Taijul Islam Achieves Bowling Milestone as Zimbabwe Secures Historic Test Victory

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam achieved a major personal milestone despite his team's heavy defeat to Zimbabwe in the one-off Test at Harare. The left-arm spinner claimed 7 for 138 from 40.2 overs in Zimbabwe's first innings to register the 19th five-wicket haul of his Test career. The performance helped him move into the top five among left-arm bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.

Taijul equals Shakib, moves past Starc

Taijul's latest five-for saw him draw level with former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, with both bowlers now having 19 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket. He also moved ahead of Australia's Mitchell Starc, who has 18 five-wicket hauls. The Bangladesh spinner reached the milestone in just 107 Test innings, making him quicker than both Shakib and Starc. Shakib took 121 innings to reach 19 five-fors, while Starc needed 202 innings to register his 18.

Only three left-arm bowlers are ahead

Sri Lanka great Rangana Herath remains well clear at the top of the list with 34 five-wicket hauls in 93 Tests, along with 433 wickets. Former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram is second with 25 five-fors and 414 wickets, while New Zealand legend Daniel Vettori occupies third place with 20 five-wicket hauls and 362 wickets. Taijul and Shakib now share fourth place with 19 five-fors each. Mitchell Starc has slipped to sixth with 18, followed by England's Derek Underwood (17) and India's Ravindra Jadeja (15). Taijul has now taken 270 wickets in 60 Tests, underlining his importance to Bangladesh's bowling attack.

Zimbabwe register biggest Test win

While Taijul shone with the ball, Zimbabwe dominated the match to record the biggest Test victory in their history, beating Bangladesh by an innings and 85 runs at the Harare Sports Club. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Zimbabwe's pacers ripped through the Bangladesh batting line-up, dismissing the visitors for just 140 in the first innings. Mominul Haque was the only batter to offer resistance with 60 runs off 81 balls. Newman Nyamhuri starred with the ball by taking four wickets, while captain Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans picked up two wickets each.

Zimbabwe batters pile on the runs

Zimbabwe then responded with a commanding 410 in their first innings to take a huge 270-run lead. Innocent Kaia led the way with a brilliant 140, while Craig Ervine, Brian Bennett and Wessly Madhevere all scored half-centuries. Despite Taijul's seven-wicket haul, Bangladesh struggled to stop the hosts from building a match-winning total.

Bangladesh collapse again

Needing a huge effort to avoid defeat, Bangladesh were bowled out for 185 in their second innings. Zimbabwe's pace attack once again shared the wickets, with Ngarava, Muzarabani, Evans and Nyamhuri all making important contributions as none of them went wicketless in either innings.

Historic moment for Zimbabwe

The victory was Zimbabwe's largest-ever win in Test cricket, surpassing all their previous margins of victory. It also marked the first time in more than 25 years that Zimbabwe have won back-to-back Test matches. Their previous Test victory came against Afghanistan in October, when they won by an innings and 73 runs.