Daily Times

MIRPUR: Riding on Mushfiqur Rahim’s 26th half-century and his 62-run third-wicket partnership with Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh completed a seven-wicket win over Ireland on the fourth afternoon of the Dhaka Test here on Friday. Mushfiqur, whose 126 in the first innings set the home side up to 369, fast-tracked the 138-run chase in the fourth innings an unbeaten 51 off 48 balls. He had Mominul Haque for company in the end, as Bangladesh chased it down in 27.1 overs. It was their first Test win since they defeated New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in early 2022, breaking a nine-match winless streak in Tests. It was also Bangladesh’s second successful fourth-innings chase at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.

Apart from Mushfiqur’s runs, Bangladesh had Taijul Islam’s 9-148 match figures to thank for. The Dhaka Test would also be remembered for Lorcan Tucker’s 108 that led Ireland’s fightback from 13 for 4 to make 292 in their second innings. That meant the Test entered a fourth day as Ireland batted out day three and lost only four wickets. It was their comeback in Test cricket after nearly four years, which made the performance all the more significant. Tucker became the second Irishman to score a Test hundred on debut, and the sixth wicketkeeper overall to do so. Andy McBrine too had a very good game, getting a six-wicket haul in the first innings followed by 72. He is the second overseas cricketer to do this double in Bangladesh, the first being Rashid Khan.

On day four, Bangladesh’s bowlers only allowed six runs in the nine overs and bowled Ireland out for 292 within 36 minutes. Ebadot Hossain picked up the remaining two wickets to take his tally to three in the innings. Taijul took four wickets, while Shakib Al Hasan picked up two. Though, his lack of bowling in the second innings piqued interest. In their chase, Bangladesh sent out Litton Das to open the innings after almost four years. He struck three fours quickly before Mark Adair bowled him with a short ball that ricocheted off his helmet and the back of his bat, before trickling on to the stumps. Litton, who struck a sublime straight loft earlier in the over, got a send-off from Adair who seemed to ask him where his sunglasses were. Litton had worn sunglasses while batting in the first innings.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was out for a first-ball duck in the first innings, made four runs before Andrew Balbirnie, the Ireland captain, took a good low catch at slip off McBrine. Mushfiqur, fresh from his tenth hundred in the first innings, cracked seven fours as he finished unbeaten. Tamim made 31 before holing out off Ben White, but Mominul’s unbeaten 20 got them home. Ireland’s recovery in their second innings came through a string of partnerships. Harry Tector and Peter Moor steered them towards safety by batting out 25 overs on the second evening and third morning. Tector and Tucker then added 72 runs for the sixth wicket with a bit more urgency, before Tucker and McBrine put on 111 runs for the seventh wicket to pose questions of Bangladesh.

Tucker reached his maiden century with an expansive cover drive, having struck most of his boundaries on the on side. He was particularly harsh on the fast bowlers, batting at 100% strike-rate against Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot and Shoriful Islam. He was watchful against the spinners, which helped Ireland in blunting the attack for long. But Bangladesh were always well ahead of the visitors, having taken a 155-run lead and then having them 13 for 4 on the second evening. Ireland’s fightback was noteworthy, a factor that will come in handy for them in the two Tests against Sri Lanka later this month.