On this day: Bangladesh take their first steps in Test cricket

It’s no secret that cricket is a secluded sport. It is restricted to being played amongst just a few nations. While a lot of countries have started playing T20I and ODIs in today’s time, granting Test status to nations, is the true indication of their inclusion in the sport. While recently, Afghanistan and Ireland were inducted in the Test arena, back in 2000, a young, yet very talented Bangladesh team was given Test status. It was a monumental achievement for the Bangla Tigers.

While over the last two decades, Bangladesh has made a lot of progress in the longest format of the sport, their first game didn’t go as they would have liked. They played their first match, starting on 10th November 2000 on their home turf in Dhaka. They were up against a formidable Indian team which included legends like Sachin Tendulkar. Despite the odds being stacked against them, Bangladesh got off to a dream start.

#OnThisDay in 2000, Bangladesh played India in their first-ever Test ☝️

They notched up a 400-run total in the first innings, as Aminul Islam became their maiden Test centurion ?

Bangladesh have played in 115 Tests now, and will soon take on India in a two-match series! pic.twitter.com/DdZmz2eyyx

— ICC (@ICC) November 10, 2019

They won the toss and elected to bat. And they batted beautifully. They lost an early wicket but kept having partnerships. Habibul Bashar made a lovely 71 and looked at ease against the Indian bowlers. But it was Aminul Islam who played a knock for the ages. He batted with complete control, unfazed at the fall of wickets at the other end. He brought up a magnificent century as he stitched together useful partnerships with the lower middle order.  He was the 9th man to be dismissed, but not before he had etched his name in record books, scoring 145, becoming the first-ever Bangladesh batsman to score a Test ton. Bangladesh managed to put up a competitive 400 on the board.

Despite the Indian batting having a number of stalwarts, the Bangla bowlers did a great job restricting them to 429. Ganguly scored a fluent 84 and had it not been for Sunil Joshi’s 92 down the order, India would have folded up much earlier. Nevertheless, Bangladesh just had a slender margin to cover and had an opportunity to try and close the game for a respectable draw. However, they couldn’t show the same resilience as the first innings. The Indian bowlers bowled their heart out and dismissed Bangladesh for a paltry 91. As expected, India didn’t take much time to get to the total and won the game comprehensively by 9 wickets.

While the final scorecard may reveal the match to be very one-sided, Bangladesh did a commendable job to push India on the first couple of days. That very resilience and guts which they showed in their very first Test, has come to define them over the last few years. While they have progressed to become a top limited-overs side, the lack of enough games in the Test arena has not helped them one bit, and there’s still a lot for them to achieve in the longest format. Nevertheless, the Tigers from Bangladesh pounce on every opportunity they get and have proven to the World time and time again on their day, that they are as good as any team in the World.