NORTH SOUND, June 18 (ABC): Mehidy Hasan’s two wickets in two overs at the end of the session pegged West Indies back although the home side were still well placed at 231 for six in reply to Bangladesh’s first innings total of 103 at tea on the second day of the first Test on Friday.
There was additional satisfaction for the visitors in the afternoon as West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite missed out on an 11th Test century, falling leg-before to Khaled Ahmed for 94 as the second new ball brought an important breakthrough.
However Brathwaite’s second-in-command, Jermaine Blackwood, continued to curb his usually aggressive intent and will resume in the day’s final session on 53, his 16th half-century occupying 122 deliveries to become the slowest of his Test career.
Blackwood’s partner coming out from the tea interval will be local star Alzarri Joseph although the lanky pacer and lower-order batsman would have been comfortably relaxing in the players’ enclosure ten minutes before the end of the session.
His arrival to the middle was prompted by Mehidy’s first wickets of the innings, trapping Kyle Mayers lbw and then having new batsman Joshua da Silva caught behind.
Mehidy might have had success a bit earlier when his captain, Shakib Al Hasan, opted not to request a review for a not out decision to a leg-before appeal against Blackwood.
Television replays showed the batsman would have been given out if the Bangladeshis had challenged the decision.
Having taken the second new ball as soon as it became due within an over of the afternoon session, the tourists continued to be frustrated by the Brathwaite-Blackwood pairing until Khaled produced a delivery which kept a bit low and crashed into the captain’s pads.
Even with the temptation of being so close to a hundred he did not bother to review the decision and left the field having fallen in the nineties for the fifth time in Test cricket.
His typically dour, methodical innings spanned all of 400 minutes in which he faced 268 deliveries and stroked nine fours.
Brathwaite’s caution rubbed off on his teammates with the usually attacking Blackwood having only three scoring shots off his first 43 deliveries.
Bangladesh’s lone success on the second morning, when the West Indies resumed at 95 for two, came as Nkrumah Bonner’s charmed life ended when he was bowled off the inside-edge for 33 by Shakib.
Bonner never looked comfortable against the seam bowlers and could have departed much earlier but for two moments of outrageous good fortune.
He should have been given out caught behind off Ebadot Hossain except that the players’ appeal lacked conviction while Shakib opted not to review the decision, only for television replays to confirm that Bonner did indeed edge the ball into the gloves of wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan.
There was more frustration for Bangladesh when Khaled replaced Ebadot and took a healthy edge off Bonner’s bat.
However the bowler could only look on in dismay as the ball flew past the left shoulder of an unresponsive Najmul Hossain at first slip.