There was a lot at stake for Bangladesh coming into the second and potentially series-saving Test against Zimbabwe on the back of eight consecutive sub-200 scores in their last four Test matches, all of which they lost. By the end of the first day at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday, their score of 303 for five will surely provide huge relief after the humiliating 151-run defeat in the first Test.
The architects of putting the home side on top were Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim as both struck centuries and in the process registered a record 266-run stand for the fourth wicket for Bangladesh that seized the momentum after the customary poor start.
Mominul emerged from a lean patch to hit his seventh Test ton and was dismissed after a magnificent 161 off 247 balls, which included 19 fours, while a compact Mushfiqur registered his sixth hundred and remained unbeaten on 111 off 231 balls with nine fours.