WI Bang T1 Day 5: Iqbal, Mahmuddullah fashion Rare Test win

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Sreelata YellamrazuJul 14 2009

Bangladesh overcame a sixty-nine run deficit from the first innings to pose the West Indies a challenging score of 277 to chase. And it was all in a day’s work as Bangladesh went about in pursuit of victory.

bang v wi

Bangladesh played without awe and it was perhaps for that single reason alone that they were brave enough to fashion the win by ninety-five runs. Despite facing a sixty-nine run deficit after two completed innings in the match, Bangladesh batted with courage and commitment. In particular, Tamim Iqbal could be singled out of the best knock of the Bangladesh’s second innings batting that ensured that Bangladesh went past the deficit safely.

tamim iqbal

His century then was simply the icing on the cake against a West Indies team considered second string because of the strike by the main playing eleven over contract row between the WIPA (West Indies Players Association) and WICB (West Indies Cricket Board). But it did not take anything away from Bangladesh who competed against the team that showed up. But vice captain, Darren Sammy did strike with the five wicket haul of his career to restrict the Bangladesh to 345 and West Indies’s target to a rather competitive 277.

mashrafe with mahmudullah

Bangladesh’s captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, injured himself very early into the match to deny himself the opportunity to captain the team on the field to their first Test in four years, the second in Bangladesh history after the first win against Zimbabwe.

bangla team

But Shakib Al Hasan grabbed the reins and the team and wrestled a three wicket haul for himself even as Mahmuddullah, another spinner, stole the show. The West Indies team wilted under the pressure of batting out a day to either win or draw at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Vincent. David Bernard tried desperately in hang in there with an unbeaten half century but there was no one else to complement his efforts.

mahmudullah dismissed roach

West Indies went into tea at 128 for six. But Bangladesh were looking the team best backed to win. They stuck to their guns, and when Mahmudullah picked up his fifth wicket for the innings, that of Kemar Roach, it was a matter of time before Bangladesh burst into wild rejoice.