After winning the ODI and T20I series, Bangladesh once again locked horns against Ireland in the one-off Test on Tuesday, April 4, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. The Ireland captain, Andrew Balbirnie, won the toss and opted to bat first in the first-ever Test between the two sides.
The decision to bat first, however, backfired for the side as Ireland lost their first wicket in just the fifth over of the innings. Shoriful Islam drew first blood for Bangladesh trapping opener Murray Commins in front of the stumps. The visitors further lost two more wickets in the form of James McCollum and Andrew Balbirnie and were in trouble at 48/3.
Seeing their side in trouble, Harry Tector and Curtis Campher got involved in a 74-run stand for the fourth wicket in a bid to stabilise the innings. Tector went on to score a brilliant half-century but couldn’t take his innings forward as he was cleaned up by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Taijul Islam returned with a fiery spell and picked up two quick wickets dismissing the set batter Curtis Campher on 34 and Peter Moor for just 1, leaving Ireland reeling at 124/6. A couple of handy knocks by Lorcan Tucker (37) and Mark Adair (32) helped Ireland cross the 200-run mark in the first innings.
The duo was involved in a valuable 40-run stand for the eighth wicket as Ireland got bundled out for 214. Taijul Islam was the pick of the bowlers, who finished with figures of 5/58 in 28 overs, while Ebadot Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also picked up two wickets each.
Ireland strike twice in the last ten overs of the day
With just ten overs remaining in the day’s play, Bangladesh had to bat out through the tricky period. Mark Adair gave the perfect start to his side by dismissing opener Najmul Hossain Shanto for a golden duck in the first over itself. Ireland further ended the day on a high as Andy McBrine dismissed the dangerous Tamim Iqbal for 21 on the last ball of the day.
Bangladesh finished Day 1 on 34/2 with Mominul Haque unbeaten on 12. The hosts will look to get a healthy first innings lead when they come out to bat on Day 2. Meanwhile, several fans took to social media to share their reactions on how the first day panned out, especially for the hosts.