Hasan Mahmud hat-trick leaves Bangladesh 329 ahead in Abu Dhabi Test

A Hasan Mahmud hat-trick ended Afghanistan's first innings on 240 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. It was the first taken by a Bangladesh fast bowler in Test cricket. Mahmud finished with 5 for 55. Najmul Hossain Shanto then made 82 and Mushfiqur Rahim 81. Bangladesh closed day three of the one-off Test on 223 for 6. The lead is 329. Two days remain.

Afghanistan resumed on 211 for 4. They lost their last six wickets for 29 runs. Ebadot Hossain took 4 for 56 at the other end. Bangladesh had been bowled out for 346 in 92.3 overs on day two, so one morning session turned a level match into a one-sided one.

Afghanistan lose six for 29

The innings lasted 89.1 overs. Mahmud bowled Ismat Alam. He had Qais Ahmad caught by Litton Das, who dived to take it. Then he won an lbw review against Zia-ur-Rehman. Three balls, three wickets, innings over. Bangladesh had to go upstairs for the last one, and the review came back in their favour.

Afghanistan had looked set to get close at the overnight break. Mohammad Saleem had taken four wickets in Bangladesh's first innings to put them in that position. The reward disappeared inside an hour of play. Mahmud and Ebadot shared nine of the ten wickets between them.

Mahmud joins Kapali and Gazi

Mahmud is the third Bangladesh bowler to take a Test hat-trick. The other two were spinners.

• Alok Kapali, against Pakistan at Peshawar in 2003, Bangladesh's first
• Sohag Gazi, against New Zealand in 2013, in the same Test as his century
• Hasan Mahmud, against Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi in 2026, the first by a seamer

Prothom Alo reported it as the first Test hat-trick of 2026 and the 50th in the format's history. Bangladesh's pace attack has carried more of the load since the side began touring outside Asia more often. This is the clearest return it has produced. Nine wickets to two fast bowlers in an Asian Test is not the usual split. Ebadot's 4 for 56 would have led most scorecards. Here it was the second-best return of the innings. Between them the pair conceded 111 runs for those nine wickets.

Rahmat's hundred in his first Test in charge

Rahmat Shah finished the innings on 105. He was 84 off 186 balls at the close on day two. He reached three figures in the morning before the tail went. It is his fourth Test century. It is his second against Bangladesh. No Afghanistan captain had made a hundred in his first Test in charge.

That is the second thread running through this match. Afghanistan have a new Test captain. He scored more than a third of his side's runs. Abdul Malik's maiden Test fifty on day two was the only other innings of substance. Nobody else passed 30.

Shanto and Mushfiqur build the lead

Shanto batted 191 balls for his 82 and hit five fours. Mushfiqur faced 148 for 81 with seven boundaries. Neither reached a century. Both went inside the last session. Mushfiqur was caught off Zia-ur-Rehman. Shanto was bowled by Qais Ahmad shortly before the close.

Litton Das was 5 not out at stumps. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was on 0. Zia-ur-Rehman also removed Mahmud. Afghanistan took three wickets in the final stretch of the day. That is the only part of it that went their way.

Day four in Abu Dhabi

Bangladesh have four wickets in hand and a 329-run lead. Two full days remain. The surface has produced 809 runs and 26 wickets across three days. That is neither a minefield nor a road. Afghanistan's problem is that they have already batted once on it, and the pitch will not improve.

Bangladesh's decision is how long to bat on Monday. Litton and Mehidy can push the lead past 400 in a session. The alternative is an early declaration. That would leave five sessions to bowl Afghanistan out once, with Mahmud and Ebadot fresh and the ball new. Sunday morning suggests that is not out of reach.

The arithmetic is simple enough. Afghanistan have not batted a fourth innings in this match yet. They lost six for 29 in their first. Rahmat Shah is the one batter who has looked settled on this pitch, and he cannot bat at both ends. Bangladesh will take 400 and a day and a half.