Sakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim shared 123 runs in fifth wicket stand to give Bangladesh’s innings some respectability before they wasted their wickets on a rollercoaster opening day of second Test against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday.
The Tigers reached 300-6 at close on the opening day, a commendable score in any circumstances but it could have been easily better had the top-order batsmen not thrown away their wickets.
Sakib batted with ease at a good pace and just when he looked destined to get his third Test century, the former captain decided to go down the wicket only to manage a thick edge to get caught behind on 81.
Mushfiq took his time to settle down and played some exquisite shots including a six to get his 10th half-century, providing Sakib a good support in rebuilding the innings before Kyle Jervis had him out lbw for 60.
This was the only wicket that Zimbabwe can claim that they have achieved as all other batsmen presented it to them for no reason apparently on a pitch that had no real demon unlike the first Test.
The Tigers, down 0-1 in the series, went into the match with four changes in their line up as Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque replaced Shahriar Nafees and under-performing vice captain Mahmudullah.
Sajidul Islam came into the side for injured Rubel Hossain while Ziaur Rahman made his Test debut at the expense of Enamul Haque Jr, who had to step aside as Sakib regained his bowling fitness.
Knowing Bangladesh’s weakness against seam bowling, Zimbabwe did not hesitate for a second to decide to field first but they were taken by a surprise by a resilient opening pair of Tamim and Jahirul Islam.
Jahirul (24) was most impressive among the duo until his attempted lofted drive off Kegan Meth turned into a skier as Malcolm Waller ran a few yards back to take the simple catch, ending 44-run opening stand
Ashraful was caught at gully after making a mess of a pull shot to get dismissed for four. Tamim showed no sign of pain in his injured finger when he batted with some authority to close in on a half-century.
He ran himself out in search of a 50th run before Mominul Haque chipped a tame catch to mid-off to leave Bangladesh reeling at 125 for four, which only brought back the memory of first Test.
Bangladesh were dismissed for 134 runs from a similar situation in their first innings of the first Test, but Sakib and Mushfiq ensured there was no repetition of the horror show.
Zimbabwe can claim themselves unlucky on this occasion as few catches went down while some other edges fell short of fielders. They also missed some run out chances to give Bangladesh the edge at the end of the day.
Nasir Hossain was batting on 37 with debutant Zia on eight not out when the bails were drawn for bad light on the opening day two overs before schedule.
BRIEF SCORES
Stumps, Day 1
Bangladesh 300-6 in 88 overs
(Sakib al Hasan 81, M Rahim 60, T Iqbal 49,
N Hossain 37 not out, J Islam 24, M Haque 23;
E Chigumbura 2-59).
-With New Age input
