Mushfiqur steers Bangladesh to easy win over Ireland in Mirpur Test

Ireland grab three wickets but Mushfiqur picks up where he left off in his century knock in the first innings

Mushfiqur Rahim has calmly guided Bangladesh to a comfortable 7-wicket win over Ireland in the one-off Test in Mirpur with a day to spare.

Mushfiqur, who struck 126 in the first innings, remained unbeaten on 51 with Mominul Haque (20) to coast to the win in the second session of the fourth day on Friday.

Chasing a paltry 138 for the win, Bangladesh lost the wickets of Litton Das (23), Najmul Hossain Shanto (4) and Tamim Iqbal (31) before securing their first win in the format since July 2021.

It was Bangladesh's first Test win since they defeated New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in early 2022, breaking a nine-match winless streak in the prestigious format. It was also Shakib Al Hasan’s fourth Test victory as captain.

It win also marked the Tigers' second successful fourth-innings chase at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Apart from riding on Mushfiqur's runs, Bangladesh had Taijul Islam's 9-148 match figures to thank as well.

The hosts were off to a breezy start to their chase after Ebadot Hossain (3-37) grabbed the remaining two Irish wickets in nine overs on the fourth morning.

Bangladesh sent out Litton to open the innings for the first time since the Afghanistan Test in 2019. He approached the game aggressively and lasted 19 balls before Mark Adair’s short ball ricocheted off his helmet and the back of his bat, onto the stumps.

Shanto, who walked back for golden duck in the first innings, fell to a low catch in the slips off Andy McBrine on an umpire review to plant doubts into Bangladeshi minds on 43 for 2.

The frames where the ball entered the hands of Andy Balbirnie were missing in the decisive camera angle but the third umpire was convinced that the catcher had his fingers wrapped around the ball.

Reaching 89 for 2 at the stroke of lunch, Tamim fell to Ben White but Mushfiqur dispelled any worries and steered a steady ship confidently towards the target. He struck 7 boundaries in his 48-ball knock as Bangladesh eased past the finishing line with a run rate over 5.

Earlier, Bangladesh bowlers conceded only six runs before bowling Ireland out for 292 in their second innings. McBrine added one run to his overnight 71. He became only the second overseas cricketer to score a fifty and take a six-wicket haul in Bangladesh, emulating Rashid Khan.

Lorcan Tucker's 108 was the centrepiece of the Ireland fightback while McBrine's 72 and Harry Tector's 56 complemented his century greatly on the third day. They led Ireland's huge recovery from 13 for four, putting on sizable partnerships to get them to a decent total.

Adjudged Player of the Match, Mushfiqur said: “Throughout the Test match, it was important to show character, there was nothing in the deck for the bowlers, so they had to fight really hard. When you are playing on a deck like that, you need to start really well, the positive intent is really important.”

“Tamim and Litton batted well upfront in the second innings. If Ireland had taken two or three more wickets, it could have put us under pressure. We want to be consistent in the longer format, and the way the bowlers took 20 wickets on that pitch was incredible.”

Skipper Shakib said: “Normally we don't play on this kind of weekend. Credit goes to Ireland, they fought really well. Taijul bowled really well as far as our bowling is concerned, and in the second innings, all the fast bowlers chipped in.”

“There are a lot of areas where we can improve, this was a match where we could experiment with a few things. We tried to do that, some things came off and some things didn't. I thought we were positive enough, and the wicket suited the way we wanted to bat.”

“That's one area where we are looking to change our approach, and that worked in the match. I wouldn't say this was an ideal Test wicket, but it was a good batting track.”

Irish skipper Balbirnie said: “We showed a lot of grit. We all really enjoyed playing Test cricket again, you have to show a lot of fight, which we did, but obviously it wasn't enough in the end. It's a learning curve for us, understanding that when you win the toss and bat in these conditions, you have to score more runs and bat for much longer periods of time.”

“We did that in the second innings. So many things to be happy about, Andy was brilliant with ball and bat, Lorcan with his century, Harry with two fifties in the match. We loved it here, thanks to everyone at the BCB, we'd love to be back in the future and hopefully play better cricket.”