Lunch Afghanistan 77 for 3 (Rahmat 31*, Taijul 2-21) v Bangladesh
Bangladesh struck thrice in the first session of their one-off Test against Afghanistan in Chattogram. Taijul Islam picked up two of those wickets, which also took him to 100 Test wickets in his 25th game. The visitors, 77 for 3 at lunch, however, should take some solace in the patience against the five spinners used by Bangladesh on a pitch that is already showing some cracks.
Bangladesh, for the second home Test in a row, went with an all-spin attack. Captain Shakib Al Hasan had said on the eve of the game that he wouldn't mind any criticism of this tactic as sides that pick four seamers on favourable conditions don't get criticised.
He began with Taijul and himself before giving Mehidy Hasan an early go; Nayeem Hasan too bowled in short spells in the first hour.
Ihsanullah was the first to go, bowled by Taijul after playing him from the crease. He didn't go anywhere near to a pitched up delivery that spun past his outside edge to hit the off stump, a left-arm spinner's dream delivery.
Debutant Ibrahim Zadran looked more assured and after the drinks break, struck two fours while Rahmat Shah struck a big six over midwicket. But the sudden rush of shots was playing into Bangladesh's plan.
It paid off immediately as Ibrahim holed out at long-off where Mahmudullah, brought in a few yards before the start of the Taijul over, took a comfortable catch. It was a daft shot from young Ibrahim who had otherwise looked impressive in his defensive technique but ran out of patience seeing a bunch of flighted deliveries.
Afghanistan's third wicket fell in the last five minutes before the lunch break, when Hashmatullah Shahidi edged Mahmudullah to slip where Soumya Sarkar held on to it.