“I have played a good amount of first-class cricket, so the red ball isn’t new to me,” he said. “It has a different feel in the hand. I like it in my hand. I always have a feeling that I can get a wicket with the red ball.”
Mahmud delivered for his captain Najmul Hossain Shanto at important moments. After Bangladesh had made an epic recovery from 26 for 6 to reduce their first-innings deficit to 12 runs, they took the ball late on day three hoping for at least one wicket early in Pakistan’s second innings. Mahmud picked up two. He found Abdullah Shafique’s edge by inviting him to drive at a wide outswinger, and cleaned up nightwatcher Khurram Shahzad to leave Pakistan 9 for 2 at stumps.
On the fourth morning, Taskin got Bangladesh their first breakthrough by removing Saim Ayub, before Rana ran through the middle order, leaving Pakistan 81 for 6. Then Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha added 55 for the seventh wicket, putting a puzzle in front of Bangladesh.
It was time once more for Mahmud to make a mark. He removed Rizwan in much the same way he had sent back Shafique, coaxing a loose drive with a full one outside off, and perhaps this was even more impressive for the amount of late swing he generated with a 36-over-old ball. Next ball, he hit the perfect length in the corridor and found enough movement to get Mohammad Ali to nick to first slip.
Agha’s unbeaten 47 led a mini rearguard, as Pakistan’s last two wickets added 36 runs before Mahmud ended their innings with his fifth wicket, that of the No. 11 Mir Hamza.
“The bowler has to find ways to get wickets whenever he is handed the ball,” Mahmud said. “Taskin bhai got us going, and then Rana bowled superbly. He was excellent. He shifted the momentum. I stuck to my process, to try to contribute.
“A partnership often causes a bit of puzzle in the team. We tried to stop runs from both ends. Dry up the boundaries. It was our plan.”
Mahmud’s performance capped a promising series with the ball. He bowled well in the first Test too, removing both openers in the first innings and dismissing Shan Masood in the second. And on the third day of this Test, he showed another facet of his game and his character.
When he walked in at No. 10, Bangladesh were 81 adrift of Pakistan’s first-innings total, and Litton Das had run out of recognised batting partners. He was batting with a hand injury and also battling cramps. Bangladesh couldn’t afford to give away a big lead, and Litton needed someone to stay with him. Mahmud did exactly that. He defended for two straight hours, scoring an unbeaten 13 off 51 balls. Mahmud was so focused on his job that it took him a while to realise just how long he had spent at the crease.
“[Litton] was the set batter, so there was a lot of work to do,” Mahmud said. “All he told me was that I had to give him support. He said he will do the rest. That’s what I tried to do. I really enjoyed batting with dada. I know now that I have batted for two hours. I realised this later. I only saw that I batted 55 balls when I was walking off with the bat.”
Mahmud reiterated the belief within the group, going back to the mood in the dressing room when Litton and Mehidy Hasan Miraz came together at 26 for 6.
“When we faced that situation, we lost all those wickets, we had to come out with a new plan,” Mahmud said. “We trusted Litton and Mehidy out in the middle to do the job. We felt that they will get settled, get the runs. They got settled, so we believed that they can do the job.”
Bangladesh’s belief will be tested one last time when they resume the fourth innings on Tuesday morning, needing another 143 with all ten wickets in hand, and potentially rain in the air. This has already been a special tour for Bangladesh. Mahmud has done his bit, and he will hope his batting won’t be required once again as they look to end their trip on a massive, unprecedented high.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
