Taiju Islam stars as Bangladesh gets a lead of 44 runs after bowling out Pakistan on 286 runs at Tea on day 3 of the first Test at Chattogram.
Taijul Islam was the key man for Bangladesh as he picked up seven crucial wickets for just 29 runs, to sum up, the innings of Pakistan at Tea on day 3 of the first Test at Chattogram.
Pakistan resumed the day on 145-0 and was looking to set a big total faced an early blow when Taijul trapped Abdullah Shafique leg-before on the fifth ball of the day.
The leg-spinner then trapped the veteran batter Azhar Ali on a golden duck which was originally given not-out but a review reserved the decision.
Mehidy Hasan then joined the party to get rid of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam who got bowled out on a straighter delivery after scoring 10 runs.
Taijul got another wicket in Fawad Alam (8) in a caught behind and Pakistan was 203/4 at Lunch.
Ebadat Hossain opened his account on Mohammad Rizwan (5) straight after Lunch while Taijul continued to dominate by trapping Abid Ali for a leg before.
Hassan Ali came to bat in his usual aggressive mode but walked back after scoring eight-ball 12. Sajid Khan (5) was clean bowled by Ebadat to create further trouble for Pakistan.
Nauman Ali (8) also had a brief stay at the crease as Taijul trapped him in front.
Left-arm spinner Taijul bowled a long spell of 44.4 overs to bag seven for 116. Ebadat Hossain took 2/47 in 26 overs.
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‘Break from T20’s helped me improve my Test game’
Bangladesh wicket-keeper batter Liton Das thinks that his exclusion from the T20I’s against Pakistan helped him improve his Test game in the opening Test against Pakistan at Chattogram.
“I think it’s the result of the break I was given in the T20Is. Maybe they (team management) wanted me to do well in the Tests,”
Liton told reporters after the second day’s play.
”It is always a great feeling to reach a century. I got close to getting it against Zimbabwe in our last Test. But it is part of cricket. I would have been happier had I made this hundred a bigger one.
Liton added the fact that playing first-class cricket before the Test match series was quite helpful and made some changes in his technique.
The changes were shown to him by his childhood mentor of BKSP – Nazmul Abedin and Montu Dutta – helped him immensely after the great work done by batting consultant Ashwell Prince.
“I played a first-class match after the World Cup. I had this Test series in mind. I didn’t expect too much from myself, but I prepared adequately,”
said Liton.
“The technical aspects are crucial. Even the smallest change in your stance can make a huge difference. It could change the style of play. It is nothing new. When I was in BKSP playing the NCL match, I spoke to Fahim sir and Montu sir about this particular problem. I worked with him (batting coach Ashwell Prince ) in Chittagong when he felt I needed a small change. I won’t say that I did well just because I changed my stance. I worked hard to come to this stage.
“It is always a difficult question about consistency. Everyone tries to be consistent. I will continue the process of my last six or seven Tests. I can’t expect to score a hundred in my next innings. I have to start from zero next time. It is always a challenge, but I will try to stick to my process.”
”How can you say it is a poor bowling line-up? Ebadat and Rahi are Test bowlers and they helped us in the past and picked wickets as well and there is no doubt about the ability of Taijul and Miraj, so you cannot say it is poor bowling unit,”
Liton said.
“When we lost four wickets before lunch, everyone thought we would be bowled out early. Mushfiq Bhai and I put together a good partnership. By the end of the day, we were thinking about a big total. But cricket is unpredictable. Pakistan is in a good position now. If we can take two or three wickets tomorrow morning, we will be back on par,”
the 27-year-old signed off.