Significant numbers

In the process of piling up 455 for six in their first innings of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday, the Tigers set some encouraging benchmarks in their cricketing history.
It was only their eighth score of 400 and above in their 74th Test, and their second highest overall, and also their second score over 400 against the West Indies. There is a good chance of their current innings overtaking the
current highest of 488 against Zimbabwe at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong in 2005, as there are four wickets left and two settled batsmen in Mahmudullah Riyad and Nasir Hossain at the crease.
It was also by far their best response to an opponent's first innings score, their previous best being the 408 in reply to New Zealand's first innings score of 563 at the Sher-e-Bangla in 2010.
In the seven previous matches in which Bangladesh have crossed 400, they ended on the losing side five times, winning one and drawing one. Encouragingly for the hosts that one draw was achieved against the West Indies in Gros Islet in 2004.
Yesterday also marked only the sixth time that Bangladesh have faced 120 (roughly four sessions of play) or more overs in a Test match. Even better for the home side their current innings of 455 for six in 126 overs has seen the highest run rate, 3.61, of those six instances.

OTHER LANDMARKS
-- The 167-run partnership between Naeem Islam and Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh's highest fourth-wicket stand in Tests, overtaking the previous mark of 120 set by Habibul Bashar and Manjarul Islam Rana against the same team in Kingston in 2004.
-- There has been only one previous occasion when Bangladesh have managed more fifty-plus stands (6) in a single innings than the four in this game.
-- The 982 runs scored so far is the highest ever in the first two innings in a Test in Bangladesh. The previous best was 915 in the Mirpur Test against England in 2010.