Mushfiqur Rahim scored an unbeaten dominating half-century as Bangladesh won their one-off Test match against Ireland by seven wickets while chasing 138 in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Friday.
Ireland resumed day four on 286 for eight and managed to add six more runs to the board as Tigers pacer Ebadot Hossain took the remaining two wickets to wrap Ireland's innings for 292.
Bangladesh made a change in the opening combination as Liton Das came out to bat with Tamim Iqbal.
Liton made a quickfire 23 off 18 with three boundaries and one six but got out in the last ball of the fifth over.
No 3 batter Nazmul Hossain Shanto also departed scoring just four as Bangladesh were 43 for two.
But Tamim and Mushfiq formed a 46-run partnership till lunch session on day four to restore control for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh still required 49 runs to win and after the lunch session Tamim lost his wicket scoring 31.
Mushfiq though continued to bat with authority and struck an undefeated half century (51) to steer the Tigers to victory with seven wickets in hand.
Mominul Haque was not out on 20 when Bangladesh reached their target.
Mushfiq's aggressive half-century was composed with seven boundaries.
The diminutive right-hander also scored a magnificent hundred (126) in the first innings and was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant batting overall.
Tiger skipper Shakib al Hasan was pleased with the team performance and also gave credit to Ireland for their fighting display.
"We had no particular ambition to dominate before the start of the game. We wanted to win it and we did it. I am happy with that," said Shakib.
"We never feared a defeat. In Tests you get time to bounce back...so none of us thought we could lose this game," he added.
Meanwhile, visiting skipper Andy Balbirnie was also happy with the way Ireland fought back, particularly on day three where they lost only four wickets and took a significant lead to eventually set 138-run target for Bangladesh.
"It was certainly backs-to-the-wall stuff on day two and a lot of people probably wrote us off but our day was as good a Test day as Ireland have had," said Balbirnie.
"Having been 13 for four and to get a lead and hopefully give them a bit of a fright was good."
This week's Test extends Ireland's losing streak in the five-day format.
They have now lost all four Tests they have played since becoming a Full Member of the International Cricket Council in 2017.