Tamim Iqbal cracked a maiden Test hundred to lead Bangladesh to 321 for five in their second innings against West Indies in the opening Test yesterday.
Tamim Iqbal cracked a maiden Test hundred to lead Bangladesh to 321 for five in their second innings against West Indies in the opening Test yesterday.
Tamim, who made 128, took advantage of a depleted West Indies attack, operating on an unresponsive pitch in sweltering temperatures, to smash 17 fours from 243 balls in close to five and a half hours of batting to give Bangladesh the platform for a lead of 252 at the stumps on the fourth day.
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I've done it: Tamim Iqbal is relieved after reaching the three-figure mark against West Indies. pic/afp |
Another middle-order collapse however, undermined Bangladesh's progress in the final session before Shakib Al Hasan (26 not out) and Mushfiqur Rahim (28 not out) batted through the last 90 minutes to share an unbroken stand of 54 for the sixth wicket to get them back on track.
Tamim held centre stage and arrived at his milestone from 206 balls, when he guided a delivery from off-spinner Ryan Austin into square cover, and scrambled a single as a bout of cramp surged through his right-leg.
"It's a dream come true for any player to score a hundred in Test match cricket," said Tamim.
"Our head coach Jamie Siddons always says that 'the more balls we can leave, the more our chances increase of us getting a big score'. In other words, it is not always about the shots. The good balls you respect, and the bad balls you put away.
"The pitch is very flat, and if you do not want to get out, no one can get you out. It is a really flat pitch. I was going well, but then I got out playing a poor stroke."
He added: "We are going very well right now, but we lost four wickets in the last session which set us back a bit. Mushfiqur and Shakib are doing a good job though, and if we can get a lead of around 300, I think it would be enough to put them under pressure."
