Taijul believes Bangladesh are ahead in the Test

Afghanistan posted 271 for five wickets on day one of the ongoing Chattogram Test, which looks good enough for the tourists. But Taijul Islam, who completed five years in Test cricket on Thursday, believes Bangladesh have the upper hand at the end of the first day. 

“I want to keep ourselves ahead of Afghanistan. They batted really well in the match. They showed patience and calmness. They did not do anything beyond our expectations. I think they could have scored more because the wicket is still very predictable,” Taijul told the media during the post-day press conference. 

In the first session of the day, Afghanistan lost three wickets for 77 runs, two of them fell prey to Taijul and another one was hunted by Mahmudullah Riayd just at the stroke of the lunch break. 

Scalping the first wicket, Taijul became the fastest Bangladeshi bowler to take 100 Test wickets. He is now third Bangladeshi to grab 100 or more wickets in Tests after Mohammad Rafique and Shakib Al Hasan. 

“It was really amazing (to get 100 wickets in Tests). Everyone knows, Test is the most prestigious form of the game of cricket. So personally, I am happy to have got 100 wickets in Tests,” Taijul said explaining his feelings on touching a personal milestone. 

Taijul also said the wicket was as they expected it to be. He said: “The wicket was good. We knew that the pacer cannot be useful in sort of wickets. So going with an all-spin attack was the right move.”

While Taijul was one of the best performers of Bangladesh on day one of Chattogram Test, Rahmat Shah grabbed the limelight for Afghanistan hitting the first Test for his country. While interacting with the media at the end of the day, the 26-year-old right-handed batsman said it was like a dream comes true for him. 

“It was like fulfilling a dream. I missed the chance of being the first Test centurion of my country against Ireland when I got dismissed on 98. I wanted to do it this time around. It is a proud moment for me. I hit the first Test fifty for Afghanistan now the century. It is special,” Rahmat told the media. 

He also said that the Afghanistan team was prepared to play the Bangladeshi pace-bowling attack. So it was a bit surprise for them to face an all-spin attack. 

“We had the mindset of playing pace-bowler of Bangladesh. But they have gone for an all-spin attack. All of their spinners are world-class. Shakib Al Hasan is the number one while Taijul also has a good record. So it was not easy for me to score against them,” he added.