Tamim Iqbal's determined century put Bangladesh in control of the first Test © AFP Enlarge
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Tamim Iqbal's maiden Test century helped Bangladesh wrest control of the opening Test in St Vincent, and the opener was confident of success, given his team's sizable lead and strength with spin on a turning pitch. By stumps Bangladesh had built a strong lead of 252, and with five wickets remaining they stand a chance of setting West Indies a formidable target on the final day. Tamim believed the left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan would be the main threat for West Indies in their chase. "We are going very well, around 300 will be the target," Tamim said at the end of the day's play. "Shakib is one of the best spinners in the world, he is No.1 now and it will be hard for them [West Indies] to handle him on the last day."

Coming into this Test, Tamim had a modest average of 22.83 and he set about making things up with a determined innings, riding his luck - he was dropped twice - to score 128, his first century in 18 innings. He added 146 with Junaid Siddique for the second wicket, and cut loose in the final session, carting David Bernard for 17 in an over, before mistiming a pull to mid-on. While acknowledging that the century was a dream come true, Tamim credited his performance to the guidance of Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach. "Our head coach, Jamie Siddons, has always said the more you leave (the ball) that means you'll get a big score," he said. "It's not about the shots, the good balls you leave, that will give you a big score." Tamim also conceded that batsmen had it easy on the St Vincent pitch. "It's very flat, if you don't want to get out, no one will get you out," he said. "I was going good but I played a bad shot to get out."

Bangladesh were in control for the most part of the fourth day but experienced a middle-order wobble as they lost Siddique, the struggling Mohammad Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan in a space of nine runs. However, wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib steadied the innings with an unbeaten 54-run stand, rotating the strike well, to stretch Bangladesh's lead.