Tanzid's blazing 83 leads Bangladesh's century opening stand

Lunch Bangladesh 134 for 1 (Tanzid 83, Shadman 41*, Mominul 5*, Alam 1-17) vs Afghanistan

Tanzid Hasan blazed away against the Afghanistan attack on his way to 83 off 71 in the first session of the one-off Test in Abu Dhabi. Bangladesh went to lunch on 134 for 1, after openers Tanzid and Shadman Islam added 124 runs in just 23 overs.

Shadman was unbeaten on 41 at lunch, while Mominul Haque just opened his account with an upper-cut boundary in the last over of the session. But the first session was all about Tanzid, who looked primed for his second Test century.

He got close to eclipsing Tamim Iqbal's record for most runs by a Bangladesh batter in the first session of a Test match. Tamim had made 86 against New Zealand in the Hamilton Test in 2019. Tanzid, however, fell around 15 minutes short of the lunch break when wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil grabbed his edge off Ismat Alam. It was a good decision from Alikhil, the new vice-captain, to stand up to the stumps, which restricted Tanzid suddenly. Tanzid finished with eight fours and four sixes, an attacking innings with plenty of attractive strokes.

Tanzid got cracking in the fifth over when he struck Yamin Ahmadzai for two fours in a 15-run over. Tanzid slammed Ahmadzai over the point region by coming down the track after dabbing a boundary through the same region with a late touch.

Afghanistan would have had their first wicket in the seventh over, but Hashmatullah Shahidi dropped Shadman on 5. It was a simple chance at short cover, where Shahidi messed up by trying to dive instead of waiting for the ball to come to him. The dropped chance worked like a trigger for the Bangladesh openers, as they struck the ball with more intent.

Shadman struck Ahmadzai with a hard-hitting cover drive in his next over, followed by Tanzid going after Mohammad Saleem in the tenth over as Bangladesh reached their fifty in the tenth over. Tanzid soon lofted Ahmadzai over the covers for his first six and followed it a cover-driven four to collect 12 from the over.

Tanzid then found more comfort against the part-timer Shahidi from the other end, a surprise move from new captain Rahmat Shah. Tanzid heaved Shahidi over mid-on before picking up a single to reach his fifty off 41 balls in the 14th over. Tanzid hammered Shahidi for a four and six in his next over, before Shadman attacked Alam for two fours in the following over, and the run rate was now approaching six an over.

Tanzid also launched left-arm spinner Zia-ur-Rehman for two sixes in consecutive overs, as he raced towards a century. But the Ismat-Ikram combination waylaid his plans, although Bangladesh would be happy with their solid start.