When Bangladesh were batting in the second innings on day five of the first Test at Kandy, opener Tamim Iqbal reached his fifty off just 56 deliveries with back-to-back boundaries with the team score at only 52.
Only two runs had been added to the team’s score, one from opener Saif Hassan and another from captain Mominul Haque who was batting at the other end on a 30-ball 1. The Tigers would have been under much more pressure after Sri Lanka declared their first innings on 648 for eight, but Tamim, just as he had in the first innings, put the pressure back on the Lankan bowlers, giving them something to think about.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.
Tamim who had initially started at a brisker pace, slowed down after the fall of two wickets before he gradually settled to a steady and watchful pace during a 98-ball 74, laced with 10 fours and three sixes to take the Tigers to tea with the score on 100 for two in 33. The third and final session did not take place due to rain as the match ended in a draw with Tamim not being able to score a ton.
However, his brisk fifty saw him become part of a fascinating statistic. It was the lowest total a team has made when a batsman has reached 50. With the team total at 52, Tamim had his fifty off 56 deliveries.
The previous two instances of lowest team total with a batsman reaching 50 had been 55. Australian cricketer Jack Lyons did it back in 1890 against England. Chris Gayle would later in 2014 also pull off the same feat against New Zealand in Port-of-Spain.
Tamim’s knock allowed Bangladesh to weather the difficult period and captain Mominul had to field questions about Tamim’s approach in comparison to the rest of the team.
Asked if Tamim’s confidence was very high, Mominul replied: “If you think about his batting from childhood, his actual approach is like that. I have a different style and everyone has a different pattern of playing.”
Tamim has a tendency to dominate proceedings and in both innings in Kandy, he had the positive flow to his innings.
“He (Tamim) likes to play his shots. I have 11 hundreds but if wanted to play like him, I doubt whether I would even have five hundreds. Everyone has a different pattern and a different plan of going about things,” Mominul said.
For now, the Tigers will be pleased to have drawn the first Test without any drama on the final day through the mix of approaches from Tamim and Mominul.
