'Actually, for me this is a good experience because we are playing against India. The best thing was that I bowled the way I wanted to. I bowled a bit short, but yes I am happy. I tried bowling in good areas but they even played the good deliveries well. I feel we bowled a bit short at times'
Mehedi Hasan Miraz is only five Test matches old and until the start of the on-going Test match in Hyderabad had watched Virat Kohli’s batting only on television.
But after bowling 42 overs on a good batting surface and a lot of them to the Indian captain, Miraz feels that it has been like an education.
"Obviously, this is a good experience and I watched his (Kohli) batting on TV. Bowling against such players, you learn how to bowl at this level. I want to play cricket for a long time. Hopefully, I can apply whatever I have learnt from here," the former Bangladesh U-19 skipper said.
He had put England on the mat on tailor-made tracks back in Bangladesh but bowling on shirtfronts is a new experience for the rookie tweaker.
"Actually, for me this is a good experience because we are playing against India. The best thing was that I bowled the way I wanted to. I bowled a bit short, but yes I am happy. I tried bowling in good areas but they even played the good deliveries well. I feel we bowled a bit short at times."
The pitch offered some turn but Miraz feels that it wasn't a lot.
"Wicket is good. There was a bit of turn but the wicket will remain good for batting."
Asked about the difference between this and the England series, Miraz said, "They (India) play spin very well and even more so on the flat surfaces. If there was turn, there was a bit of trouble but they always survived. They are used to playing like this."
Miraz didn’t want to blame the poor fielding for the big pile of runs scored by India.
"It is a part of game. Even I felt bad when I missed a catch in a practice match. I learnt a lot from it. You feel bad for a while but then you learn to move on."
After his 19 wickets in two Tests against England, Miraz is considered as the next big thing in Bangladesh cricket and he is aware about the pressure of expectations.
"There are always big expectations. It would have been better had I given fewer runs and taken more wickets – but I know I can't always get a lot of wickets."