PESHAWAR, Aug 25: Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore has set his side a new goal for the second Test against Pakistan that begins on Wednesday — passing 300 at least once.

Bangladesh lost their 21st of 22 matches by seven wickets in the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi, though they scored 288 and 274 and also managed to take the game into the fifth day.

The first match was only the third time Bangladesh have played on all five days of a Test.

“There were positives from the match. The batsmen showed more application,” Whatmore said on Monday. “But we need to get over this mental block and start putting together scores of 300 plus to really test the opposition.”

Bangladesh last made more than 300 runs in a Test against Zimbabwe at Chittagong in November 2001 — 15 games ago.

But courtesy of the form of Habibul Bashar, who scored 71 and 108 in Karachi, the tourists flirted with the 300 mark twice and their improved performance earned praise from the local media.—Reuters/AFP