Hasan Mahmud joins Dale Steyn in unique club

Hasan Mahmud completed his five-wicket haul on Friday, the second morning of the first Test match in Chennai.

In doing so, Mahmud made history by becoming the first-ever Bangladesh bowler to take five wickets in one innings in a Test match in India, accomplishing the feat only four matches into his Test career.

The young seamer had opened the floodgates on the first day of the Test, taking the big wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli in the first session. While Rohit was caught in slips, both, Gill and Kohli were caught behind the wicket.

He returned after lunch to claim his and Bangladesh’s fourth, taking the wicket of Rishabh Pant as well. In doing so, Mahmud became only the second visiting bowler after Dale Steyn to take 4 wickets on the first day of a Test in India in the 21st century.

His hopes for a fifth wicket were temporarily stalled as Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin put together a strong partnership to rescue India’s innings. Nevertheless, Hasan Mahmud returned towards the end and caught a thick edge from Bumrah to register Bangladesh’s maiden five-fer on Indian turf.

Second fifer of his career

Mahmud was impressive with his control of length and the swing he got from the Chennai wicket, acting as a constant threat with the new ball in the first innings. His first five-wicket haul came against Pakistan last month; in that match, he set up a fairly comfortable fourth-innings chase for Bangladesh to complete the 2-0 sweep.

This, hence, makes the five-wicket haul in Chennai his second consecutive fifer in Test cricket

Hasan finished with figures of 5-83, helping Bangladesh make sure India fell short of the 400-run mark despite Ravichandran Ashwin’s century. He was assisted by Taskin Ahmed, who took three wickets and helped wrap up the tail, as well as one wicket apiece for Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nahid Rana.