Shadman Islam spent a minute short of five and a half hours at the crease in Bangladesh's first innings in Rawalpindi . He held together an overseas Test innings for Bangladesh after the opposition declared on 448 for 6. An unheralded red-ball opener, Shadman's steadfast 93 should do his career a world of good in the longer run and in the immediate term served Bangladesh quite well.
The visitors ended day three on 316 for 5, still 132 runs adrift of Pakistan's total, but the mood seem to have shifted slightly in Bangladesh's favour. Shadman saw off crucial periods, particularly on the second evening, and then again after Bangladesh lost two early wickets on the third morning. He added 94 runs for the third wicket with Mominul Haque, before a 52-run stand for the fourth with Mushfiqur Rahim.
Shadman waited out 23 overs before he hit his first boundary of the third day, a flowing drive off Shaheen Shah Afridi. It was a long time coming but it looked so natural from Shadman when it did come. He followed that up with another in the same over and then got a third in nine balls off Salman Ali Agha, whom he took a liking to.
Shadman struck Agha, the offspinner, for four boundaries in two consecutive overs in the second session. He struck two off a Naseem Shah over too, the second shot of which was his best of the day. It was a cut shot that he had waited an eternity to connect. It took him into the nineties, but then he got slightly bogged down before Mohammad Ali pried open a gap between his bat and pad, a minute before the tea interval.
Mominul enjoyed watching Shadman's even keel throughout the day, particularly talking about how the left-hander was playing a Test match after a long time, and how often these comeback matches can be tough on the batter.
"He has been in the setup for so long but I have honestly forgotten the last time he played a Test match," Mominul said. "I am sure everyone forgot about it. It is very difficult for a player like him to get into the team and perform straightaway. You can see how mentally strong he is. We would have loved it if he reached a century. We all wanted it for him. It was an important knock for him.
"He played within his game. He only played shots that he was confident playing. He made the ball old [count]. He didn't chase anything away from his body. He stuck to his strengths and slowly built our innings. He set the tone of our innings."
Mominul said the pair hardly spoke during their stand, focusing mainly on getting Bangladesh out of trouble after the early wickets.
"We didn't talk much or think too deeply at that point. We tried to get runs. Plain and simple. You have to play for runs in every format.
"I tried to be positive. I waited for my zone, like I was patient about anything on my legs. Like I drove only those in front of me, nothing away from my body.
"Shadman played one of the best innings in my opinion. It came against four top-quality fast bowlers in foreign conditions. The way he played and stuck to his gameplan, it was outstanding."
Shadman had come into this Test only because Mahmudul Hasan Joy was ruled out due to a groin injury. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had said before the Test that Shadman had come into the game with form on his side, having got an 88 on the BCB High Performance XI's tour of Darwin.
Shadman made his Test debut in 2018 but, before Rawalpindi, had played only 13 Tests, the last of which came more than two years ago. He had missed 18 matches in this period, often being tagged the backup opener behind Saif Hassan, Joy or Zakir.
In domestic cricket, he had gone on to 13 centuries out of the 45 times he has gone past fifty. Last year, he made 1,000-plus runs for the second time in his first-class career. But Test cricket is a different proposition and breaking into this team was a long hard slog.
If he can show the same solidity in the second innings in Rawalpindi, with the Test still in the balance, it will go a long way in bolstering his case.
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