Mahmudullah smashes ton on his Test return

Mahmudullah Riyad smashed a ton, making a strong statement on his return to the Test squad following a 17-month forced exile, as Bangladesh staged a remarkable turnaround on the second day of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Harare today.  Riyad remains unbeaten on 112 off 215 deliveries as the Tigers scored 404 for eight at Lunch on Day 2.

Having resumed the day on 294 for eight, Bangladesh crossed the 400-run mark, a feat that seemed unlikely after the top order collapsed miserably on the opening day of the game. But thanks to resilience from the lower order batsmen and a brilliant century by Mahmudullah accompanied by a fifty from Taskin Ahmed, Bangladesh managed to make a remarkable turnaround in the one-off Test.

Mahmudullah was the last-minute inclusion to the Tigers' previously announced 17-member Test squad for the Zimbabwe tour. The 35-year-old right-hander was dropped from the Test squad due to 'poor performance' back in February 2020, and was only added to the Test squad for the Zimbabwe tour just to lend some experience to the side if senior players like Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim miss out due to their injuries.   

While Mushfiqur recovered in time from his hand injury, Tamim missed out playing in the match due to a knee injury and Mahmudullah was called back into the playing eleven.

While Mahmudullah made a strong statement by smashing his sixth Test ton on his return, tailender Taskin batted like a proper batsman out in the middle as he picked up his maiden Test fifty. He remains unbeaten on 52 off 89 deliveries, having smashed eight boundaries so far.

In fact, Taskin looked to be enjoying his time with the bat most, playing some delightful shots as he went on to score his career-best Test score. His cover drives seemed to be shots taken right out of the batting textbook. 

Taskin also had luck on his side as he was dropped on 32 when Milton Shumba dropped a regulation catch at second slip.