Dhaka: Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has pleaded for more test matches against cricket’s “big boys” after his side secured their first ever Test win over England with an 108-run victory on Sunday.
While their limited-overs side had already savoured victories over top teams, Bangladesh had won just seven of 94 Tests before Sunday — five against minnows Zimbabwe and two against second-string West Indies sides.
“We are getting there, hopefully if we play more Tests there will be more good results coming our way,” Mushfiqur said at Sunday’s presentation. “The boys are really eager.
“Hopefully the International Cricket Council and the board will give us a couple more series against the big boys.”
Bangladesh took all 10 wickets in a single session, thanks to teenage off-spin sensation Mehedi Hasan, to win the second Test by 108 runs and square the series.
Celebrations erupted at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Stadium and across the country as Bangladeshis revelled in one of the proudest moments in their sporting history.
A lack of willing opponents and test playing opportunities against top nations — the matches against England were their first in 15 months — have compounded their problems.
Mushfiqur said they now needed to adapt to conditions away from home and called Sunday’s victory “a great moment for Bangladesh cricket”.
“In the last two years we’ve played really well in our home conditions and it’s one of our goals to beat every team who come here,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said.
“The next challenge is our overseas (form). We have to adapt really well because you can’t get home conditions everywhere.”
Bangladesh beat England en route to reaching the quarter-finals of the 50-over World Cup for the first time last year, and have scored one-day international victories over India, Pakistan and South Africa during a run of six series wins at home.
A cricket-mad nation of 157 million people, Bangladesh will hope that success can now translate into the longer format of the game and England captain Alastair Cook had encouraging words for the South Asian side.
“You can see their development, specially one-day cricket over the last couple of years,” Cook said.
“Clearly at home they will be a tough side to beat. They have a got a lot of good spinners.
“It’s not easy for me to say now, but it’s a good win for Bangladesh cricket. Some things maybe they are bigger than one game.”
Chasing a target of 273, England seemed to be cruising when Alastair Cook and Ben Duckett guided them to 100 without loss at tea.
But 19-year-old Mehedi, playing in only his second Test, triggered a dramatic collapse in the final session of the third day.
England crumbled to 164 all out to suffer their first-ever defeat by Bangladesh in 10 Tests and share the two-Test series 1-1.
Mehedi, who celebrated his 19th birthday this week, took the final wicket of Steven Finn to finish with 6-77 in the innings and 12 for 159 in the match.
It was his country’s best-ever bowling figure in Tests, overtaking Enamul Haque Jr’s 12-200 against Zimbabwe in 2005.
He finished the series with 19 scalps.
“I’m really happy. It’s an exciting moment for me,” said Mehedi.
Shakib Al Hasan, the only other Bangladeshi apart from Mehedi and Enamul to take 10 or more wickets in Tests, joined the party with 4-49, including three wickets in an over.
— Agencies
