Brilliant all-round cricket

The Tigers have stunned Pakistan and drew the first Test with superb batting prowess. Imrul Kayes and Tamim played two brilliant knocks of 150 and 206 respectively. Their opening stand of 312 runs is a new record for any second innings opening partnership in Test cricket. When the Pakistanis finished their first innings with a lead of 296 runs, the possibility of an innings defeat was staring the Tigers in the face and few had thought that Bangladesh would be able to bat out one and a half day with authority and take the match back to the visitors. In fact, when two explosive innings of the openers progressed, the cricket world saw a new record in opening partnership for the second innings in Test.
I hope that the outcome of the first Test will inspire Bangladesh to play positive cricket in the second match as well. Bangladesh is coming of age in the world cricket and we need to constantly nurture our young budding cricketers so that we can see more of such spirited performances in the future. We would like to see more cricketers like Tamim, Shakib and Musfiq to set their foot on our cricketing arena. Cricket is now the most loved game in the country and we look forward to earning many more laurels through the game in the coming days. Let cricket be one of our flagships and brighten our image in the outside world.  

Mohammed Farhan
Banani, Dhaka.