Tamim ton puts Bangla in control by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Scorecard:	West Indies v Bangladesh
Player:	Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, DJG Sammy, FL Reifer
Event:	Bangladesh in West Indies 2009

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DateLine: 13th July 2009

 

Tamim Iqbal led Bangladesh batting as the side put themselves into a position of strength in the first Test.

 

The left-handed opener hit 128, his maiden Test century and aided by that the tourists reached stumps on the fourth day on 321 for five. They now lead by 252 with five wickets remaining against a second-string West Indies XI in Kingstown on Sunday.

 

The hosts, missing all bigwigs due to a contract dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board, did make some inroads in the Bangladesh batting after the tea interval but the tourists still hold the upper hand going into the final day.

 

Tamim had his chances though as he was dropped on 34 by Windies skipper Floyd Reifer, a sitter after Darren Sammy had found the edge while, on 76, Omar Phillips spilled one at midwicket off Ryan Austin.

 

Apart from these let-offs, Tamim was superb. Quick to punish the bad balls, particularly off the front foot. He raised his ton off 206 balls with a push to point. He was also instrumental playing a major role in two vital partnerships that formed the backbone of the Bangladesh knock.

 

His opening stand with Imrul Kayes was worth 82. The two wiped out their first innings deficit, while Tamim and Junaid Siddique added 146 for the second wicket.

 

The left-hander was finally dismissed when a mis-directed pull off the bowling of David Bernard flew straight to Travis Dowlin at mid-on.

 

Siddique also made a useful 78 but after his wicket there was a middle-order collapse which threatened to ruin their earlier hard work.

 

Former skipper Mohammad Ashraful (3) and Raqibul Hasan (18) came and went quickly as the Windies sought to find a way back into the contest.

 

But then Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim stood firm as Bangladesh ended the day on top.The pair added 54 for the sixth wicket before the close.

 

The tourists will now seek quick runs before declaring tomorrow and having a stab at getting out a much weakened West Indies line-up.