Tamim, Riyad warm up with tons

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal and all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad got their West Indies tour off to the perfect start.

Left-handed opener Tamim hit an an unbeaten 125 in the Tigers' only warm-up game against a CWI President's XI at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua yesterday. Meanwhile, Mahmudullah hit 102 before retiring.

At the end of the first day of the two-day practice match, Bangladesh reached 403 for eight in 83.2 overs. Tamim had retired during the tea break.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan chose to bat first at the toss, and Bangladesh were soon in early trouble, falling to 22 for three after Liton Das (2), Mominul Haque (7) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto (4) departed cheaply. The wrecker-in-chief for the home side was fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, a bowler the Tigers are likely to be confronted with in the upcoming two-Test series against the West Indies starting from July 4.

The early damage was repaired by contrasting innings from Shakib and Tamim.  Shakib had reached 58 while Tamim was playing rather cautiously on 23. The captain was eventually out for 67, which set the stage for the reliable Mahmudullah to come in and carry on rebuilding the innings.

Bangladesh were scoring at a good rate as they reached 277 for four at tea, when just 54 overs were bowled. Nurul Hasan was the fifth wicket to fall. Joseph, meanwhile, marked his return from injury with a stellar display, taking four for 40.

The captains of either side earlier decided to utilise all the players in their respective squads.