One-off Test: Tanzid Hasan slams fiery 83 versus Afghanistan
What's the story
Bangladesh's opener Tanzid Hasan put on a stellar show against Afghanistan in the first session of their one-off Test match at Abu Dhabi. He scored an impressive 83 runs off just 71 balls, helping his team reach a strong position of 134/1 at lunch. He was assisted by his fellow opener Shadman Islam, who contributed with an unbeaten score of 41 runs by the end of the session. Here are further details.
Performance highlights
Tanzid misses Tamim Iqbal's record
Tanzid's innings was laced with eight fours and four sixes, making it an entertaining display of aggressive cricket.
He got cracking in the fifth over by hitting Yamin Ahmadzai for two boundaries in a single over.
The Bangladesh opener came close to breaking Tamim Iqbal's record of most runs by a Bangladeshi player in the first session of a Test match, as per Cricinfo.
The latter had made 86 against New Zealand in the Hamilton Test in 2019.
Opening stand
Opening duo put up a solid 124-run partnership
The opening duo of Shadman and Tanzid put up a solid 124-run partnership for the first wicket.
Despite Bangladesh's captain Najmul Hossain Shanto opting to bat first with three spinners and two pacers, it was the openers who took full advantage of the batting-friendly conditions.
However, Bangladesh's strong start was marred by the wicket of Tanzid, who was caught behind by wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil off Ismat Alam.
Stats
Tanzid only behind Tamim
Tanzid recorded the second-best strike rate for a Bangladesh opener with at least 80 runs in an innings (119.71).
He is only behind Tamim's 85 at a strike rate of 119.71 in the 2019 Hamilton affair against the Kiwis.
Meanwhile, Tanzid has now raced to 223 runs across four Tests at 31.85.
His only previous 50-plus score was a record-breaking 101 in the Darwin Test against Australia in August this year.
Information
2,000 runs in FC cricket
With his 68th run, the 25-year-old also went past 2,000 runs in First-Class cricket. Across 29 Tests and 52 innings, the batter has raced to 2,015 runs at an average of 38-plus. Six of his 13 50-plus scores have been converted into tons.