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Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, has said that he had set his eyes on achieving the double of a century and 10 wickets in a Test match a few weeks before the series against Zimbabwe and was “lucky” to get there in the second Test in Khulna

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2014Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, has said that he had set his eyes on achieving the double of a century and 10 wickets in a Test match a few weeks before the series against Zimbabwe and was “lucky” to get there in the second Test in Khulna.Shakib scored 137 in Bangladesh’s first innings and then took 5 for 80 and 5 for 44 as the hosts routed Zimbabwe by 162 runs to claim the series. Shakib became the third Test cricketer, after Ian Botham and Imran Khan, to achieve the milestone.”I had my eye on this record ever since a journalist told me about it a few weeks ago,” Shakib said, after winning the Man-of-the-Match award. “I was lucky and fortunate to have done it. This was not an easy wicket to bat on and the ball was turning a lot on the last day. I am glad to contribute to a series win, but it was a very good team effort. Hopefully we will continue to do well in future.”Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh’s captain, also praised Shakib, calling the allrounder a “special player”. He admitted, however, that the side still had to work on a few areas, going into the final Test in Chittagong.”We needed the win and knew it was not going to be easy, the credit goes to all the boys. Shakib is a very special player,” Mushfiqur said. “There was a big improvement in our batting from Tamim and Shakib. There are areas to improve, especially in our batting, and we’ll think about our tactics and work on them.”It’s obvious both teams dropped many catches and we need to work on that. The team that misses less catches wins. We know why Shakib is special – with bat, ball and in the field – and all the young guys are inspired by him. I’m happy for the whole team and hopefully it will continue. [A] couple of areas where we need to improve and we want to win 3-0.”

Pace bowler Mike Reed registered his maiden County Championship five-wicket haul as Glamorgan had much the better of the first day

17-Apr-2013
ScorecardMichael Reed continued his impressive early-season form•Getty ImagesPace bowler Mike Reed registered his maiden County Championship five-wicket haul as Glamorgan had much the better of the first day of their Division Two clash against Worcestershire in Cardiff.Reed, 24, claimed 5 for 27 in 15.5 overs with Worcestershire bowled out for only 123 in their first innings. Skipper Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali top-scored with 20 apiece. Reed’s fellow seamer Michael Hogan also recorded figures of four for 33.In reply Glamorgan’s openers – Ben Wright and Will Bragg – only faced 13 balls between them for no score before bad light stopped play with only 65.2 overs possible on the opening day.Hogan and Reed went through the top order to reduce Worcestershire to 59 for 5 by lunch – losing four wickets for only five runs.It vindicated captain Mark Wallace’s decision to put the opposition in after he won the toss and was a turnaround from the opening match of the season where Northamptonshire dominated until wet weather forced a draw.Australian Hogan claimed the first wicket of the day in the seventh over when opener Matthew Pardoe was caught at leg slip by Wright. Worcestershire looked like they had weathered the early storm reaching 55 for one before losing four wickets in the space of 3.5 overs before lunch.Mitchell went edging a ball from Reed to Stewart Walters at second slip before Sri Lanka’s Thilan Samaraweera went for a duck trapped leg before by Hogan. With their backs up Glamorgan took two more wickets in successive overs with Wright claiming a second catch at leg slip to dismiss Ali to give the impressive Hogan his third victim.Three balls later Reed had Alexei Kervezee leg before for 2 as Worcestershire lost four wickets in four overs with only five runs added. Glamorgan’s bowlers did not stop there. Reed claimed his third wicket after lunch bowling wicket-keeper Michael Johnson, while the medium pace of. Jim Allenby bowled Neil Pinner as Worcestershire were reduced to 85 for 7.Hogan bowled Gareth Andrew for 9 before Dean Cosker caught David Lucas in the gully to give Reed his fourth victim as Worcestershire struggled to 102 for 9. Reed rounded off a fine five-wicket haul after bowling Chris Russell.Glamorgan began their innings but the players went off for bad light at 4.30pm and they did not return

The same old story of Chennai Super Kings’ domination of big IPL matches continued as they made it to their fifth final out of the six IPLs played

The Report by Sidharth Monga21-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo: If it’s a big IPL match, it must be Hussey and Raina•AFPThe IPL faced new crises – including a hearing for alleged spot-fixers about 10km from the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium and a hearing asking for a ban on the event itself – but on the field the same old story of Chennai Super Kings’ domination of big IPL matches continued as they made it to their fifth final out of the six IPLs played.Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina powered them with 80s, but the 192 seemed inadequate the way Dwayne Smith hit 68 off 28. Into the game came Ravindra Jadeja with the wickets of Smith, Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard. Mumbai get another shot at making it to the final when they face the winner of the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals.Super Kings looked a bit hassled in the eight-over slog against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous match, but in a full-duration big match you always back them to get back to their best. It was a typical Super Kings performance. It was Hussey and Raina first, who hardly ever disappoint in big matches, with an unbeaten 140-run partnership.That partnership followed a solid unhurried opening between M Vijay and Hussey. Hussey and Raina then got together as if they have been playing IPL qualifiers on Feroz Shah Kotla tracks all their lives. There were no uncertain prods in the beginning, no hesitation in the running. Hussey, who reclaimed the orange cap during the innings, was special in how he took apart Lasith Malinga.It was actually a good over from Malinga – the fifth of the match – featuring two excellent yorkers. Hussey not only kept the yorkers out, he pushed two balls of that over for fours. No back lift, just timing. Even when the two exploded towards the end, taking 123 runs off the last 10, it hardly looked like they were taking risks. It seemed the innings was headed towards its natural end.What followed wasn’t quite expected. Smith went absolutely berserk in the chase. Everything he touched seemed to be going for either four or six. He didn’t spare the opening bowlers nor Chris Morris. He laid into R Ashwin too and took Mumbai to 86 for 1 in seven overs. Then Dhoni went to what has been his trump card all season.On came Jadeja and just like that Smith sliced one inexplicably. Gone. Then went Karthik to a skidder: 95 for 3. Rohit Sharma fell under the pressure too, but when Pollard began to hit sixes, the flat track and small outfield promised anything was possible.Not against Jadeja, though. Two sixes in that over were followed by a dart into the pads, which Pollard happened to flick straight to square leg. That was game over, but Super Kings went on to show brilliant pieces of fielding and celebrations.

With the win in Hyderabad, MS Dhoni has become the most successful Indian captain in Tests

Sharda Ugra05-Mar-2013Victory in the Hyderabad Test has made MS Dhoni the most successful captain in Indian cricket, with 22 Test wins and two world titles in the limited-overs game – the 2007 ICC World T20 title and the 2011 World Cup.At the end of the Hyderabad Test, where India stomped over Australia by an innings and 135 runs taking an unassailable 2-0 lead, Dhoni waved away his numero uno standing as India captain, and said it was “over-rated and hyped.””If you see our dressing room right now, we are not bothered about who has won how many matches. What’s important is to win Test matches. The more consistent we become the better it is for the side. I don’t think this number really matters for us. What’s important is that the last two matches we have done really well.”A Dhoni media briefing can be a wide-ranging explanation of tactics, glimpses of personal philosophy and more importantly, a reflection of the team management’s thinking. Post-Hyderabad this is what it looks like: Virender Sehwag’s position in the squad is a bit iffy, Harbhajan Singh is safe and if Cheteshwar Pujara pays too much attention on performing outside India, he won’t relish the present.Asked if Sehwag was on borrowed time and would be persisted with, Dhoni called the question a “difficult one.” He said a ‘wait and watch’ was necessary before the selectors meet to pick the team for Mohali and Delhi. “You have to create a balance… You also need to see what situation we are in, because we will be touring abroad and we don’t have that many Test matches after this series. In between we hardly play any Tests and we go off to South Africa… I won’t really like to comment.”It was not as ringing an endorsement as was enjoyed by Harbhajan Singh, who Dhoni said had “shown improvement” in his last three Tests. Harbhajan, he said, had given him a very important option due to the number of left-handers in the Australian line-up.

I felt he bowled well in the second innings in Chennai and he has shown improvement in this game. He is bowling in one area which is very important. Of course you will have one lead spinner, but when it comes to the second spinner you may have to choose horses for coursesMS Dhoni on Harbhajan Singh

“He played against England and people weren’t happy. I could also not make him bowl the amount of overs that I would have liked to. That’s the case with three spinners. Often one of them will be slightly under-utilised.”He believed the pressure of Harbhajan playing his 100th Test was “was always there on him. What’s important is how he has overcome that. I felt he bowled well in the second innings in Chennai and he has shown improvement in this game. He is bowling in one area which is very important. Of course you will have one lead spinner, but when it comes to the second spinner you may have to choose horses for courses.”In an interview to the BCCI’s official website, Pujara had said that he would judge himself on how he performed in ‘tough overseas conditions.”Asked if this attitude was important for a young player to have on his team, Dhoni replied, “I think he watches too many media channels because that’s what really happens. I have always said you need to be in the present. Of course he has set his own standards but what is important to enjoy what you have done. What he has done or what anyone has done. No point in saying you have done well in India; go out and do it and we will judge you as a batsman.” While Pujara may himself have made that comment himself, Dhoni said, “but that’s my point – we all love to comment that way, but it’s also important to enjoy the moment. You have done well; so enjoy the moment. That will be my suggestion to him. He will score runs… that’s a different story.”India’s marked difference in recent performance home and away, Dhoni said, was a reflection of the variety of conditions that made Test cricket challenging. “You have to realise 80 or 70 per cent of the matches you play in your home conditions. You have to be good there. As I always say, once you go abroad the conditions are totally different and that’s a challenge. That’s what improves our Test cricket over a period of time. I think the sides that have players who have toured the sub-continent or of us who have played in other countries, they have been able to perform quite consistently.””I feel it’s still a challenge, that’s what is special about Test cricket. You go abroad, you have different conditions, you come to the sub-continent, the wicket becomes slow and low. If everything becomes the same, Test cricket won’t be challenging.”He said India had lifted itself off from the series loss against England by putting in an all-round effort in all disciplines. “Against England we were not at our best. We were not scoring enough runs, we were not putting huge totals on the board for our bowlers to be aggressive. All these things play a crucial part. You can’t just rely on your batting or bowling, as a unit you have to do well. Once you score runs, automatically you will see bowlers doing well. It works the other way as well, if the bowlers are bowling well it creeps into your batting also.” In the current series using a fifth bowler in Jadeja had worked well at home.When asked what his advice would be to Michael Clarke, Dhoni said his only piece of advice would be that, “screaming [at his team] won’t really help”. But he added he wouldn’t want to “poke his nose because it’s a bit unfair. You need to respect your opponents… you don’t give Australians bit more advice as they are very competitive and they can come back strongly in the series.” He said Australia could take back positives from the series that they would have a pool of players the next time they travelled to the subcontinent who would be, “better equipped to handle the conditions. I think it’s a win-win situation for them. Just that they have to be a bit patient.”The difference the Hyderabad pitch made for the spinners was that it had started to turn once the ball got old. In the second session on day one, India were unable to find turn and couldn’t break the Michael Clarke-Matthew Wade partnership, “That session we struggled a bit. All of a sudden the ball became soft and once we came back after tea, we saw that spinners were able to get a bit of turn and put pressure on the opposition.”India used that knowledge to impose themselves on Australia in the second innings on Monday evening. “We bowled close to 32 odd overs and gave away 72 or 73 runs. We had runs in hand, and we were waiting for the ball to turn soft. It’s one of the reasons why we wanted Ishant with the semi-new ball today. He got us that important breakthrough and because of that we were able to put pressure on their batting.”

Craig Kieswetter has had a fine match, taking everything that came his way behind the stumps and playing an instrumental role with the bat to put Somerset in a position from which they are well placed to win

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street12-Apr-2013
ScorecardCraig Kieswetter steadied Somerset before the rain returned•Getty ImagesCraig Kieswetter has had a fine match, taking everything that came his way behind the stumps and playing an instrumental role with the bat to put Somerset in a position from which they are well placed to win.A wicketkeeper is only as good as his bowlers but Somerset’s impressive attack offered Kieswetter eight chances in the match and he snaffled the lot. His batting could also been crucial in a low-scoring match. In Somerset’s first innings, promoted up the order to No. 3 in the absence of Nick Compton and Alviro Petersen, he came in with 12 on the board and steadied the ship for the best part of 20 overs. When he walked to the crease for the second time, his side was in a healthier position but still had a lot to do in pursuit of the 235 set by Durham. By the time bad light brought the day’s play to an end he had 39 to his name. His approach was exactly what Somerset needed, watchful in conditions which still favoured the bowlers, but severe on anything loose, scoring five boundaries.Only 35 overs were bowled in the day and play didn’t get going until 1.40pm. After a gloomy morning, the improvement in the light was barely discernible but nobody, apart perhaps from the fielders on another bitter day, was complaining. Three hours later the light worsened and that was it again.It took Somerset half an hour and eight overs to take the last two Durham wickets. First to go was Phil Mustard who had batted splendidly on the previous evening, but was furious with himself when he was run out attempting a second. The fielding and throw by Jamie Overton were excellent but it was a waste. Overton, who turned 19 two days ago, was Marcus Trescothick’s choice to do the bowling from the River End, and he showed a youthful eagerness to pitch the ball short, especially when he was bowling to Graham Onions. That may not seem such a good idea if Overton finds himself facing Onions on Saturday.Last man Chris Rushworth put bat to ball and had the third highest score of the innings, but he nicked to Kieswetter to give Alfonso Thomas his fourth wicket of the innings.The importance of Marcus Trescothick’s batting to Somerset was clearly demonstrated by the jubilation with which the Durham players reacted to his dismissal for 6 in the first innings. When he went in for the second time he looked much more secure, defending solidly and driving beautifully straight and through the covers. It was a surprise, therefore, that when Ben Stokes replaced Onions he bowled him with his fifth ball. Earlier Onions had trapped Arul Suppiah on his crease with a delivery that nipped in and stayed a little low.Suppiah’s dismissal brought in Kieswetter and, if he can carry on tomorrow as he started this afternoon, Somerset may have the edge.

The BCCI has offered an informal interaction between some of the Indian cricketers and their Australian counterparts, in order to help the players recover from the tragedy of Phillip Hughes’ death

Amol Karhadkar29-Nov-2014The BCCI has offered an informal interaction between some of the Indian cricketers and their Australian counterparts, in order to help the players recover from the tragedy of Phillip Hughes’ death.With Hughes’ funeral on Wednesday, the Brisbane Test which was originally scheduled to start on Thursday has been postponed. It is possible that the opening Test could be pushed back by three days and then the scheduled nine-day break between the second and third Test be cut down to four days.Many Indian players have been in touch with their friends in the Australian cricket fraternity following the unfortunate incident, and the BCCI is understood to have informed Cricket Australia that the board would be willing to go the extra mile to “speed up the healing process”.”If some of our boys mingling with the Australian players is going to help them get back on track, we will immediately facilitate it,” a board insider told ESPNcricinfo.The BCCI has also passed a message to all the members of the squad that anyone who wishes to attend Hughes’ funeral would be able to do so. Some of the India players, including those with Mumbai Indians – the IPL team Hughes was a part of – and some of those who toured Australia with the India A side, were friends with Hughes. If those players would like to pay their tributes to Hughes, the Board, according to an official, “will facilitate the trip to Macksville”. However, the full squad is unlikely to go down to Macksville.Meanwhile, the BCCI expects the reworked Test series itinerary to be finalised in the next 24 hours. CA officials informed the BCCI during discussions on Saturday that the new schedule will be confirmed on Sunday after their deliberations with various stakeholders, and most importantly, with the players.

Mark Ramprakash has been dropped by Surrey for their next County Championship match against Somerset

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2012Mark Ramprakash has been dropped by Surrey for their next County Championship match against Somerset following a poor start to the season which cumulated in a pair against Worcestershire last week.Ramprakash, 42, has scored 62 runs in eight Championship innings and his pair at New Road, completed when he was caught down the leg side off Richard Jones as he was out twice in a day, was just the third of his first-class career.Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, said it was not a decision he took lightly. “We have not selected Mark Ramprakash for the game against Somerset which was a very difficult decision to make,” he said. “Mark has had a tough start to the season and has not made the impact with the bat that he would have wanted to.”But you do not score the amount of runs that Mark has without knowing your own game and I know he will work hard to find his form again. The challenge now for Mark is to push hard to regain his place for the remainder of the season.”The difficult start to this season followed a 2011 campaign that was also below Ramprakash’s usual high standards. He was hindered by injury during the year and made 700 runs at 33.33 in 13 Championship matches with one hundred.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have scrapped two Tests from Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies next May and instead plan to play an ODI tri-series involving India

Andrew Fernando11-Sep-2012The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have scrapped two Tests from Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies next May and instead plan to play an ODI tri-series involving India. The decision also means that players from both teams will remain available during the IPL, which runs from April 3 to May 26 next year. The teams were scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20s as per the Future Tours Programme. It is unclear if the Twenty20s will remain part of the tour.SLC chief executive Ajit Jayasekara denied the motive for foregoing the Tests was to avoid a clash with the IPL, but failed to provide an alternate reason. He said the WICB had put forward the idea, and the SLC had agreed to the change in schedule after holding discussions. Jayasekara said scheduling an ODI series instead of following the FTP would end up being “more lucrative for the board”.WICB corporate communications manager Imran Khan said that all three boards had agreed in principle to the tri-series. Dates and details would be finalised following final sanction from the BCCI. Incidentally, national boards receive 10% of each player’s salary from the IPL.This will be the second time Sri Lanka have foregone a Test series which clashes with the IPL. In 2009, they declined to replace Zimbabwe in England, when Zimbabwe were unable to tour for political reasons. In 2011, several players, including Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, missed tour matches playing in the IPL ahead of a three-Test series in England, which Sri Lanka eventually lost 1-0.West Indies spin bowler Sunil Narine also missed two Tests against England due to his IPL commitments, though he did play in the third Test. Chris Gayle did not feature in that series due to a standoff with the board, which has since been resolved.The change in the tour programme is also a continuation of the SLC’s recent trend of culling Tests from Sri Lanka’s schedule. Two tests against India in July became five ODIs and a Twenty20 and the three Tests scheduled for England in March became a two-Test series as the IPL approached. With the schedule now adjusted, Sri Lanka will not play an away Test against a top-eight opposition between January and December.The BCCI did not confirm India’s involvement in any change of plans. “We have been told about this but the matter is being discussed. Nothing has been decided or finalised yet,” a senior BCCI official said. During its annual meeting in Malaysia, the ICC had decided not to create a window for the IPL, as they did not want to set a precedent of domestic tournaments taking priority over international cricket. “Once you provide a window for one particular member, you have to be conscious of the fact you may well have to do it for other members,” then ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in June. “Hence why we have not been supportive of a window specifically for any one of those domestic leagues.”

Plays of the Day from day three of the Kolkata Test between India and West Indies

N Hunter in Kolkata08-Nov-2013The delivery
Shane Shillingford to R Ashwin. Being an offspinner himself, you would expect Ashwin to read his opponent’s hand better than most. But even Ashwin was confounded by Shillingford’s doosra, as he played forward to a well-flighted delivery that pitched on a length, on an off stump line, before straightening. Shillingford had bowled with a scrambled seam and imparted enough revolutions on the delivery to draw an appreciative glance from Ashwin, even as he got beaten. That it was him who eventually bowled Ashwin would have given Shillingford immense satisfaction, considering he had caused much distress to the Indian through the morning.The no-brainer
Want to get rid of the West Indies opener? Bowl him a bouncer. If it was Kieran Powell who attempted an unnecessary pull against Mohammed Shami in the first innings, today it was the turn of his opening partner Chris Gayle to try the same against Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Gayle had got off the blocks in confident fashion. He had already hit two boundaries in that Bhuvneshwar over, the second one slipping through a closely-knit off-side cordon comprising a short-extra cover, cover and mid-off. However on the final ball of the over, Bhuvneshwar sent down a short-pitched delivery that was wide of the off stump. But Gayle quickly moved to his left and attempted a suicidal pull. It was a poor shot and Gayle realised it even before his top edge landed safely in the hands of the square-leg fielder, Virat Kohli.Ojha knees one for four
Powell charged Pragyan Ojha, punching a powerful drive straight back at the bowler. The ball ricocheted off Ojha’s bent knee and sailed through the covers. Normally you would expect the ball to stop after travelling a short distance. However, to everyone’s surprise, the ball kept travelling quickly towards the ropes, forcing Sachin Tendulkar (wide mid-off) and Ashwin (deep square leg) to chase hard. The fast outfield beat the pair.The run that wasn’t
Powell pushed a fuller delivery from Ashwin into the vacant midwicket region and set off for a single confidently. However, he had to abruptly jump back into the crease because his partner, Darren Bravo, had raised the red flag straightaway. Bravo did not even take a forward step as he raised his hand to signal a firm no. Powell, annoyed, raised both his hands at missing out on what was an easy run. Perhaps Bravo was yet to recover from his run-out in the first innings, when he had attempted a careless single and was sent back by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Llong and short shrift
Nigel Llong’s decision to send Sachin Tendulkar on his way on Thursday had already caused a furore in Kolkata, the story and picture of Tendulkar walking back shaking his head splashed across the front pages. On Friday Llong backed the bowler yet again in another doubtful decision. Shami swung the ball into the back pad of Marlon Samuels and appealed for an lbw; Samuels was looking down to adjust his thigh pad when he suddenly heard the roar go up around the ground and realised he’d been given out. He stood there, stunned, and then looked towards Llong, pointing to his thigh to indicate how high the ball had hit him. Replays showed the ball would also have gone down leg.Dhoni’s eagle eye
Veerasamy Permaul would have felt the tension and nervousness as he took the guard to face his first delivery from local boy Shami. The whole of Eden Gardens cheered as one as Shami started his run-up. He had already broken through the defences of Darren Sammy and Shillingford. And when Shami successfully curved the ball in for the third time in the over, to Permaul, the crescendo rose to ear-drum busting levels. As Shami and Kolkata appealed, pleaded with, begged umpire Kettleborough to raise his finger, Permaul had moved out of his crease. One man who did not get carried away was Indian captain and wicketkeeper, MS Dhoni, who sensing an opportunity threw the ball under-arm to break the stumps and run Permaul out. Both the Indian team and Eden Gardens enjoyed a laugh as an embarrassed Permaul walked back.

A solid performance from Bangladesh’s batsmen on a placid track marked the start of the Test series in Chittagong, leaving the bowlers potentially facing five days of hard work

The Report by Siddhartha Talya21-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tamim Iqbal squandered a chance to reach three-figures•Associated PressA solid performance from Bangladesh’s batsmen on a placid track marked the start of the Test series in Chittagong, leaving the bowlers potentially facing more days of hard work. The morning was slightly overcast but the sun didn’t take long to break through the clouds, confining whatever assistance was available for the bowlers to the first hour of the day. Deciding to bat without hesitation, Bangladesh, led by half-centuries from Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal, built a platform for a formidable first-innings score but suffered a few jolts along the way, some self-inflicted.The lack of assistance from the pitch meant Darren Sammy had to shuffle his bowlers, get them to bowl from different angles, change ends and rely heavily on variations. The attacking instinct of a couple of well-set Bangladesh batsmen helped West Indies break through but they didn’t do themselves much good by employing defensive fields for far too long immediately after lunch and tea. The spread-out fields enabled the hosts, Mushfiqur and Raqibul Hasan especially, to rotate the strike comfortably – 136 runs came in singles (102) and twos, more than half the score.Once the sun was out, the swing didn’t last long, and movement off the pitch was limited. Tamim’s solidity was an obstacle for the West Indies bowlers at one end but Imrul Kayes’ occasional extravagance gave them a window of opportunity.Kayes was beaten a couple of times while trying to drive on the up and his first boundary was an uppish chip over Darren Sammy’s head. A change of angle from Rampaul gave West Indies their first breakthrough. He bowled from round the wicket, produced an outside edge from Kayes that went for four, followed by a failed drive. The next ball squared the batsman up, angled in and then nipped away just a hint to kiss the edge.Shahriar Nafees settled in quickly with a couple of confident shots against Sammy followed by a lovely drive off Fidel Edwards. Nafees survived a close shout for lbw against Edwards, though a good part of the ball appeared to have pitched outside leg, before his stay was cut short by a bloody blow to the nose. Edwards slung down a bouncer from round the wicket that forced its way between the peak of the helmet and the grille, forcing Nafees to retire hurt.Bishoo, who probed away in search of turn, doled out a few long-hops that Tamim duly dispatched through the off side. There were, however, some signs of encouragement for the spinners after lunch. The batsmen were unsettled by a few deliveries that kept low and experienced the odd moment of discomfort when the ball turned. West Indies made their next breach when Tamim attempted a slog-sweep against Marlon Samuels, and top-edged a catch to midwicket; a healthy dose of slow bowling with the fielders pushed back had allowed the pair to work singles and twos but a rush of blood cost the well-settled Tamim a century.Raqibul looked assured during his stay, solid in defence and punishing the bad balls, and built a promising stand with Mushfiqur, who was his usual busy self, creating opportunities to score by using his feet, making room against straight deliveries, and running well between the wickets. Bishoo almost had Mushfiqur when he edged one that turned but was let down by Sammy, who failed to get down in time for a low chance at slip. Sammy made amends somewhat when he trapped Raqibul in front with a ball that nipped back in but Bangladesh were still in a strong position.Despite the wickets, the momentum never swung West Indies’ way due to the easy access to runs. Even Shakib Al Hasan’s initial scratchiness was offset by Mushfiqur’s fluency at the other end. He stepped out of his crease to loft Bishoo and Samuels when mid-on was brought in and employed the sweep, paddle and his favoured cut to ensure there were no extended periods of silence. Shakib grew in confidence, slapping Bishoo through the covers and pulling Sammy for consecutive fours. Having added 79 with Mushfiqur, Shakib then chased a wide delivery from Samuels to be caught behind with stumps in sight.It wasn’t until the 90th over that Sammy took the second new-ball, after Edwards’ reverse-swing had been dealt with by Mushfiqur and Naeem Islam. The hosts lost more wickets than they should have in friendly conditions, but will back Mushfiqur to break the trend of well-set batsmen giving it away.