2nd Dhaka Bank Test …Windies tighten screws as Shiv scores 66th fifty

Sep 16, 2014 Sports

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By Sean Devers in St Lucia
In Association with Mike’s Pharmacy,
Raj Singh Insurance, Universal Sports Store
Carib Beer & Rex Resorts St Lucia 

Bangladesh is ranked last on ICC list of Test teams and yesterday at the Beauséjour Stadium on the third day of second Dhaka Bank Test match, West Indies never really exhorted complete dominance over the visitors although they finished the day in the driver’s seat enjoying a lead of 427 going into today’s penultimate day.

By the close West Indies were 208-4 in their second innings as Kraigg Brathwaite (44) and Leon Johnson (41) were never allowed to take the bowling apart on an easy paced track as they put together 76 for the first wicket before the hosts slipped to 100-4.
Shiv Chanderpaul is on 63 not out from 98 balls with five fours, and Jermaine Blackwood (43) revived the position with an unfinished 108-run partnership as Mahmudullah has picked up two wickets so far.
This was after Bangladesh resumed the day on 104-7 in reply to West Indies’ 380, still 76 away from avoiding the follow-on and were dismissed for 161.
Mahmudullah (53) and Tamin Iqbal (48) were the only batsmen to offer resistance to Kemar Roach (5-42), Jermaine Taylor (2-41), Suleiman Benn (2-19) and Shannon Gabriel (1-49) who did the damage for the home team, who opted to bat again although Bangladesh fell 19 short of follow-on target.
Mahmudullah and Shafiul batted solidly in sultry conditions on a pitch which seemed to get better for batting as the match progressed.
A small crowd of mostly school children watched as West Indies struggled to separate the eighth wicket pair which hung around for 50 minutes with little worries before the 45-run stand was finally broken when Gabriel had Shafiul caught behind for 10 at 134-8.
Mahmudullah got into the 40s with a pulled six off Gabriel and was aided by some unimaginative Captaincy from Ramdin. He soon lofted Gabriel for four to reach his eighth fifty at this level and second in successive innings.
Mahmudullah provided Ramdin with his fifth catch to give Benn his first wicket and leave the score on 154-9 with Bangladesh still 24 away from avoiding the follow-on. His 53 lasted 101 minutes, 161 balls with two four and a six. The innings ended 20 minutes before Lunch when Rubiul was LBW to Benn for a duck.
With a lead of 219, West Indies reached 12-0 at Lunch with Braithwaite, who got going with a boundary off Al Amim with his favored cut, on six and Johnson, who used his feet nicely to Taijul, who opened the bowling, and clipped him for four, on six.
After Lunch Johnson hammered Rubiul for four behind point for the first boundary after the interval before pivoting and pulling the pacer disdainfully to the square leg boundary as the left hander again looked very accomplished and outscored Braithwaite who played with a tight defence.
Braithwaite was beaten by Rubiul with consecutive balls that left him, but soon broke the shackles and lofted Taijul over long-on for his first six in Test cricket and followed it up with a four through mid-wicket.
Johnson then climbed into a bouncer from Rubiul and brutally hooked it for four before Braithwaite laid back and elegantly slapped Rubiul past point in the same over as the openers played with refreshing urgency in their second innings.
Johnson then worked Shafiul off his hips for four and swept Taijul to the boundary as he played with plenty of flair before a short, sharp shower halted play with the score on 67 without loss with Johnson on 36 and Braithwaite on 30.
When play resumed the openers carried the score 76 before Johnson was beaten in the flight and bowled by Taijul after hitting eight four in 41. He faced 59 balls and batted for 77 minutes.
Kirk Edwards (2) survived a confident LBW appeal first ball from Taijul with TV replays overturning the Umpire’s verdict, but he never suggested permanence and steered Shafiul to gully to bring Darren Bravo to the crease.
Braithwaite slowed down in the second session in which he only scored 38 runs and by Tea West Indies were 90-2 enjoying a lead of 309. Braithwaite was on 44 and Bravo on two and just nine runs were scored in the 40 minutes prior to Tea.
After Tea Braithwaite and Bravo continued to poke and prod and facing 27 balls for three runs against an ordinary attack he chipped into off-spinner Mahmudullah and hit him for four but he was bowled next ball to leave the host on 97-3.
Braithwaite’s vigil ended when he was taken at slip pushing forward to Mahmudullah for 45 from 112 balls, 139 minutes with three fours and a six as the host stumbled badly.
Chanderpaul’s last seven innings against Bangladesh has produced scores of 59, 203, 1, 150, 85, 83 & 63 and only time the 40-year-old Guyanese was dismissed in those innings was when he was ill and batted at number X1 and made one. His average in his last seven innings against Bangladesh is an astounding 645.
Yesterday Chanderpaul made a consorted effort to score quicker than he has done in the recent past and actually outscored Jermaine Blackwood, who dumped Mahmudullah onto the sightscreen while Chanderpaul, who was willing to use his feet to the spinners as he reached his 66th fifty and his second in the game, just before the close. Only Tendulkar, Kallis, Ponting and Dravid have more scores of 50 and over in Test cricket than the Unity run machine.
Both batsmen stepped on the gas in the last five overs yesterday and how fast West Indies score today will decide how long they bat before declaring. With two days remaining West Indies should win easily but with tougher opposition to be faced in India and South Africa over the next few months they will hope for an emphatic win here in a series they were always expected to win.
Scores: West Indies 380 and 208 for 4 (Chanderpaul 63*, Blackwood 43*) lead Bangladesh 161 (Mahmudullah 53, Roach 5-42) by 427 runs.

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