What sparked Taijul’s heated exchange with Pakistan players before Tea

With only a short time left before the Tea break on Day 3 of the second Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Sylhet on Monday, tensions briefly boiled over in the middle.

As Mushfiqur Rahim took his time preparing between deliveries, Pakistan captain Shan Masood appeared frustrated and exchanged words with the veteran batter, triggering a heated verbal exchange. Moments later, Taijul Islam, batting at the other end, became involved in a separate spat with Saud Shakeel at slip.

At the end of the day’s play, Taijul shed light on the incident.

In Test cricket, batters often try to slow things down before an interval to avoid losing wickets. Mushfiqur and Taijul appeared intent on seeing out the session safely, while Pakistan were desperate to squeeze in another over before Tea.

Amid that situation, Shan walked toward Mushfiqur, who was at the non-striker’s end, and said something to him. Mushfiqur responded immediately, though the exact exchange was unclear.

At the same time, Saud Shakeel directed comments at Taijul from the slip cordon, prompting an animated reaction from the usually calm left-hander.

“When you are out there in a match, many different situations can arise,” Taijul told reporters after stumps.

“They had also been fielding for a long time, so they probably could not control their temperament. Mushi bhai did not say anything; he was just talking to the umpire normally. But whatever he [Shan] understood or did not understand, he reacted.

“And regarding what happened with me, Saud told me, ‘Come and bat.’ Actually, that is none of his business; batting is my business, that is all.”

The tension appeared to spill into the next few deliveries. Pakistan pacer Khurram Shahzad fired in a short ball at Taijul, who responded in style with a Calypso-like pull shot, lifting one leg as he sent the ball racing to the boundary.

Offering a modest explanation for the stroke, Taijul said: “When you are batting, the delivery just happened to be like that.”

Bangladesh ended the third day in complete control at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. After taking a 46-run first-innings lead, the hosts piled on another 390 runs to set Pakistan a daunting 437-run target -- a chase that would require a world-record effort.

Taijul also made a valuable contribution with the bat, scoring 22 off 51 balls during a crucial 77-run seventh-wicket stand with centurion Mushfiqur Rahim. Mushfiqur struck 137 while Litton Das added 69 as Bangladesh tightened their grip on the Test.