Taijul Islam starred for Bangladesh on the opening day of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Chattogram. He finished the day with a five-wicket haul, his 16th in the longest format of the game and in the process, also went past the legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram's record against Zimbabwe.
Akram picked 47 wickets against Zimbabwe in whites during his illustrious career, and Taijul has now gone past him, having accounted for 48 scalps against Zimbabwe. The left-arm spinner has played only eight Tests against the said team and has picked up five five-wicket hauls against them so far.
Among spinners, Taijul is the second highest wicket-taker against Zimbabwe, with Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan being at the top of the pile, having picked 87 wickets in just 14 Test matches. Anil Kumble of India and Daniel Vettori follow next in this aspect with 38 and 32 wickets each, respectively.
Most wickets vs Zimbabwe in Tests
| Players | Wickets |
| Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) | 87 |
| Waqar Younis (Pakistan) | 62 |
| Taijul Islam (Bangladesh) | 48 |
| Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka) | 48 |
| Wasim Akram (Pakistan) | 47 |
As for the Test match, Zimbabwe ended Day 1 at 227/9 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. With fifties from Nick Welch and Sean Williams, they were dominating the proceedings at one stage at 177/2 but the visitors lost seven wickets in the final session to surrender the advantage gained. Apart from Taijul, Nayeem Hasan also bowled well to pick up a couple of wickets as he sent back the well-set Williams and then got the better of Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine.
Bangladesh will now be hoping to wrap up Zimbabwe's innings soon on the second morning and then take a huge lead in the first innings. For the unversed, Zimbabwe are leading the two-match Test series by 1-0 having won the opening game by three wickets.