CHENNAI: In the lead up to the first Test between India and Bangladesh, the buzz was about the two fast bowlers the visiting team had brought to the shores — Nahid Rana and Hasan Mahmud. Mahmud, in particular, had taken a fifer in the second Test against Pakistan, playing a crucial role in Bangladesh’s clean sweep recently.
However, Chennai is not Rawalpindi. The MA Chidambaram Stadium has been a paradise for spinners and the back-breaking heat the city had experienced in the week leading up to the Test had cast doubts over the combinations both teams would choose and how much of a help the pacers will get on the red soil surface.
On Thursday, however, thanks to some overnight showers the city was unusually cloudy, and the pitch had a tinge of grass. Najmul Hossain Shanto opted to bowl first and the onus was on Hasan Mahmud to make the most of it. The 24-year-old, playing only his fourth Test, was sharing the new ball with Taskin Ahmed and did not take long to hit the strides.
Mahmud stuck to the good length, leaving both Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal in two minds. He was consistently using seam up and wobble seam deliveries and the surface had consistent bounce and he was able to shape the ball away from both only added to it. Soon, Mahmud accounted for Rohit, it had a sharp late movement away after pitching in good length, who edged the pacer to the slip cordon.
In his next over, Shubman Gill fell to a down-the-leg delivery, but his biggest scalp came four balls later. Till then, Mahmud had hardly bowled any bad balls and was operating at less than 2 runs per over while the Indian batters tried to go after Taskin. Up against Virat Kohli, Mahmud pitched the first ball of the tenth over up and the Indian defended it with ease. The second one, he pushed it a little wider — an area where Kohli had often tried to push, especially early in his innings, and get out — and got the expected results. Kohli chased the delivery without any foot movement and the ball took the outside edge on its way to the keeper.
Mahmud, who in the past is known for not celebrating his wickets aggressively, would let out a roar ‘yes, come on’ with a fist pump. India three down inside ten overs on the first day of a home Test indeed deserved a celebration.
The hosts would lost three more before getting to 144 and from there, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took them to 339/6 at stumps. Mahmud, with four wickets for 58 runs, was easily the best bowler of the day despite Bangladesh not being able to capitalise. “My plan was very simple. With the new ball, I was bowling to my strengths. I try to bowl seam up and shape the ball into (the batter) or away any given time. I kept trying that,” the youngster, who seems very calm for a pacer, explained after the day’s play.
Ask for the wicket of Kohli, Mahmud said it was more of a gesture of happiness than a celebration for dismissing one of the best contemporary batters in the world. “You should be happy about that,” Mahmud said with a smile.
Now, Mahmud, in his mid-twenties, comes off as a mature athlete. After all, his road from the 2018 U19 World Cup till this point has not been smooth. He rose through the ranks for the first couple of years and even made his T20I debut for Bangladesh in 2020. Soon, he even got a Test call-up and was touted as the one to watch out for by Ottis Gibson, whom Mahmud had credited for his variations and upskilling in the past.
However, injury concerns meant he was looked at as a white-ball specialist for a long while. It was only late in 2023 that he was included in the Test team again. The Pakistan tour came as a breakthrough and Mahmud grabbed it with both hands.
Another four wickets against India in Chennai has only raised the profile of the pacer, who is not just skillful but has a good understanding of the game. He admitted that Bangladesh could have been more economical but was trying for wickets having already taken six of them in the first two sessions. “We were trying to reduce the pressure and now the momentum is in their favour. If I can take an early breakthrough, I will try to reset the momentum so that we can bowl them out under 400," said Mahmud.