Mahmudullah 150 takes Bangladesh to big total, but Zimbabwe begin reply strongly

Career-best scores from Mahmudullah and Taskin Ahmed, during their 191-run ninth wicket stand, gave Bangladesh a formidable platform of 468 runs on the second day of the one-off Test in Harare. But Zimbabwe made a superb start in their reply, going to stumps on 114 for 1, batting out 41 overs.

Openers Milton Shumba and debutant Takudzwanashe Kaitano added 61 for the opening stand before captain Brendan Taylor saw off the remaining overs with the debutant Kaitano. Taylor was unbeaten on 37 off 46 balls, while Kaitano was at the other end, solid on 33 off 117 balls.

But the day would be remembered for Mahmudullah and Taskin, who now hold the second-highest ninth-wicket stand in Test history. They broke the Bangladesh record of 184 runs for the ninth wicket between Mahmudullah and Abul Hasan in 2012.

Mahmudullah made 150 off 278 with 17 fours and a six. Ahmed's 75 was a bigger surprise, but he played like one of the proper batters, hitting eleven fours in his 134-ball knock.

To their credit, Kaitano and Shumba saw off the new ball threat. They got a couple of boundaries early but when Shumba swept Shakib Al Hasan for two fours in the 13th over, it was the first sign of intent. Kaitano got a four with the sweep too, but he kept himself quiet at the other end. Shumba struck two more fours before one too many sweep attempts brought his end. He fell lbw to Shakib, having made 41 off 83 balls with seven fours.

Taylor kicked off things with a chipped straight drive off Shakib and a slog-sweep of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, using all of his 17-year experience to stave off any late pressure from the visitors.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh added 174 runs, in 43 overs, to their overnight score of 294 for 8 in 83 overs. Mahmudullah and Taskin had been batting together since late on the first evening after Donald Tiripano's two late wickets. Bangladesh would have been happy if they got to 300 runs but by the time the pair were separated on the second day, the visitors were sitting on a dominant total.

The turning point was a strange one. Ahmed's face-to-face tangle with Blessing Muzarabani on the second morning sparked him into steadily bringing down the big fast bowler. Ahmed struck seven fours off Muzarabani, taking him for 39 runs off the 50 balls he faced from him.

It was all Mahmudullah needed to bat normally. He latched onto anything short offered by the Zimbabwe bowlers, often dispatching them on the leg-side boundary. With a pair of fours through the covers, Mahmudullah reached his fifth Test century.

Ahmed got to his maiden Test fifty shortly afterwards, taking 69 balls, as Zimbabwe looked out of ideas. Captain Taylor rotated his four-pronged pace attack, but when they couldn't get him the breakthrough, it was harder for the part-timers like Roy Kaia or Milton Shumba.

Shumba did ironically break the Mahmudullah-Ahmed partnership, but Muzarabani stood out with his four-wicket haul, while Donald Tiripano and Victor Nyauchi took two each.