Taijul Islam shone with bat and ball as Bangladesh scored a tense three-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first Test on Monday to grab the lead in the three-match series.
The 22-year-old left-arm spinner became the first Bangladesh bowler to claim eight wickets in an innings, his figures of 8-39 helping to skittle Zimbabwe for 114 in the second innings.
Set a modest target of 101, Bangladesh slipped to 3-0 – the worst start to a fourth innings in the history of Test cricket before Taijul, coming in at 7-82, guided his team home with an unbeaten 15 amid mounting tension on the third day at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka.
Taijul, who put on an unbroken stand of 19 with skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (23 not out), was named the man of the match in only his third Test appearance.
It was Bangladesh’s fifth Test win in 86 matches and only the second at home after the 226-run win against the same opponents in Chittagong in 2005.
The two lowest-ranked teams in Test cricket – Zimbabwe at No.9 and Bangladesh at 10 – will resume battle when the second Test opens in Khulna on November 3.
Taijul eclipsed teammate Shakib Al Hasan’s Bangladeshi record of 7-36 against New Zealand at Chittagong in 2008 as he spun out the Zimbabwe batsmen after the tourists resumed at 5-0.
Skipper Brendan Taylor was the only Zimbabwean to resist Taijul and the other bowlers, making an unbeaten 45, as six batsmen failed to reach double figures.
Shahadat Hossain and Shakib shared the other two wickets.
Elton Chigumbura claimed 4-21 as Bangladesh almost messed up what should have been a simple chase even on the deteriorating pitch.
Having lost the top three batsmen without a run on the board, the hosts buckled under pressure before Rahim and Taijul bailed them out.
The previous worst start to a final innings occurred in 1902 when England fell to 2-0 at Lords against Australia, losing Charles Fry and Kumar Ranjitsinhji, who both fell to the bowling of Bert Hopkins before a run was scored.
Bangladesh were close to the all-time worst start to any innings, recorded by India, when they fell to 4-0 during the first Test at Headingley in 1952.
