Ireland score late on day one after Taijul’s five-for

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam won 5-58 as Bangladesh took control early on the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland before the tourists hit back late.

Ireland played their first Test since 2019 and were knocked out in their first innings on Tuesday by 214 points after failing to match Bangladesh’s vaunted spin attack.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan and paceman Ebadot Hossain each took two wickets to complement Taijul’s effort.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan, a left-arm spinner who holds the record for most Test wickets for Bangladesh, threw just three overs, much to the relief of the Irish, who gave six players a debut.

Bangladesh ended the day 2-34 with Ireland bowling intelligently to keep the batters at bay.

Mominul Haque was unbeaten to 12 after Tamim Iqbal was dismissed by offspinner Andy McBrine on the last ball of the day.

Paceman Mark Adair previously sacked Najmul Hossain Shanto for a duck in the first over.

“We’re not on the backfoot, even though we lost (a) wicket in the last ball,” Taijul said. “A big partnership is important if we’re going to give them a big goal in the first innings.

“We’ve got racquets capable of playing big innings. Hopefully we’ll come back strong.”

Harry Tector scored a team-high 50 on his debut for Ireland while Lorcan Tucker hit 37. Curtis Campher added 34.

“It was huge. It was incredible. It makes the day a bit more balanced,” Tector said late about the two wickets. “We’re shy with the bat but to take two wickets tonight is huge.

“It gives us a lot of momentum tomorrow. I think especially that sending off, the way the ball was spinning is a good sign for us on that wicket. It was incredible.”

After Ireland won the toss and opted to bat first, Ireland suffered an early setback in the fifth over when opener Murray Commins was caught by pace bowler Shoriful Islam for five lbw.

Ebadot Hossain had opener James McCollum caught by Najmul Hossain on the 15th, ending his shaky stay at the crease.

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie and Tector looked confident in a 21-run streak, with Tector beating offspinner Mehidy Hasan via mid-on for the only 6am session.

Tector also hit two fours against Taijul Islam, who found some turns and bounce and was rewarded when he removed Balbirnie (16) with a delivery that turned sharply as Ireland went 3-48.

Tector and Campher then gave Ireland a glimmer of hope, hitting with caution and controlled aggression. They put on 74 runs for the fourth wicket before Mehidy broke the partnership and rattled the stump from Tector, who hit six fours and a six in his 92-ball knock.

Taijul intervened, sacking Peter Moor (one) – who is playing his first Test for Ireland after moving from Zimbabwe – and Campher in back-to-back overs.

Resistance then came from Tucker and Mark Adair, both of whom scored more than 30 points to take the total to over 200.

Taijul, who tormented Irish batsmen with his armballs, claimed both had completed their 11th five-for in Test cricket.

Mehidy then finished the Irish innings, sacking Graham Hume for two.