Hasan’s first underlines pacers’ new statement

Firsts are always special. Most bowlers come on to the international stage having already bagged five wickets in a domestic game, but that was not the case for Hasan Mahmud. The 23-year-old bagged his first fifer, not just on the international stage, but overall, in the third ODI against Ireland.

He had not even scalped five wickets in a domestic first-class game before, but his presence was a gift that merited acknowledgement of 'the pack'.

Ebadot Hossain, flanked closely by Mehedi Hasan Miraz, came in for a handshake but Taskin Ahmed had gotten there first. The players congratulated Hasan one by one after the youngsters' first fifer. ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal was close by, patting his back.

Hasan may have been here only a short while, but he has been coming for a long time. He may not have many first-class domestic games under his belt, but he had been a constant in the U-19 team, the emerging side and always on the periphery of the national team when fit. His skills have not been overlooked since the U-19 World Cup in 2018, when injury troubles had sidelined him. Having returned, the 23-year-old is finally making his claim. A yorker to remove Jos Buttler and his death bowling proved key in the England T20Is.

Against Ireland yesterday, he turned up with the new ball, which swung both ways for him. First, he troubled them by creating uncertainty and threatening the outside edge, then he got them rooted to crease and trapped them leg-before with late in-dippers off the hand or the deck.

His first spell of six overs resulted in an Irish top-order struggle, one they never recovered from, and along with his last two, the pace attack bagged all 10 wickets.

"I was told that I would start with the new ball and I prepared for that over the past two days," Hasan said, indicating to his ability and willingness to adapt to new roles.

Allan Donald had narrowed things down the previous day, talking about the unit's pack mentality.

Hasan ushered praise back at his bowling coach. "The last few years, we have been working hard. We have a good connection with Allan Donald. He shared his experience and how he survived in cricket… how to handle situations and back yourself. His skill is unbelievable. He works really hard," he said. It turned out that the pack mentality also brought out healthy competition.

"We [pacers] all want to give our best and everyone wants to beat each other. Taskin bhai is a senior and always protects us. He plays up our good aspects and tells us to avoid the bad things," he said, adding that fitness and getting his bowling into a better shape was what he was keen to improve on.

Pacers like Hasan enabled Tigers to play on good sporting conditions this time around.

Skipper Tamim Iqbal added: "We don't normally play on grassy wickets a lot but thinking of the World Cup and series ahead, we played on these kinds of tracks. The contest became even at home on these kinds of tracks since their fast bowlers are used to such conditions. We accepted those challenges and the pacers reacted exceptionally well.

Hasan, however, was keen to remind: "It is my first five wicket haul. I haven't gotten a five-wicket haul before in domestic games either." Bangladesh will be hoping it is the first of many.