Bangladesh batsmen Sakib al Hasan (L) and Tamim Iqbal run between the wickets on the opening day of their first Test against Australia at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.— Sourav Losker
When the leg-before decision against David Warner off Mehedi Hasan was overturned by a review of the third umpire in the sixth over of Australian innings, Bangladesh had every reason to feel dejected.
It was a shocking decision on the part of umpire Aleem Dar, but for once at least Bangladesh hoped he would be proved correct as they needed this breakthrough badly.
They got only a modest total of 260 runs in their first innings, so without any early breakthrough it would have been difficult for them to stay alive in the contest.
Third umpire Ian Gould did not need to think much to dismiss Dar’s decision, leaving Bangladesh not only dejected but also with a sense of déjà vu.
Warner punished many opponents in numerous times throughout his career with his marauding approach and Bangladesh had every reason to feel afraid after seeing him getting a reprieve in this manner.
What followed next was perhaps beyond their imagination as Mehedi struck Warner off the pad again in the next ball to make another appeal, this time definitely with more conviction.
An embarrassed Dar had no choice but to raise his finger again and much to the delight of Bangladesh team Warner decided against reviewing it this time.
But it was only the beginning of something spectacular as Soumya Sarkar brought his fielding skill into the play next over to run out a shell-shocked Usman Khawaja, who was making a comeback in Australian Test team.
Sakib al Hasan ensured night-watchman Nathan Lyon could not open his account, let alone emulate the feat of Jason Gillespie, who scored a double century in a similar role in the previous Test between the teams 11 years ago.
The triple strikes left Australia reduced to 18-3 at stumps, forcing them to share the honour with Bangladesh on the opening day of the first Test in Dhaka on Sunday.
Bangladesh suffered a similar collapse at the start of their innings after opting to bat first on a rain-soaked pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, which was hosting its 150th international match.
Pat Cummins produced sheer pace to leave them rattled before fifth over was completed but Tamim Iqbal and Sakib were not prepared to spoil their landmark 50th Test under any circumstance.
From 10-3 they provided the massive resistance and took Bangladesh to a respectable position with a 155-run fourth wicket stand before Australia could earn another breakthrough.
Both the batsmen, however, missed out an opportunity to make the day more special with a century as Glenn Maxwell dismissed Tamim for 71 and Sakib soon followed him falling to Lyon after making 84 runs with 11 fours.
Australia were clearly on top of their game when Ashton Agar joined the act trapping Mushfiqur Rahim leg-before for 18, exposing Bangladesh’s tail sooner than they had expected it.
Nasir Hossain (23) and Mehedi (18) provided a brief resistance but they were undone by Agar and Lyon respectively to leave it to bowlers to take them past 250-run mark.
Source: New Age