Published: Nov 22, 2018, 04:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 22, 2018, 04:29 PM (IST)
Four wickets in a fiery spell from Shannon Gabriel between lunch and tea, including that of the centurion Mominul Haque, lifted West Indies into a dominant position but some plucky lower-order batting tilted the scales to get Bangladesh to 315/8 on day one of the first Test versus Bangladesh.
SCORECARD: Bangladesh vs West Indies, 1st Test, Chittagong
Mominul had taken Bangladesh to 216/3 at tea with is fourth Test century of the year – a feat matched only by Virat Kohli – but Gabriel changed the tone of the second session in a six-over spell that yielded four massive wickets. Mominul and Mushfiqur Rahim were dismissed in one over and then Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan were bowled as Bangladesh fell from 222/3 to 235/7.
From here, the bowlers rallied to frustrate West Indies and get the score past 300 when at one stage even 270 looked difficult. Mehidy Hasan Miraz (22), the debutant offspinner Nayeem Hasan (24*) and Taijul Islam (32*) added 56 runs to Bangladesh’s total with a mix of determination and bravado. Nayeem and Taijul put on 56 in 15.5 overs, hitting five fours and a six during their alliance.
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Having been rocked by the departure of the returning Soumya Sarkar for a duck off the second ball of the Test when he nicked Kemar Roach to Shane Dowrich, Bangladesh got off the hook in a stand of 104 between Mominul and Imrul Kayes during the morning session. Kayes was given two lives, first on 3 when Roston Chase dropped a simple catch at slip off Roach and then on 16 when he slog-swept Jomel Warrican out to deep square leg where the catch was taken, only for replays to show that the spinner had over-stepped.
Mominul was attacking early on, hitting Chase for three fours in one over and driving and cutting with panaches to reach his fifty in 69 balls. Warrican had Kayes (44) well caught at short leg on the stroke of lunch, and in the afternoon Devendra Bishop was gifted a wicket when Mohammad Mithun (20) slogged needlessly.
Mominul eased to a pretty century, with the help of 10 fours and a six, and looked set for much more until he flashed at Gabriel and got an edge. Off the last ball of that over, Gabriel pinged Mushfiqur’s pads and won a straightforward appeal. Mahmudullah never picked a sharp in-cutter that rattled his stumps and Shakib (34) pushed an inside-edged.
The tail has been exposed, but unfortunately for Bangladesh it wagged – and how.
Tea: Bangladesh 315/8 (Mominul 120, Gabriel 4/69) vs West Indies
