Dhaka, May 25: With Bangladesh's decision to put India in to bat in the second cricket Test backfiring, the hosts' coach Dav Whatmore today admitted that his side had misread the wicket at the Sher-Bangla stadium here.

"There is a reason to regret. Obviously, if we would have known that the wicket was going to behave like that then we would not have elected to field first... Yes, we misread (the wicket)," Whatmore told reporters after the opening day's play here.

"We knew what the conditions were overhead but not on the ground. We thought it would be a little bit more advantage bowling first in the first session, but it didn't, it didn't work out," he said.

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India cantered to 326 without any loss at close of play, setting the stage for a mammoth first innings total. Whatmore said it would be a harder day on the field for the hosts tomorrow.

"It will be even harder for them (Bangladesh bowlers) tomorrow. They just gonna have to prod along and do the best they can. It looks like trying to get 10 wickets will be very, very hard to achieve. What we must try and do is to bat well in the first innings." Any home advantage for Bangladesh?

"Maybe if we had batted first. It was a very difficult condition, very trying conditions for players from both the teams.

On whether Banlgadesh not taking up the gauntlet thrown by Indian skipper Rahul Dravid with a sporting declaration in the second innings of the first Test showed that he was a defensive coach, Whatmore said "the first Test match is quite easy to explain. Bangladesh is ranked 10th in the world, they had 250 to chase and with the number of overs available it was quite steep". He said the decision to field first was based on inputs from the team management. "There is a selector, the captain, the vice-captain there. It was a decision based on input from a number of people.

Asked if he hoped his side could try for a draw by batting well, Whatmore said "we are hoping that we can remain for a while". Praising Jaffer, Whatmore said the opener played a good, controlled game with lots of concentration. (Agencies)