Ebadot Hossain – Bangladesh’s talisman in their historic Test victory

History was scripted in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday (January 5) as Bangladesh recorded their first-ever Test win on New Zealand soil. It must be noted that the Kiwis are the defending World Test Champions and were enjoying a 17-match unbeaten streak in home Tests before this contest. This shows how phenomenal they have been in home Tests lately. Owing to the same, many didn’t back the Shakib Al Hasan-minus side to even put up a fight.

However, the Bangla Tigers stunned the cricket world by registering an eight-wicket win in the opening Test. It was indeed a team effort as many players shone from the visiting team. The likes of skipper Mominul Haque and Liton Das scored in excess of 80 as the visitors posted 458 in their first innings, earning a substantial 130-run lead. However, the matter of fact is a team needs to take 20 wickets to win a Test match.

Let’s talk about 𝗦𝗜𝗫 baby!

Ebadot Hossain with another but that is a stunning grab from Shoriful Islam 😳

Bangladesh on the verge of a HISTORIC win! #NZvBAN pic.twitter.com/se8YvcPgfA

— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) January 4, 2022

Hence, it was Ebadot Hossain’s six-wicket haul in the last innings which took Bangladesh to the historic win. The 27-year-old put up an exhibition of fast bowling as Kiwi batters dance to his tunes. He finished with figures of 6/46 in New Zealand’s second innings, breaking the backbone of the home team’s batting line-up.

Now, Bangladesh hasn’t been a land of prominent fast bowlers. While the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed have made a name in white-ball cricket, they don’t have much to show in the purest format of the game. Hence, it’s high time for Bangladesh to groom Ebadot Hossain as a wicket-taking machine in overseas Tests.

What makes Ebadot Hossain so special?

Right from Courtney Walsh to Ottis Gibson, many pace-bowling coaches in Bangladesh had a liking for Ebadot. It was just a matter of time that the fast bowler unleashed his true potential. The 27-year-old has pace in his arsenal to hurry down the batters and his ability to move the ball off the deck makes him an even greater asset.

While consistency has been an issue for him, his heroics against the Kiwis are expected to evolve him as a bowler. Not to forget, Hossain is strongly built and can bowl long spells as well. These abilities could earn the pacer phenomenal successes in countries like Australia, England, and South Africa. Hence, it would be safe to say that Ebadot Hossain is the bowler Bangladesh need in overseas Tests.