A Tigers day

WELL DONE: West Indies paceman Tino Best (R) shakes hands with Bangladesh vice-captain Mahmudullah Riyad after the third day's play, a rare satisfying day for the Tigers, in the five-day contest at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Shakib Al Hasan angrily swung his bat after his dismissal as the left-hander missed his deserved hundred on a placid wicket by eleven runs only because of his poor shot selection. But the other overnight batsman Naeem Islam was a picture of calm while essaying his maiden hundred and set the tone for Bangladesh to enjoy a rare successful day in Test cricket on the third day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Naeem displayed the kind of temperament that Bangladesh cricket has been crying out for a long time and the right-hander's old-fashioned batting was exceptionally aided by his teammates, which not only powered Bangladesh to fight back strongly in the match but also showed the cricketing world that they are not at all the 'ugly sisters' in the elite club. The collective effort saw Bangladesh on course to go past their highest Test total of 488 -- amassed against Zimbabwe in Chittagong in 2005 -- as they finished the day on 455 for six, 72 runs behind the West Indies' first innings total.
Mahmudullah Riyad combined with Nasir Hossain to share an unbeaten 87-run seventh-wicket stand to keep the hope of reaching the 500-mark for the first time in the country's history alive. In the end it was Bangladesh's day because they scored 291 runs for the loss of just three wickets. But cricket lovers will remembered the day for the patient and determined batting of Naeem, the 25-year old batsman from Gaibandha who set a rare example by carrying his National Cricket League form into the Test arena during his near six-hour occupation of the crease. The right-hander never lost his cool until he finally paid the price for a tired shot against Darren Sammy, who produced an in-swinger to get the edge to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin after the batsman made 108 runs off 255 balls that contained 17 sweetly timed boundaries.
Naeem's bloody-minded intentions were clear in the very first hour of the day during which he added just eight runs to his overnight 27. He paced his innings beautifully to notch his maiden hundred in his seventh Test by the tea break. Perhaps most encouraging of all as far as Test bats-manship goes was the way the batsman moved from 98 to 100. He bravely and patiently played eleven dot balls on 98 from fast bowler Tino Best, who tried a mixture of bouncers and fast short-of-length deliveries to unsettle Naeem, before steering the shaven-headed pacer towards the fine-leg boundary to reap his much-awaited and deserved reward
Naeem's batting might not have the abundance of flair and charisma like that of Tamim Iqbal or Shakib Al Hasan but he has got the ability to cling to the crease for a long time, which was the reason behind his success yesterday. The most important thing is that Naeem played within his limitation as he only executed attacking shots when the ball was in his favoured zones.
One however cannot forget the effort of the ever-inspirational Shakib -- his 167-run association with Naeem, which was the highest for the fourth wicket by a Bangladesh pair after Habibul Bashar and Manjarul Islam Rana's 120-run stand against the same team in Kingston in 2004, shaped Bangladesh's fightback.
But after the lunch break the left-hander suddenly lost his cool and went for a drive against Ravi Rampaul only to find the safe hands of substitute AB Fudadin at cover. Shakib smote ten fours and a six during his 143-ball 89.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim joined Naeem to cause more frustration for the visitors as the pair added 76 runs for the fifth wicket before Mushfiqur offered a simple return catch to left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul. Naeem's partnerships with Shakib and Mushfiqur carried Bangladesh comfortably past the follow-on mark of 328 after Bangladesh resumed their innings on 164 for three.
Even the dismissals of Naeem and Mushfiqur in quick succession could not frighten the home tent as Riyad got back among the runs and Nasir also showed his temperament to raise hopes of Bangladesh taking the lead, which would be a huge achievement for Bangladesh cricket, especially as the Tigers are playing their first Test in 11 months.
True, all three batsmen threw their wickets away yesterday, but there wasn't the usual madness after the loss of wickets which had so harmed Bangladesh's Test profile previously. The day was undoubtedly a refreshing one and one that should instil the home team with a lot of confidence.