NEW DELHI: Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam achieved a great personal milestone despite his team’s heavy defeat to Zimbabwe in the one-off test in Harare.The left-arm spinner claimed 7 for 138 from 40.2 overs in Zimbabwe’s first innings to record the 19th five-wicket haul of his Test career. The performance helped him move into the top five among the arm-arm bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.
Taijul equals Shakib, passes Starc
Taijul’s last five saw him level with the former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasanwith both bowlers now having 19 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.He also passed Australia Mitchell Starcwho has 18 five-wicket hauls.The Bangladesh spinner reached the milestone in just 107 Test innings, making him faster than Shakib and Starc. Shakib took 121 innings to reach 19 five-fors, while Starc needed 202 innings to register his 18.
Only three left-arm bowlers are ahead
Sri Lankan great Rangana Herath remains clear at the top of the list with 34 five-wicket hauls in 93 Tests, with 433 wickets.Former Pakistan bowler Wasim Akram is second with 25 five-fors and 414 wickets, while New Zealand legend Daniel Vettori occupies the third spot with 20 five-fors and 362 wickets.Taijul and Shakib now share the fourth spot with 19 fives each. Mitchell Starc dropped to sixth with 18, followed by England’s Derek Underwood (17) and India’s Ravindra Jadeja (15).Taijul has now taken 270 wickets in 60 Tests, underscoring his importance to Bangladesh’s bowling attack.
Zimbabwe record biggest Test win
While Taijul shone with the ball, Zimbabwe dominated the match to record the biggest Test win in their history, beating Bangladesh by an innings and 85 runs at the Harare Sports Club.After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Zimbabwe’s pacers tore apart Bangladesh’s batting line-up, dismissing the visitors for just 140 in the first innings.Mominul Haque was the only batsman to offer resistance with 60 runs off 81 balls.Newman Nyamhuri played with the ball taking four wickets, while captain Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans took two wickets each.
Zimbabwean boats are piling on the runs
Zimbabwe then responded with a commanding 410 in their first innings to take a huge lead of 270 runs.Innocent Kaia led the way with a brilliant 140, while Craig Ervine, Brian Bennett and Wessly Madhevere all scored half centuries.Despite Taijul’s seven-wicket haul, Bangladesh struggled to prevent the hosts from building a match-winning total.
Bangladesh collapses again
Needing a big effort to avoid defeat, Bangladesh were bowled out for 185 in their second innings.Zimbabwe’s pace attack again shared the wickets, with Ngarava, Muzarabani, Evans and Nyamhuri all making important contributions as none went wicketless in any innings.
Historic moment for Zimbabwe
The victory was Zimbabwe’s biggest win in Test cricket, surpassing all their previous margins of victory.It also marked the first time in over 25 years that Zimbabwe won back-to-back Test matches.Their previous Test win came against Afghanistan in October, when they won by an innings and 73 runs.
