Tanzid’s first Test century comes on Smith’s ‘tricky’ wicket

Yesterday it was Hasan Mahmud’s day; today it is Tanzid Hasan’s. After Bangladesh’s pace bowlers, it was Tanzid who put the spotlight on Bangladesh’s batting for the Australians. How did Tanzid bat this well?

He made his Test debut against Pakistan in Sylhet last May. Now, in only his second Test, against Australia in Darwin, he has scored his first century. But Tanzid hardly needs an introduction, having already played 40 ODIs and 53 T20Is. He has scored 13 fifties in 53 T20Is alone. In ODIs, he has nine fifties and a century.

What remained to be seen was how he would fare in Test cricket. On Darwin’s green wicket, the left-handed opener answered that question by reaching three figures in 188 balls against Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Webster. Yes, Tanzid has arrived in Test cricket too. He now has another distinction: he is the first Bangladeshi batter to score a Test century in Australia.

On the final ball of the 64th over, Tanzid pushed Nathan Lyon towards long-off and set off for a single. After crossing Najmul Hossain coming from the other end, at mid-wicket, Tanzid leapt into the air to celebrate his hundred. He then turned towards the dressing room and raised his bat.

Tanzid’s century also put Bangladesh in a strong position. He has also been fortunate in one respect. Unlike Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque, who had to spend many years of their Test careers before getting the chance to play their first Test in Australia, Tanzid has had no such wait.

The Darwin Test is only the second of his career. Yet through his drives, back-foot punches and a six he charged down the pitch to hit Webster, he gave no indication that he had played only one Test before this. That is why Tanzid’s innings has come as such a surprise to the Australians.

His 102-run partnership with Mominul for the second wicket ended when Mominul was dismissed just one run short of his fifty. Had it lasted a little longer, they could have formed Bangladesh’s highest partnership in Australia. But with Mominul’s dismissal, Habibul Bashar and Hannan Sarkar’s 108-run second-wicket stand in Cairns in 2003 remains the highest.

Tanzid’s first 50 came off 102 balls, with five fours. He reached his second fifty in just 86 balls, adding three more fours and a six. He did not stay for long after reaching his century, however. Attempting to hit Lyon for a six, he was caught at long-off for 101.

After bowling Australia out for 198 in the first innings, Bangladesh finished yesterday’s final session on 96-1. But at the end-of-day press conference, Steven Smith tried to sound ominous, saying the wicket was “tricky” and that batting would not be easy for Bangladesh on the second day.

Australia made a determined effort from this morning to make things genuinely difficult. However, neither the pace, bounce and swing of the Australian bowlers nor the fielders’ taunts could break Tanzid’s concentration.

Watching Tanzid, Mominul and later Najmul bat, it was difficult to find much on the wicket that matched Smith’s description. The Bangladesh camp was not convinced by it yesterday either. After hearing what Smith had said about the wicket, I saw a member of the Bangladesh team laughing in the evening.

Smith might even be embarrassed, if he heard his response. According to him, the Australian batter had made the comment simply to scare Bangladesh. You could call it a “mind game”. There is nothing particularly “tricky” about the wicket.

And even if there were, so what? It clearly has not been enough to trouble Bangladesh’s batters. Just before Tanzid reached his century, captain Najmul had also brought up his fifty. If we take Smith’s assessment at face value, it only makes Tanzid’s first Test century all the more remarkable. After all, how easy is it to score a hundred on a “tricky” wicket?

Interestingly, Smith himself contributed in some small way to Tanzid’s century. When Tanzid was on 62, he edged a catch to slip but survived because Smith could not hold on to it. In fact, Darwin’s wicket is not “tricky”. Perhaps what is “tricky” is taking a catch from Tanzid while standing in the slips on this wicket.