Bangladeshi opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim has etched his name into cricket history, scoring his maiden Test century (101) in only his second match and becoming the first Bangladeshi to achieve the feat on Australian soil. The 25-year-old's commanding innings against Australia has largely vindicated the selection gamble made by the team's new chief selector.
Tanzid's inclusion in the Test squad for the series against Pakistan earlier this year was met with skepticism within the Bangladesh cricket fraternity. Known for his aggressive white-ball approach, he had cemented his place in shorter formats but was not widely considered a long-format option despite a first-class career boasting five centuries and six half-centuries in 26 matches, averaging 39.60 with a strike-rate of 77.59 – a pace typically unsuited for a Test opener's traditional grafter's role.
His Test debut against Pakistan, where he replaced an injured Shadman Islam, saw him fail to impress, scoring 26 and 4 in two innings. This performance led to scrutiny of his temperament and technique, and he was subsequently omitted for Shadman's return against Zimbabwe, suggesting he was not part of the long-term Test plans.
However, newly appointed chief selector Habibul Bashar had a different vision for the Australia series. With out-of-form Mahmudul Hasan Joy failing to make the cut, Tanzid was drafted as Shadman's opening partner. Bashar's rationale was rooted in the evolving nature of modern Test cricket, which increasingly demands openers capable of counterattacking bowlers and injecting fresh energy into the dressing room.
Tanzid repaid Bashar's faith emphatically. After cruising to his first Test fifty off 102 balls with five boundaries, he received a reprieve when Steve Smith dropped him off Nathan Lyon on 61. He then adopted an attacking brand of cricket as he approached his hundred, demonstrating composure even when Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey moved up to the stumps to curb his attacking instincts. Instead of stepping out, Tanzid skillfully opted for late cuts and square drives off the Australian pacers to find boundaries square of the wicket.
Reflecting on his landmark innings, Tanzid expressed immense pride. “It’s a great opportunity to play here. I think this is very special for me, because this is the first time I am here and played Test cricket. Only the second [Test] of mine, and made a hundred. It’s very special for me,” he stated, adding that he was “very, very proud.” He also noted, “What the team required, I was trying to play like that. I think the wicket looks good. They came to me very differently, and I was trying to play normal cricket and keep calm.”
While many were surprised by Tanzid's adapted batting template, former Bangladesh skipper Khaled Mahmud was not. Mahmud, who first spotted Tanzid as a teenager at his Bangla Trac Cricket Academy in Rajshahi ahead of the Under-19 World Cup in 2020, always believed in his defensive capabilities. Mahmud recounted challenging selectors for initially overlooking Tanzid and Towhid Hridoy for the U19 team, stating, “I said both are good U19 players. Then they were included and the rest is history as they played for the U19 team, became world champions, and now represent the Bangladesh team.”
Mahmud consistently maintained that Tanzid possessed the qualities for red-ball cricket. “His defence is strong. Mentally also he is a strong boy. Because of the T20 and one-day mentality he is always looking to score runs and play shots and carries a bit of a different mindset,” Mahmud explained. He added, “But technically he's good and he can play all the shots from the cover drive to the square drive as well as pull and hook shots and there is supposed to be no problem with his technique [to play longer-format cricket].”
Describing the innings as a “dominating hundred,” Mahmud praised Tanzid's execution. “The way he batted and hit shots all across the park, he didn't play a bad shot. We saw a totally different Tamim from T20s and one-dayers as he used to play cross-batted shots [in white-ball cricket]. In this Test he did no such thing.” Mahmud concluded, “He played such a beautiful innings. I always had the belief in Tamim that he could play a big innings like this. He is a quality player, he normally doesn't get to think like this in Test matches since we played him in T20s and one-dayers, so his attitude was more in tune with limited-overs cricket. But he will now change having played Test cricket. This kind of an innings is a big plus point for the team – the runs will come and the opponent team will be under pressure.” He emphasized the significance, stating, “Bangladesh have got a good opener, scoring a hundred against those four world-class bowlers is not a joke.”
Having delivered a fitting reply to his critics with this historic ton, Tanzid Hasan Tamim is undoubtedly a relieved man, marking a significant moment for Bangladesh cricket.
