Nijatullah Masood of Afghanistan got off to an impressive start in his maiden Test by taking the wicket of Bangladesh’s opener Zakir Hasan with his very first ball. This was a memorable moment in Masood’s debut. Zakir departed for 1.
The ball that Nijatuallah bowled in the second over was shaped across Zakir, and the whole Afghanistan team appealed it, but the umpire did not seem to be swayed by their protests. Replays showed that the ball took the tiniest nick off the bat before passing through to wicket-keeper Afsar Zazai. The captain of the Afghan team, Hashmatullah Shahidi, did not hesitate to request a review.
Nijatullah is the 22nd bowler in the world to achieve the accomplishment of getting a wicket with their very first delivery, but he is the first bowler from Afghanistan to do so. He also became the first bowler in Afghanistan to accomplish this feat.
After six overs, Bangladesh had reached 27 for 1 and Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Najmul Hossain Shanto were batting together at the crease.
Joy and Shanto begin negotiations in the first hour
After the early dismissal of Zakir Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan and Najmul Hossain were able to steer the game through the first hour of play without losing any more wickets before the drinks break was called. In particular, Shanto seemed to be in fantastic form, playing several strong drives into the off side of the court. As he reached 24 off of 25 deliveries, Nijatullah demonstrated his ability to pick anything off that was just short or too full by hitting a draw and a flick, both of which went for four runs. On the other side, Joy displayed patience throughout a 41-ball innings, which contributed to Bangladesh reaching 45 for 1 in 11 overs.