Lanka reached 119-5 to get an overall lead of 211 runs with five wickets in hand.

“We are obviously disappointed not to have batted for more than 51 overs. It is a little bit frustrating but it is what it is. We got wickets in the end, but we were unlucky not to pick up more wickets. They are leading by 211 runs. If we can get early wickets Sunday morning, we could be looking at a 250 chase,” Hemp told reporters in Sylhet.

It is a little bit frustrating but it is what it is: Hemp added that batsmen were guilty of getting stuck at the wicket while facing the Sri Lankan pacers as the tourist spearheads came up with a brilliant bowling display to take all the 10 wickets.

“I think the three Sri Lankan seamers bowled really well. If you noticed, they bowled really good lengths. They bowled at an angle, so they challenged the stumps. I think they were guilty of getting stuck at the crease or playing the balls that weren’t hitting the stumps,” said Hemp.

“It is something that we will discuss overnight into tomorrow, so that we are really clear about how we are going to set about being aware of how to cope with their bowlers. More importantly, we have to look at how we can score off their bowlers.

“We are trying to score runs. We probably got stuck on the crease a little bit, and sucked into playing at balls that were a touch wide and playing at balls that we should have been defending,” he said, adding that he is not ready to put DPL and BPL (white-ball tournament) as an excuse for not performing with the bat in the longer version game.

“You can argue either way but I just think it is more about that mindset. I don’t think it is a big problem,” he said.

“The players cope well enough with that. It is about making sure you know where your off-stump is. Understanding your opposition, what their threats are and then being able to deal with them. Schedule is the schedule.

“You are still playing cricket. I don’t want to get too carried away with white or red-ball cricket. Players are doing well, they prepared well, from what we saw in the first three days leading in. Feet movement and decision-making were good so we have to keep trusting that preparation. You have to get around the fact that you are playing the longer version,” he concluded.