Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque help Bangladesh erase deficit at tea on Day 4 of 2nd Test

Tamim Iqbal is unbeaten on 60 © AFP

Oct 24, 2013

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Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque steadied Bangladesh’s second innings with unbeaten half-centuries as the hosts reached at 173 for two against New Zealand at tea on Day four of the second Test at Dhaka taking a slender lead of 18 runs.

Placed at 87 for two during lunch, Iqbal and Haque avoided any aggressive strokes and ensured they erased the deficit. The Kiwis from their side throughout the session adopted a combination of spin and pace from either end.

Haque steadily progressed while Iqbal was more defensive of the two. The duo accumulated their runs in singles and twos with six boundaries hit in the entire session of which five were from Haque. The only boundary hit by Iqbal was a sharp edge which went past wicketkeeper BJ Watling and got him to his half-century.

The pair kept going and even Haque got to his fifty in style by cutting a wide delivery past backward point for four. The next such shot from Haque was four overs later which got Bangladesh at par with the Kiwi score and also marked their century partnership.

With a stable pair at the crease and four more sessions all three results seem possible. From New Zealand’s point of view a breakthrough can help them to capitalise and make strong inroads back into the match.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 282 (Tamim Iqbal 95, Marshall Ayub 41, Mominul Haque 47; Neil Wagner 5 for 64, Ish Sodhi 3 for 59) and 173 for 2 (Tamil Iqbal 60*, Mominul Haque 74*; Neil Wagner 2 for 40)  lead New Zealand 439 (Kane Williamson 62, Corey Anderson 116, BJ Watling 70*; Shakib Al Hasan 5 for 103) by 18 runs.

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