Zimbabwe expose Bangladesh's frailty at Dhaka
Travis Friend created havoc amongst the Bangladesh batsmen to fire out the hosts for a scanty 107 in the first day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Dhaka
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Travis Friend created havoc amongst the Bangladesh batsmen to fire out the hosts for a scanty 107 in the first day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Dhaka. The tourists looked uncomfortable too by stumps, when they had managed 20 runs for the loss of two wickets.
The match started 90 minutes late due to wet ground conditions. Bryan Murphy won the toss and elected to field, a good judgment that worked well. From the outset the two Bangladeshi openers, Javed Omar and Al-Sahariar looked uncertain against pace duo Heath Streak and Travis Friend.
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Al-Sahariar was first to go when Friend trapped him lbw. The next ball dispatched Habibul Bashar, as the scorer of the most half centuries for Bangladesh tried a weird shot to offer a catch to wicket keeper. The crowd at the BNS then witnessed a horrendous procession, as Streak, Friend and Olonga went through the Bangladeshi batsmen without giving them any chance to settle down.
The surface moisture provided extra bounce and only Enamul Haq, widely recognized as a left-arm off spinner and not as a specialist batsman, batted prudently. He notched up a top score of 24 that included four boundaries.
He was well assisted by Mashrafe-Bin-Mortaza, and they added 28 runs in their ninth-wicket stand, the major partnership of the innings. But no one could really handle Travis Friend as the tall pace bowler bowled superbly, finishing with five for 31 in his 18 overs.
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Bangladesh were dismissed for 107 just after tea. At one stage they were 56 for 8, and even 100 had looked improbable.
When Zimbabwe batted for the remaining hour, they struggled as well. The left-arm fast-medium bowler Manjurul Islam drew first blood for his team by removing Trevor Gripper with the fourth ball of his first over. In his second he struck again, dismissing Dion Ebrahim, lbw playing across the line.
Stewart Carlisle and Grant Flower batted sensibly for the rest of the session. Zimbabwe were 20 for 2 when play was called off due to bad light.