A true team performance brings Tigers glory
Even though Taijul Islam was awarded the player of the match, and deservedly so, there were many other heroes that need to be talked about and deserve special mention.
Winning a Test match is no easy feat, especially when you have to grind it out for all five days and win against former World Test Championship (WTC) winners New Zealand.
But that's exactly what Bangladesh managed to do as they won the first Test by 150 runs at Sylhet.
Even though Taijul Islam was awarded the player of the match, and deservedly so, there were many other heroes that need to be talked about and deserve special mention.
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Let's start off with Taijul but also take a closer look at the others as well.
Taijul a perfect 10
No other player made a bigger impact than this man in the match than Taijul Islam.
The 31-year-old has been leading the Bangladesh Test bowling for some time and among all the spinners from both sides on display, he was the most impressive. What sets him apart from the others was how much he was constantly attacking the stumps and making the batters play. On day two, and day four, he was able to bowl long spells tirelessly and maintain his lines and lengths.
In fact he bowled a whopping 30 overs on day two and managed to get the wicket of New Zealand's star batter Kane Williamson on both innings. He will be crucial for Bangladesh in the Mirpur Test as Bangladesh look to win their first-ever Test series against the Black Caps. If Bangladesh are to do well at home in this WTC cycle, Taijul will have to play a vital role with the ball.
Shanto shows the way
Najmul Hossain Shanto made history by scoring a century on his captaincy debut, the first to do so. But then he also went on to win his first Test as captain as Bangladesh made history by defeating New Zealand in a Test match on home soil for the first time. Luck was on his side as he won the all-important toss and chose to bat first but then a lot of credit must be given for the way he managed his bowlers and field setups.
Having only four frontline bowlers at his disposal, Shanto had to manage them and their workloads well. The 25-year-old also made smart bowling changes which brought him results, especially when he turned to the part-time spin of Mominul Haque, and was rewarded on two occasions in the first innings. But then, we all saw his batting and how his century was the bedrock of the Bangladesh second innings.
A team that generally does well batting in the first innings but falls apart in the second innings managed to score more in the second innings and that's mainly due to Shanto's hundred.
Mominul the all-rounder
The former Test captain Mominul Haque turned into a bit of an all-rounder in the Test match as he took three wickets for just four runs in the first innings and chipped in with useful runs in both innings. He didn't score big in any innings, got starts and looked in good nick, owing to some good for in the NCL too. But his partnerships were crucial in both innings. In the first innings, after Bangladesh had lost two of their top-order batters for 92 runs, he and Mahmudul Hasan Joy formed an 88-run partnership to take the Tigers into a position of strength.
In the second innings, with Bangladesh once again having lost two wickets early and cheaply, for just 26 runs, Mominul forged a 90-run partnership with Shanto to take Bangladesh ahead in the match. But credit equally must be given to him when he was bowling in the first innings. He broke an important 78-run partnership between Williamson and Glenn Phillips when it looked like New Zealand would score big and take a big lead against Bangladesh. Then early on day three, when the other bowlers were failing to break a dogged 52-run partnership between Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson, Mominul did the trick with the ball, getting them both out in the same over and ensuring New Zealand didn't manage to take a big lead.
You can't keep Miraz out of the action
Always a bundle of energy and relentless fitness, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was willing to bowl long spells and also scored a very crucial half-century in the second innings, despite coming off of a disappointing and tiring World Cup campaign.
In the first innings, Miraz didn't have the greatest of times with the bat, scoring a shaky 20 runs but with the ball, he started off well, taking the wicket of Devon Conway and also keeping things tight at one end by going at only 2.9 runs in his 22 overs. In the second innings, he was super important with the bat as his innings of 50 not out helped the hosts go past 300 and into a territory where Bangladesh could set a tough target for the visitors.
Miraz would once again chip in with a wicket in the second innings and keep things tight in his 15 overs going at less than three runs an over.
Joy a crucial cog in the batting wheel
Mahmudul Hasan Joy, the right-handed opener has a knack for getting runs against New Zealand. He did so in the Test at Mount Maunganui and this time top-scored for the Tigers in the first innings, which was crucial in them scoring past 300 runs.
He scored 86 runs and really looked good for more. In the second innings, it was sheer bad luck for him as he was run out at the non-strikers' end from a ball that hit the bowler Southee's hand and went onto the stumps as Joy was found millimetres short. With Tamim Iqbal's future uncertain and Bangladesh in need of a stable opening pair, Joy could be one of the long-term Test openers for the Tigers if he can keep his performances up.
