Bangladesh created history as they defeated Australia for the first time in Test cricket in the first Test in Mirpur. Chasing 265 to win in the last innings, the visitors succumbed to the spinners and fell short by 20 runs. One of the chief contributors of the victory for the hosts was the opening batsman Tamim Iqbal who scored half-centuries in each innings.
On a surface where most batsmen struggled to score runs, Tamim showed the way to bat and scored 78 and 71 in the first and second innings respectively.
The performance did wonders to the left-hander as he jumped 6 places in the ICC rankings for Test batsmen and reached the 14th spot. However, he was disappointed that he missed out on a hundred in both the innings.
“Had I scored a century in one of the two innings, I might have entered into the top ten list. It’s a big thing to be among the top 10. Also, it’s respectful for the country’s cricket as well,” Tamim Iqbal said.
“I don’t think anyone can have a question on my dismissal as it was unplayable and out of my control,” he believed. He also expressed his desire to become the top batsman in the world and make his country proud. “Obviously I do want to be among the top ten batsmen, even my dream is even bigger. Why not number one? We play in order to be the best,” added the southpaw.
The second and the final Test of the series will be played in Chittagong starting September 4. The home side would dearly want to win that match as well to enforce a historical whitewash. On the other hand, Australia would also want to make a comeback to avoid the series defeat but they will have to raise the game a few notches as the conditions would once again be favoring the spinners.