Bangladesh were staring at a potentially mammoth target due to a combination of individual brilliance from Brendan Taylor and an average batting display by the Tigers which pushed the visitors onto the back foot after the conclusion of the third day of the first Test match against
Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Friday. Zimbabwe captain Taylor lead the hosts’ fightback with a fighting half-century to remain unbeaten at stumps on 81 alongside Keegan Meth (13 not out) as the Southern African nation posted 187-7 in their second innings, an overall lead of 442 runs.
Taylor, who registered his highest Test score of 171 in the first innings, followed it up with an unbroken fifty to spearhead his side on the brink of a substantially huge lead.
The skipper was a model of patience once again but Bangladesh will be indebted to the brilliant bowling display of Robiul Islam, who scalped 6-35 to sustain his side’s hopes of staying in contention in the Test match. The 26-year old Satkhira lad, who took three wickets in the first innings, was on the verge of an historic 10-wicket haul.
The only previous instance when a Bangladeshi bowler claimed a 10-wicket haul in Tests was Enamul Haque Jr, who took 12-200 against the same opponents in Dhaka eight years ago.
Were it not for Robiul’s exertions with the leather, Bangladesh would have been in complete disarray after earlier succumbing to their second ever lowest Test score against Zimbabwe. Resuming on their overnight score of 95-1 in 25 overs, Bangladesh lost their remaining nine wickets for just 39 runs in 29.1 overs to be skittled out for a miserly 134.
Only three players (Jahirul Islam, Shahriar Nafees and Mohammad Ashraful) reached double figures as one batsman fell after the other like nine pins.
Jahirul (43 off 113 balls) was the first to depart after
he prodded unsuccessfully to a Meth delivery to be adjudged plumb in front. Meth’s dismissal of Jahirul was his maiden wicket on Test debut.
102-2 soon became 112-3 as Mahmudullah (3) unluckily played on to shatter the stumps off the bowling of Meth.
Much of the attention was on the returning Sakib al Hasan, who was featuring in his first Test match since the West Indies series in November last year. But the mercurial all-rounder also departed for a low score of five as Bangladesh were now 123-4 and in a slight spot of bother.
Ashraful struck five sweetly-timed boundaries which briefly re-ignited hopes of a comeback but he too headed for the dressing room soon after making 38 runs off 88 deliveries. Ashraful played a hook shot off Shingi Masakadza which barely traveled and Malcolm Waller came running forward from the midwicket region to snap up the catch.
Masakadza inflicted further damage upon the Tigers as he accounted for captain Mushfiqur Rahim’s (3) wicket, trapped in front to be judged leg before wicket, Bangladesh reeling on 134-6.
After Nasir Hossain (7) edged a catch to wicket-keeper Richmond Mutumbami off the bowling of Kyle Jarvis, Sohag Gazi, Enamul Jr and Rubel Hossain all went away without troubling the scorers as Bangladesh were bundled out for their second ever lowest score against Zimbabwe, their lowest being 107 in Dhaka in 2001.
brief scores
Stumps, Day 3
Bangladesh 134 in 54.1 overs (J Islam 43, M Ashraful 38, S Nafees 29; S Masakadza 4-32, K Jarvis 4-40) v Zimbabwe 389 & 187-7 in 56 overs (B Taylor 81 not out, G Cremer 43, E Chigumbura 27; R Islam 6-55).
-With New Age input
