MIRPUR – Fidel Edwards followed up a second Test hundred from unrelated compatriot Kirk Edwards with a devastating opening spell to put West Indies in control of the second Test against Bangladesh yesterday.
Fidel grabbed five wickets for 58 runs from 12 overs to leave Bangladesh wobbling on 204 for seven, replying to West Indies’ first innings total of 355 at the close on the second day.
The West Indies fast bowler became the fifth fastest bowler to take five wickets in an innings in Tests, using 29 balls, extracting pace and bounce from the typically easy-paced Sher-e-Bangla Stadium pitch to reduce Bangladesh to 59 for five before Shakib Al Hasan led a fightback with 73 for the hosts.
Fidel’s fire came after Kirk’s 121 that followed his maiden Test hundred of 110 against India almost three months ago in Dominica.
He reached his milestone from 234 balls, when he sashayed down the pitch and lofted Suhrawadi Shuvo for his 14th four straight back over the bowler’s head.
Kirk and Marlon Samuels, with 48, added 87 for the sixth wicket before Shakib ended with five for 63 from 34.4 overs, triggering a typical West Indies batting collapse with the last five wickets falling for 36.
Fidel then started the Bangladesh top-order cave-in, when he had left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal caught at forward short leg for 14 fending off a short ball in the third over.
He might have grabbed a second wicket in the same over, but Marlon Samuels dropped a difficult chance at gully from opener Imrul Kayes, on zero.
Kirk Edwards then turned from hero to villain, when he dropped Shahriar Nafees on five also at gully off Kemar Roach in the following over.
Fidel coughed up two boundaries to Kayes in the fifth over before he had Nafees caught at forward short leg for seven, fending away another short ball.
Roach suffered in the next over, when Kayes slashed him through point for four and pulled a short ball over mid-wicket for six.
But Fidel tightened West Indies’ grip with two wickets from consecutive deliveries. He trapped Raqibul Hasan lbw for a duck with a pitched-up ball and had Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim caught at first slip for a first-ball duck.
Fidel finally ended the threat of Kayes, when he had him caught at square leg for 29 flicking straight down the throat of the fielder.
The West Indies fast bowler started to come under the hammer from Shakib, whose first scoring stroke was a pull for four off him, and followed up with successive boundaries to third man and straight off the first two balls of his sixth over, as he carried Bangladesh to 86 for five at tea.
After the break, West Indies met further defiance from Shakib and Naeem Islam, as they put on 84 for the sixth wicket to add some beef to the total.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy continued to work his bowling changes until leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo provided the breakthrough, when Shakib was bowled playing down the wrong line to a delivery that spun into him.
With the threat of Fidel out of the way, the Bangladeshi batsmen continued to blossom. Naeem and Nasir Hossain consolidated with a stand of 52 for the seventh wicket.
Sammy offered Nasir a bit of fortune on eight, when he dropped a sitter at slip off Marlon Samuels before the two Bangladesh batsmen completely muffed a third run to give West Indies a late scalp.
A short delivery from Bishoo was pulled in the air to the deep mid-wicket area by Nasir, but the ball trickled towards the boundary allowing Shivnarine Chanderpaul to gather and throw to the bowler’s end.
Nasir went for the third run, but Naeem was not convinced, and succeeded in running himself out for 45, as Bishoo threw the ball to wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jr to complete the dismissal.
Earlier, the day started nervously for Samuels, when he survived a confident appeal for a catch to silly point off Shakib in the second over of the day.
TV replays showed he drove the ball into the ground and it bounced up into the clutches of the fielder.
Kirk Edwards had a chance, when Nasir drew him on to the front foott, he edged, and Mushfiqur dropped him on 90.
He made the Bangladeshis pay for that indiscretion, walloping the fourth ball of the over for four straight over the bowler’s head and crashing the last ball through mid-off for another boundary.
Three overs later, he reached his landmark before Samuels gave a return catch to Nasir to spark the batting collapse.
The two-Test series is level 0-0, after the badly weather affected first Test ended in a draw at the Chowdhury Stadium. (CMC)
