March 15, 2017 is a memorable day in the history of cricket. When fans around the world celebrate the 140th Anniversary of Test Cricket, those in Bangladesh have another reason to rejoice: the nation became 10th in a list of countries which have played 100 Test matches so far. Take a look at some of the defining moments of this tumultuous journey.
Aminul’s Century: Aminul scored 145 in the first innings of the inaugural Test. He was only the second man to score a century in the inaugural match one’s country. His 519-minute is still the longest in terms of time till date in Bangladesh history.
Naimur’s Five-wicket Haul: Naimur, the skipper of Bangladesh side, grabbed 6-132 in the inaugural Test to become the first ever Bangladeshi to pick a five-for
First Test Win: Bangladesh tasted the victory in Test arena for the first time in 2005, when they beat Zimbabwe at home. That also helped them win the two-match series 1-0.
First Away Win: Bangladesh got their first away victory in 2009, when they beat West Indies in the first Test of the series at Jamaica. Later on they also won the St George Test to clinch the series 2-0.
Shakib Owned the Crease: Sakib became only the third player after Ian Botham and Imran Khan to get a century and 10-wicket haul in the same match.
Sohag Gazi’s Feat: Sohag Gazi became the only man in history to score a century and pick a hat-trick in the same match. He did it against New Zealand in 2013 at Chittagong.
Retiring them out: Bangladesh faced a huge humiliation when Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuria called off two not out batsmen Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardhena, who were on 201 and 150 respectively, to make the first ever retire out incident in Test history at Colombo in 2001.
Spinning them out: Taijul’s 8-39 against Zimbabwe is dubbed Bangladesh’s best bowling performance till date.
Ashraful’s Record: Mohammad Ashraful is till date the youngest centurion in Tests thanks to his 114 in his debut Test at the age of 17 years and 61 days against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2001.
Javed Omer’s persistence: He was only one of the two players in history to carry his bat in Test debut. He made his debut against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2001. So far it is the only instance of carrying the bat for a Bangladeshi.
Bonus:
Mushfiq double ton against Sri Lanka, first ever by a Bangladeshi.
Sakib’s 217 against New Zealand, Bangladesh’s highest individual innings.
