Home ›› 27 Nov 2021 ›› Sport
Friday morning started with an earthquake that shook almost half the country, and in the same way, the early morning part of the Bangladesh innings looked like a tremor-hit city where everything fell apart.
Shaheen Shah Afridi looked menacing with a new red cherry in his left palm, Hasan Ali was complementing well on a surface with some moisture, and they were toying with Shadman Islam and Saif Hasan, who were struggling against their pace.
After just an hour of play or a bit more, Bangladesh were rattling with 49-4, and this is something ominous as the saying goes, ‘morning shows the day’.
A fire broke out in a building near the stadium, and black smoke was overcasting the sky over the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, which could very well resemble the situation of the Bangladesh team.
But the fire department responded quickly, brought the situation under control, and no casualties were reported.
Similarly, Musfhiq came to rescue Bangladesh from a difficult situation and was accompanied by Liton Das, under constant criticism for his poor form and terrible fielding during the ICC T20 World Cup, which eventually cost him his place from the shortest version.
Together, they stabilised the ship and built a partnership of 204 runs that took Bangladesh to a decent position at the end of day one against an opposition who are on top of their game.
Shadman had a hundred in his last innings and scored three half-centuries and one hundred in the domestic first-class tournament, but he was looking shaky throughout his brief innings of 14 runs, where he could have been given out twice.
Saif Hasan struggled in the Twenty20 series, and his struggle continued in Test cricket as well, though his 14 from 12 balls with a strike rate over 100 suggests that he might be still trying to prove his mettle in T20.
Skipper Mominul has scored most of his Test hundreds on this same ground, but Friday was not lucky for him as the ball kissed the outside edge of his bat and reached the gloves of Mohammad Rizwan when he was on six.
Najmul Hossain Shanto looked promising, but he also reminded Shakib Al Hasan when he got out by playing a stand-still cut shot with a thick edge, and Sajid Khan took a fine catch to relieve him of his duties.
But the rest of the day belonged to Mushfiq and Liton, the two former BKSP students snubbed from the T20 series due to their poor choice of shots. They were the last pair of proven batsmen in the team because one more wicket meant debutant Yasir Ali Chowdhury would have to walk in and then the tail.
Mushfiq and Liton were patient in the middle till the lunch break. They started to come out of the shackles during the second session, where they both reached their half-centuries, and Bangladesh saw a wicketless session after losing four wickets in the first hour of play.
The third session was a display of controlled aggression, execution, and commitment from both cricketers, and finally, Liton could break the jinx when he took a risky single to reach his maiden hundred.
He pushed the ball to mid-off, ran like a sprinter, and dived to cover his ground to avoid a potential run-out, lied on the field for a few seconds to catch his breath, and stood up for the celebration.
Mushfiq also constructed his innings well, played some brilliant cut shots against spinners, and complemented the younger partner well to complete his landmark.
The morning started with an earthquake, followed by a fire accident beside the stadium and a shaky first hour on the field, but unlike the saying, morning does not always show the day, thanks to Mushfiq and Liton.
