BAN v AFG | I was dreaming of becoming the first centurion for Afghanistan, admits Rahmat Shah
Afghanistan’s first-ever centurion in Test cricket, Rahmat Shah admitted that he had always been dreaming about the feat, especially after he came close against Ireland in their previous Test. Rahmat’s 102 and Ashgar Afghan’s 92 saw the visitors through to 271 for five at stumps on Day one.
Earlier this year, Rahmat was the subject of a phantom captaincy debacle which saw him being replaced as Test captain in July by Rashid Khan after only two months – and no matches – in-charge. However, going by what he achieved yesterday in Chattogram, any regret over the whole incident is not affecting his game.
His 163-ball innings, an example of patient batting balanced with pouncing on bad balls, dragged the side out of trouble in the early part of the second session. Together he and Ashgar put on a 120-run stand and slowly grew their total to 197 for four before he was dismissed shortly after the tea break. His senior partner Asghar thwarted another batting collapse and seemingly took them to safety at 271 for five.
At the end of the day, Rahmat said that his 102 helped him overcome the grief of falling on 98 in their last Test, against Ireland in Dehradun.
"I was dreaming to become the first century-maker for Afghanistan. When I got out for 98 against Ireland, I was really upset. Today I got the chance to score the hundred. It is a proud moment for me. I also got the first Test fifty for Afghanistan and now I am the first century-maker,” Rahmat said, reported ESPNCricinfo.
Walking at No.3, he said that he had to adjust to the Bangladesh spinners' lengths, which forced him to use his crease, apart from defending well off the front foot.
"They were bowling well so it was my plan to play off the front foot. They had a good field set-up for me. I was forced to use the crease as well, as there wasn't a lot of run-scoring opportunities. We know they are good spinners, especially Shakib Al Hasan. Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam. We have a mindset [to tackle] the fast bowlers, but they have spinners," he said.
Rahmat himself has proven to be a real match-winner over the last three years with crucial knocks against the likes of Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland, and Zimbabwe. Sixteen out of his 21 fifty-plus scores have come in Afghanistan's wins in international cricket and his 98 and 76 played a big part during their maiden Test win against Ireland.
Meanwhile, his skipper, Rashid, admitted prior to the match that the team will only get better at Test cricket with each match they play. The 26-year-old reckons that his side can tackle their lack of exposure at the Test level can be filled in if they can use their experience from the Intercontinental Cup.
"We have played a lot of limited-overs cricket but we have also played a lot of [four-day first-class] matches in the Intercontinental Cup. We have won it twice. There's not a big difference between four- and five-day cricket," Rahmat added.
Although he is not a T20 world-renowned star like his teammates Rashid or Mohammad Nabi, his name will forever now be etched forever into the history of a fast-rising cricketing team’s history.
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