Bangladesh's Abul becomes second No 10 batsman in history to score a century on Test debut
Abul Hasan became only the second man in 135 years of Test cricket to hit a debut hundred batting at number ten on the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old left-hander was unbeaten on 100 and added an invaluable 172 runs for the unfinished tenth wicket stand with Mohammad Mahmudullah (72) to help the home team recover from 193-8 to 365-8 at close on the opening day.
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Bangladesh’s Abul Hasan (left) celebrates his century with teammate Mohammad Mahmudullah in Khulna yesterday. PIC/AFP
Hasan became an unlikely hero for the home fans as he turned spinner Sunil Narine for two to reach his hundred, matching Australian Reggie Duff’s feat who scored 104 against England at Melbourne in 1902 while batting at ten.
Hasan, whose previous highest first class score was 61, batted with complete authority as he has so far hit 13 boundaries and three towering sixes off just 108-balls to completely overshadow a destructive 5-81 by paceman Fidel Edwards.
Edwards had pushed Bangladesh to the brink five minutes after the tea interval when he dismissed captain Mushfiqur Rahim (38) and Sohag Gazi (nought) in one over.
Records awaiting
The pair has set a new record for ninth wicket in all Bangladesh Tests, beating the 77 run stand between Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain, made against India at Chittagong in 2007.
The pair is just 24 short of beating the world record for tenth wicket in all Test cricket — 195 set by South African pair Mark Boucher and Pat Symcox, against Pakistan at Johannesburg in 1998.
An unassuming Hasan said he just wanted to back up Mahmudullah. “When I went to bat, I just wanted to support my partner. I did not know about any record but Mahmudullah told me to bat like a batsman, which I did, and in the end I am very happy to score a century,” he said.
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