Mahmudul Hasan Joy displayed tremendous patience and concentration as the youngster reached his maiden Test ton on the third day of Bangladesh’s first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban today.
Playing only in his third Test, Joy spent about four sessions in the middle before he reached the landmark off 269 deliveries. The 21-year-old batter also became the first Bangladeshi to have scored a century against South Africa in Tests. Mominul Haque’s 77 in Potchefstroom back in 2017 was the previous highest by a Bangladeshi batter against the Proteas in Tests.
After seeing off a tricky phase yesterday when Simon Harmer had reduced the Tigers to a precarious four for 94, Joy changed his approach in the morning today. The right-hander used his feet against the off-spinner and even hit him for a six over long-on.
Joy did look nervy at times as the Protea pacers had beaten his outside edges on a number of occasions. However, despite getting rattled, the youngster stood firm and pounced on the loose deliveries, smashing as many as 10 boundaries and a solitary maximum on way to his century.
Joy, who lost night-watchman Taskin Ahmed early on the day, stitched together a crucial 82-run sixth-wicket stand with Liton Das, who was dismissed off a Lizaad Williams delivery first over after Lunch.
Joy then starred in another promising-looking 33-run stand with Yasir Ali before the latter saw his 22-run knock end due to a mix-up while running between the wickets.
