Domestic double ton helped Ariful’s cause

All-rounder Ariful Haque was Bangladesh's best batsman in the first Test against Zimbabwe where the other batsmen failed to make an impact leading to Bangladesh losing the match inside three and a half days. Ariful said that his domestic form had given him confidence to play his maiden Test match.

Asked if he was finding his feet in the national team due to a double hundred in NCL, he replied: "Ofcourse. After scoring 200 in NCL I had confidence. I think maybe I batted well in the last Test so my confidence is high."

Amidst Bangladesh's poor scores of 143 and 169 in the two innings, Ariful proved to be the only one who showed promise as he remained unbeaten on 41 in the first innings and was the last wicket to fall in the second innings after making 38. The batsman had shown his capabilities with the bat prior to the Test series when he hit a career-high 325-ball 231 against Barishal while playing for Rangpur in the National Cricket League.

Ariful could have struck a fifty in his maiden Test had Abu Jayed not gotten run-out due to a complete breakdown in communication with his partner. Ariful claimed that while he could have added some more runs to his first innings total, his 'target' is to achieve bigger things than just scoring fifties.

"There as a misunderstanding during the run out," he said.

"The target I have in my mind is big. I want to achieve my targets and fulfill those ambitions," Ariful said.