Bangladesh quick Hasan Mahmud has admitted it was a surreal feeling when he became the first fast bowler from his country to complete a Test hat-trick.
Mahmud completed the feat in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi when he ripped through the opposition's batting lineup on his way to collecting another five-wicket haul.
The right-armer becomes just the third player from Bangladesh to register a hat-trick in a Test match and the first fast bowler to do so, joining Alok Kapali (v Pakistan in 2003) and Sohag Gazi (v New Zealand in 2013) as the only players from the country to register three consecutive dismissals in a Test.
Mahmud first deceived Ismat Alam to uproot his off-stump, before he removed Qais Ahmad and Zia-ur-Rehman with consecutive deliveries to clinch the rare hat-trick.
“It's an amazing feeling," Mahmud said at stumps on day three of the Test after Bangladesh reached 223/6 in their second innings to lead by 329 runs overall.
"When you start bowling and see movement off the wicket, you try to bowl upright, swing the ball and get a wicket.
"I was just trying that and following my process. I was pleased to see this kind of movement in the morning."
It helped continue a rich vein of form for Mahmud, who in August led Bangladesh to a memorable Test triumph over Australia in Darwin with a nine-wicket match haul as the side continued their push up the ICC World Test Championship standings.
This fixture against Afghanistan isn't part of the World Test Championship cycle, but Mahmud's form was just as impressive as the seamer collected four wickets overall on the third day to finish with figures of 5/55 from 21 economical overs.
Mahmud paid credit to Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and experienced batter Litton Das for playing their part in the hat-trick, after the duo convinced him to review the decisive LBW decision against Zia-ur-Rehman to ensure he completed the feat.
“Last day I only got one wicket the whole day, but I wasn't nervous at all. I was looking forward to today,” Mahmud said.
“We lost a couple of DRS in the first innings, so everyone was thinking about the DRS, whether it was going to be hitting or not. Credit to the captain and Litton Das. They were talking and chatting with each other, and then they told me that it was going to hit, so I could take the review.
“I just felt that I should bowl straight. That's it. Let the ball do the job. So I just followed the line and bowled at the top of the stumps."