Tigers lose way in afternoon session
Despite a decent start, Bangladesh lost four wickets post-lunch as they now find themselves in a spot of bother on the opening day of their second and series-deciding Test against West Indies at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet on Saturday.
Bangladesh went from 77 for two at lunch to reeling at 159 for six at tea as the hosts roared back into the contest. But despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Bangladesh batters were able to find the boundaries almost every now and then as they amassed 82 runs in 25 overs in the session.
The Windies pacers, who were nullified almost with ease by the Bangladesh batters in the first session, seemed to have taken a different approach post-lunch as they banged in more short deliveries directed toward the batters' bodies and kept the ball in line with the stumps.
Debutant Anderson Phillip was the first to get the reward in the afternoon session as a length delivery that nipped back in and kept low hit Anamul Haque on his pads to have him trapped in front. Anamul departed after a 33-ball 23.
Kyle Mayers then removed Najmul Hossain Shanto (26 off 73) in the very next over. Mayers also had Shanto trapped in front with a ball that went in with the angle and hit the left-hander on the pads after he missed trying to flick it. Both Shanto and Anamul had opted for review but were given out on umpire's call.
Losing two set batters in space of just five deliveries, Bangladesh needed a big partnership as skipper Shakib Al Hasan joined in-form batter Liton Das in the middle. However, their partnership would only last for 24 deliveries and amount to only 20 runs as Shakib (8 off 9) chopped a Jayden Seales delivery onto his stumps to leave the Tigers in a further precarious situation.
The Tigers' troubles further compounded when Nurul Hasan Sohan, who scored a fifty in his last innings, was rattled by an Alzarri Joseph delivery and ended up gloving it back to the Windies wicketkeeper after only scoring a 19-ball 7.
With Liton unbeaten on 34 and Mehedi Hasan Miraz not out on 5, Bangladesh have their last recognised batting pair out in the middle. And the Tigers would desperately hope these two batters to build a big partnership if they are to finish the day as they had started it -- on a high note.
Comments