Agency :
Bangladeshi pacer Hasan Mahmud captivated the cricket-loving crowd in Chennai with his four wickets on Thursday. However, as India recovered, Hasan had to wait until the next day for his fifer.
One by one, three Indian wickets fell on Day 2, with Taskin Ahmed spearheading the attack. He dismissed the well-set Ravindra Jadeja in the third over of the day, and later, Akash Deep misjudged the length and miscued one to mid-off.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored a century on Thursday, then became Taskin’s third victim. With India nine down and the number 11 exposed, Hasan finally had his chance and took it.
He squared up Jasprit Bumrah, and the edge was taken at third slip, allowing Hasan to achieve a unique feat: becoming the first Bangladesh bowler to take a five-for in India.
He ended up with figures of 22.2-4-83-5.
It also meant that Hasan has back-to-back fifers in consecutive innings, following his five-for in Rawalpindi. In doing so, he became the second Bangladesh pacer after Robiul Islam to bag back-to-back fifers in consecutive Tests.
Hasan performed a sajdah to commemorate the occasion, and although he typically does not celebrate his wickets, this moment was marked in recognition of his Test five-for.
Hasan, however, had not been earmarked for Tests. Primarily regarded as a white-ball prospect, his performances in the last ODI World Cup saw him fall out of contention.
His red-ball prospects seemed even more distant, but his fortunes changed with the injury to pacer Mushfiq Hasan during the home series against Sri Lanka. He repaid the selectors’ faith with a four-wicket haul in the second innings of the second Test.