"I wanted to bat a little longer for the team" - Zakir Hasan after classy hundred against India on Test debut

Bangladesh opener Zakir Hasan expressed his desire to bat longer than he did despite grabbing the headlines with a magnificent Test hundred on debut against India on Saturday (December 17). The 24-year-old said that he didn't expect much from himself, given a challenging task at hand.

While Hasan could not score much in the first innings, he showed magnificent resilience in the second as Bangladesh faced a steep target. The left-hander brought up his hundred in the 78th over with a sweep off left-arm spinner Axar Patel. However, Ravichandran Ashwin got rid of him in the next over as the youngster edged one to first slip.

After the fourth day's play, Hasan said that Rahul Dravid congratulated him on his knock. The left-hander added that opening the innings has not been his regular batting spot in first-class cricket.

As quoted by Cricbuzz, he said:

"(Dravid) Sir greeted me. He said I batted well. It is inspirational for such a great player and coach to come to congratulate me. It is a great feeling. I feel good scoring a hundred. I didn't have much expectations, and all I wanted was to bat long since we are facing two days and a big total. I wanted to bat a little longer for the team."

He continued:

"It might have been easier for them. I have usually batted at No 3 and 4. I haven't opened the batting much. I usually face the new ball in first-class cricket. At times you get to bat after the first ball if you are at No 3, so you have to face the new ball. I was confident."

Bangladesh, set 512 to win by India, built an opening stand of 124 before Nazmul Hasan Shanto perished. The hosts lost six wickets by the end of the day's play and need another 241 runs to win on day five, with Shakib al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan in the middle.

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"I was trying to follow the way I bat in first-class cricket" - Zakir Hasan

Zakir Hasan (Image Credits: Twitter)

The keeper-batter said that he kept things simple by taking it ball-by-ball and believes that years of domestic cricket have helped him a lot. He added:

"I was trying to follow the way I bat in first-class cricket. I didn't want to think this is a big Test match. I tried to be as simple as possible. It was the same when I was in the nineties. I tried to follow the preparation when I bat in the nineties in first-class cricket."

Hasan added:

"I was trying to follow it every ball. I think I held on to my temperament because I played so much first-class cricket. I have a number of big innings in that format. I think I knew my process about scoring runs quite well."

The 24-year-old, who became the fourth Bangladesh batter to score a century in his first Test, made his first-class debut in 2015 and averages a healthy 41.27 in 69 games, scoring 13 centuries.