Taijul pleased to hit back after poor performance in Sylhet

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam was elated to claim a five-for to help the side put on top against Zimbabwe in a Test which they are playing to avoid a series whitewash.

Taijul looked jaded and out-of-sort in the first cricket Test in Sylhet as Bangladesh lost by three wickets to taste their first defeat to the African nations since 2018.

The senior left-arm spinner failed to grab any wicket in the crucial first innings. Although, he took two wickets in the second innings, Zimbabwe batters played him comfortably.

However, on Day 1 of the second Test, when Zimbabwe looked to head for a dominating day, Taijul intervened with typical aggressive spin bowling that stifle the visiting batters.

"There is a matter of being satisfied. It's not a good thing, the way I bowled in Sylhet," Taijul told the reporters in Chattogram after Day 1 play.

"That was a poor performance, considering that I'm a player who has played 50 Tests. And so It feels good to be able to bounce back after that."

Alongside Taijul, offspinner Nayeem Hasan also dazzled with 2-42, as Bangladesh reduced Zimbabwe to 227-9 at stumps.

But Zimbabwe made a glorious start and reached 162-2 after the second session. It looked they were heading for a big total but thanks to Taijul's 5-60 and Nayeem's two-wicket haul, Bangladesh managed to make a super comeback, grabbing seven wickets in the last session.