Mirpur livens up to pace barrage

The Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur saw a few records tumble in Bangladesh's massive 546-run win against Afghanistan on the fourth day of the one-off Test yesterday.

While the victory margin was the biggest in terms of runs, the Tigers' pacers taking more wickets than the spinners was an even more refreshing record at Mirpur, which has been recognised as a tweakers' paradise. 

The pace trio of Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed combined to take 14 of the Afghans' 19 wickets that fell in two innings. Afghan pacers took seven Bangladeshi wickets out of 14 to fall in two innings, one more than their spinners while the other one was a run-out.

The last Afghan batter in the second innings, Zahir Khan, retired hurt after being struck by a nasty bouncer from Taskin, with the innings folding for 115.

Afghanistan, who were without their champion leg-spinner Rashid Khan, scored 146 in their first essay. 

The home team made 382 in their first innings and then piled up 425-4 declared, thanks to back-to-back centuries from flamboyant left-hander Najmul Hossain Shanto. 

But it was the new-found pace battery of the Tigers that has instilled a more telling impact beyond the result itself.   

The last time Bangladesh pacers took more wickets than spinners on a typically slow and spinning Mirpur pitch was way back in February 2008, when lanky right-arm pacer Shahadat Hossain took a match haul of nine wickets including a six-for in the first innings against South Africa. The Tigers lost that game by five wickets. 

Since hosting the first Test match in 2007 against India, the home of cricket in Mirpur has never been welcoming to pacers. Barring a few exceptions, it has been touted as a pacers' graveyard in 25 Tests it hosted before the Afghanistan game. 

For the records, the home side did not field a single pacer in the 19th Test match at the venue in November 2018 that they won by an innings and 184 runs against the West Indies, thanks to Mehdy Hasan Miraz's match haul of 12 wickets including 7-58 in the first innings. 

In the 15th Test at Mirpur in October 2016, the Tigers fielded one pacer in Kamrul Islam Rabbi. He bowled only three overs in the first innings and also in the match in that famous win against England by 108 runs, where off-spinner Miraz took 12 wickets – six in each innings. 

The introduction of pace bowlers by Bangladesh at Mirpur has often been regarded as more academic than from serious concern about dictating the game. In the last 10 Test matches at the venue, the match against Ireland in April this year was the first time Bangladesh fielded three pacers in a Test. And that too was without much purpose. 

In that context, when the curators as Mirpur presented a green-top on Wednesday morning, the opening day of the one-off Test, many were apprehensive considering their years of experience. 

However, the wicket was refreshingly sporting for both the batsman and bowlers, especially for the seamers who enjoyed rare field days under the sun. 

The bounce, seam movement and nice carry behind the wicket also dispelled the age-old notion that Mirpur could never be a good wicket for pacers. 

However, it was all about a bold decision from the team management that cricket experts hailed as a step forward for Bangladesh in building a good pace attack so that the Tigers could be more competitive away from home.