Hasan Murad, the latest addition to Bangladesh’s Test cap holders, made his debut against Ireland in the first of a two-Test series on Tuesday in Sylhet. When Bangladesh was struggling to make a breakthrough in the second session as Ireland cruised towards a big total, Murad delivered a moment of brilliance.
He dismissed Curtis Campher, who was well set on the pitch after facing 93 balls, edging an outside delivery to Najmul Hossain Shanto at first slip. This wicket broke a 53-run partnership between Campher and Lorcan Tucker off a tossed-up delivery.
Murad followed up his first Test wicket by dismissing Tucker, who was stumped by Litton Das off a turning delivery. Both batters were well settled, but Murad’s interventions put Bangladesh back in a strong position in the match.
However, Murad’s start in Test cricket was slightly shaky. In his first over, he tended to give the ball air rather than pitching it up in good areas. By the time he adjusted to his assignment, he relied on his extensive first-class cricket experience to find his rhythm.
Among the three Bangladeshi spinners, Murad was the only one able to extract some turn on the batting-friendly Sylhet surface. Several of his deliveries passed very close to the bat, making the Irish middle order uncomfortable. He finished the first day with figures of 20-5-47-2.
Regarding Murad’s performance, right-arm fast bowler Hasan Mahmud, who is also his teammate in the Chattogram divisional team in first-class cricket, spoke at the press conference, “Murad is a very good player in my view. I have played many first-class matches with him, and we always play in the junior division,” Hasan praised his teammate. “So, his debut today was very good. He got a wicket, and he bowled in good areas. Inshallah, he will settle himself over time.”
