An unbeaten century from Mahmudul Hasan Joy and half-centuries by Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque put Bangladesh firmly in control at the end of day two of the first Test against Ireland in Sylhet on Wednesday.
Joy stood tall with a superb 169 not out off 283 balls, striking 14 fours and four sixes as the hosts closed the day on 338 for one, leading by 52 runs with nine wickets still in hand.
At the other end, Mominul Haque was unbeaten on 80, while Shadman Islam earlier contributed a fluent 80 off 104 balls, laced with nine boundaries and a six.
Dominant Start for Bangladesh
Resuming from Ireland’s overnight 270 for eight, Bangladesh quickly wrapped up the visitors’ innings for 286, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz (3-50), Hasan Murad (2-47) and Taijul Islam (2-78) sharing the wickets.
In reply, Joy and Shadman gave Bangladesh the perfect start, stitching a 168-run opening stand that blunted the Irish bowling attack. The partnership set the tone for a day of dominance at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
After Shadman’s dismissal — caught behind off Matthew Humphreys for Ireland’s only breakthrough, Mominul Haque joined Joy to add an unbroken 170-run partnership for the second wicket, steering Bangladesh into a commanding position.
‘A Pretty Challenging Day,’ Admits Ireland Coach
Ireland’s head coach Heinrich Malan admitted it was a tough outing for his bowlers.
Yeah, pretty challenging day, obviously, if you look at the scoreboard. There were periods in the game where we controlled things nicely, but we didn’t start as well as we wanted to, and at the back end of the day, it got quite tough.
Earlier, Ireland’s hopes of adding valuable runs in the morning fizzled out as Paul Stirling failed to add to his overnight 60, with the last two wickets falling for just 16 runs.
Hosts Eye Bigger Lead
With Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mominul Haque settled at the crease, Bangladesh will aim to extend their lead on day three and bat Ireland out of contention.
Brief Scores: Ireland 286 all out in 92.2 overs (Paul Stirling 60, Cade Carmichael 59, Curtis Campher 44, Lorcan Tucker 41; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3-50, Hasan Murad 2-47, Taijul Islam 2-78) Bangladesh 338/1 in 85 overs (Mahmudul Hasan Joy 169*, Shadman Islam 80, Mominul Haque 80*; Matthew Humphreys 1-78) Bangladesh lead by 52 runs.
