That Tanzid Hasan was going to become a red-ball opener was decided on March 23 this year. That was when Habibul Bashar became the senior men's chief selector. In under five months, Bashar's assertion that Bangladesh needed an opener who plays his shots, has culminated in Tanzid, an out-and-out white-ball specialist, scoring his maiden Test century. In just his second Test. Against Australia. In Australia.
Plays his shots wasn't how Tanzid went about it, taking 197 balls for his 101, but seeing a Bangladesh opener grinding it out for over five hours against Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon was a sight for sore eyes.
Tanzid struck his eight fours mostly through drives and cuts past point and cover; there was the odd on-drive, more of a mow against Hazlewood. Hitting Beau Webster for six over long-off was to break up the monotony in the first hour of the second day.
In general, Tanzid batted like he was born to bat against the red ball. He matched Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque leave for leave in the first evening and second morning. He didn't get stuck at one end, usually finding a single or two regularly, particularly with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. They added 93 runs for the third wicket, with Shanto helping him through the nervous 90s and on to his milestone. Tanzid soaked in the standing ovation for his century for a mostly partisan Darwin that recognised something special when they saw it.
"The standing ovation [for an overseas batter] is maybe the beauty of playing Test cricket in Australia," Tanzid said after the day's play. "They [the Australia bowlers] definitely gave me a tough time. I usually try to play to the merit of the ball, not the bowler. But they are the No. 1 team in the world, so they make it hard for you, particularly with the new ball.
"We tried to minimise our shots and focus on strike rotation. We avoided bad shots, and tried to build partnerships.
"The three partnerships between me and Mominul bhai [worth 102 runs], me and Shanto bhai [worth 93] and later Mushfiq bhai [Mushfiqur Rahim] and Shanto bhai [worth 66] certainly took us to a strong position. We were planning to play out the first session. They bowled really well but we had decided not to do anything extra. The day ends with a Test century in my second match - it is a great moment for me."
Tanzid reiterated Steven Smith's comment from the first day that the Darwin pitch was "tricky", and that the difficult part is when the ball gets older.
"The new ball comes well on to the bat, but it does get tricky when the ball gets older," he said. "I felt it was a good batting track. You could see it when Hasan [Mahmud] and [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz bhai were batting towards the end. We want to bat as long as possible, leaving a good lead for our bowlers."
That lead is currently at 153. Bangladesh still have four wickets in hand. And Mehidy and Mahmud have so far added 43 runs for the seventh wicket without being troubled.
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Tackling arguably the world's best Test attack isn't for everyone but Tanzid has already turned tough corners in ODI and T20I cricket. He also has some red-ball experience in domestic and 'A' team cricket. Tanzid averages 40.72 in 25 first-class matches, with three out of his five centuries coming as an opener before the Test debut.
He had been earmarked for the top level ever since he played a crucial role in Bangladesh's Under-19 World Cup triumph in 2020.
The international debut came in difficult circumstances. He was Tamim Iqbal's replacement in the 2023 ODI World Cup squad, with a firestorm brewing in Bangladesh cricket as it so often does. Tanzid, whose nickname is also Tamim (take a look at the back of his shirt), was however welcomed into the team by the senior Tamim.
On the field however, Tanzid went through an ordeal, scoring just a single fifty in his first 13 ODIs. Three ducks in the T20 World Cup in 2024 nearly derailed his international career, but Tanzid slowly got back on his feet last year. He was part of Bangladesh's big-hitting outlook in T20Is, finishing the year as the team's highest scorer (775 runs) and six-hitter (41) in a calendar year.
A more settled position in the T20I team gave him more confidence as an ODI opener, which brought him his maiden hundred in the format in March this year. It was a long time coming from a batter of whom much was expected all too quickly.
The red-ball success, though, might have taken some observers by surprise.
"The message was made clear to me when I was picked in the Test team," he said. "I have been batting with my ODI mindset in this format too. I had to be patient as they were not giving me much room or bowling bad balls."
Tanzid was in the first Test squad Bashar picked as chief selector.
Bashar himself was an aggressive No. 3 batter in Bangladesh's early days as a Test team and his ability against the short ball, especially, stood out at a time when Bangladesh batters struggled against pace.
Bashar therefore understood the value of what Tanzid brought to the table. Bangladesh's usual Test openers since Tamim are ones who like to take their time grinding it out, but the likes of Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Zakir Hasan haven't been too successful. So much so that Soumya Sarkar was brought back into the Test fold after five years for this tour.
Tanzid's Test debut against Pakistan in Sylhet in May this year was an unremarkable one. He wasn't even picked for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in July after that. But the team management believed that Tanzid would be one of their openers in Australia. He was. And he has repaid the faith now.