Tigers take upper hand
The first day of the one-off Test between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe was about to end with the game evenly poised until off-spinner Nayeem Hasan scalped his fourth wicket by dismissing centurion Craig Ervine in the dying moments, giving the Tigers the edge at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Ervine, standing in for regular skipper Sean Williams, struck a maiden hundred as captain and was the standout batsman of the day. His patient knock helped the visitors post 228 for six at stumps in the face of some tight bowling, especially from Nayeem.
Ervine also became the first Zimbabwe to hit a hundred on debut as captain after Dave Hougton in 1992.
Zimbabwe had won the toss and opted to bat as the Mirpur pitch was expected to be friendly on the opening day, but credit is certainly due for the Bangladesh bowlers led by Nayeem, who bowled 36 overs on the day of which 32 were bowled in a single, remarkable spell.
On the other hand, the experienced Taijul Islam had a tough day at the office and went wicketless for 75 runs from his 21 overs.
Bangladeshi seamers Abu Jayed and Ebadot Hossain made a good start to the day, conceding just one run off the first six overs; that too off a wide. The tight start eventually paid off as Jayed removed opener Kevin Kasuza, who was caught at gully after scoring two.
The first hour indeed belonged to Bangladesh as Zimbabwe managed to score just nine for the loss of one wicket after ten overs.
But as things progressed, opener Prince Masvaure and Ervine started to cut lose and the pair went for lunch with the scoreboard reading 80 for one.
Masvaure went on to register his second fifty after lunch and survived two scares on 58 and 59 respectively. Nayeem first dropped a rather tough return catch before Nazmul Hossain dropped a catch in the slip cordon.
Nayeem, who was probably the only Bangladeshi bowler to pose a threat, finally provided the breakthrough. This time, he managed to hold on to a sharp return catch to dismiss Masvaure for 64 to break the slow-yet-steady second-wicket partnership of 111 runs.
The home side gained the momentum after that and Brendon Taylor (10), who missed a reverse sweep off the previous delivery, tried to replicate the shot off the next ball but could only drag Nayeem's delivery onto the stumps.
Sikandar Raza then tried to build a partnership with Ervine but it was Nayeem again who was rewarded for bowling at the stumps. Just after tea, the right-hander edged to the keeper and departed for 18.
Pacer Jayed got his second wicket an over before the new ball was due, trapping Timycen Maruma leg before for seven runs with a beautiful late in-swinging delivery.
But Ervine remained compact despite losing partners at the other end and the left-hander eventually registered his third Test ton and his first against Bangladesh, against whom his previous highest score was 35 in four Tests.
The 34-year-old became the first visiting captain to score a hundred in Bangladesh after Alastair Cook, who reached three figures in 2010.
It seemed that the first day was destined to belong to the visitors until Nayeem struck a potentially telling blow and dismissed Ervine just before stumps. The left-hander walked off for a 227-ball 107, which included 13 fours, as the home side took the upper hand.
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