Samuels, Bravo empower West Indies in Khulna Test

By Saqibul Islam

DHAKA, Bangladesh (TheSportsNEXT) November 22, 2012: Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo accepted the responsibility with both hands as West Indies responded professionally well to Bangladesh’s first innings total on second day of the second and final Test at Khulna on Thursday.

At stumps on day two, West Indies reached 241 for two with Marlon Samuels not out at 109 and Darren Bravo unbeaten at 85.

The duo came together at the crease when West Indies had lost two quick wickets after Bangladesh managed to add only 22 runs to their overnight score of 355 for eight.

Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo added 198 runs for the third wicket stand to take West Indies in a commanding position in the second Test.

During the partnership, Marlon Samuels reached his third Test hundred this season while his partner Darren Bravo is just 15 runs away from his fourth century.

Chris Gayle once again failed to impose himself for a longer period of time and this time Kieran Powell also failed to prolong his stay at the crease but Samuels and Bravo bought them time in the middle with some application as the pitch had nothing much to offer to either spinners as well as seamers in Khulna.

Earlier on second day, Bangladesh were bowled out for 387 runs in their first innings.

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West Indies in Bangladesh: Chanderpaul, Powell shine on first day

By Saqibul Islam

MIRPUR, Bangladesh (TheSportsNEXT) November 13, 2012: West Indies started their Bangladesh tour in an impressive manner on Tuesday when they reached a total of 361 for four on Day 1 of the first Test at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul and opener Kieran Powell were the stars for West Indies on inaugural day of the series as Bangladeshi bowlers failed to pounce on the spinners-friendly conditions and offered too many boundary balls to the visitors.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and he had no hesitation in choosing to bat first on a first-day pitch at Shere Bangla National Stadium which is due to offer bite and purchase to the finger and wrist spinners in the later stages of the Test match.

The explosive West Indian opening batsman Chris Gayle started the day with a flurry of boundaries, thus setting the tone, as he raced to 24 runs from 17 balls hitting two boundaries and as many maximums but his onslaught was halted when debutant off-spinner Shohag Gazi got him caught off Mahmudullah to grab his first wicket in Test career.

During his brief stay at the wicket, Chris Gayle became only the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to hit the first ball of a Test match for a six.

Darren Bravo (14 from 28 – 3 fours) and Marlon Samuels (16 from 41 – 3 fours) also fell cheaply as West Indies were reduced to three down for 106 runs.

However, opening batsman Kieran Powell kept his cool on the other end as he shared a 125-run stand with experienced batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul as he scored his second Test hundred before becoming third victim of the debutant Shohag Gazi for 117 runs from 178 balls with the help of 18 boundaries and a huge six.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul continued his good work with the bat as he hit his 26^th Test century and was unbeaten at the crease with wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin (52 not out from 88 – 5 fours) as the duo added 130 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket partnership when umpires called it stumps on Day 1.

The only positive for the home side was performance of the debutant Shohag Gazi who captured three of the four dismissals while all of the other bowlers were pretty ordinary as they kept on offering loose deliveries all day long.

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Bangladesh name squad for first West Indies Test

By Saqibul Islam

DHAKA, Bangladesh (TheSportsNEXT) November 8, 2012: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), on Thursday, announced a 14-man squad for the Dhaka Test against West Indies starting Tuesday.

The Bangladesh selectors have reposed their trust in the rookie pacer Abul Hasan taking into consideration his performances in the four Twenty20 Internationals he has played for the country so far. However, it is still early to say whether he would be able to find a place in the final playing eleven against a rejuvenated West Indies side that has services of explosive opener Chris Gayle and experienced middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

The selectors have also rewarded the 21-year-old offspinner Shohag Gazi for his brilliant show at the domestic cricket where he not only claimed 11 wickets in the last two matches taking a hat-trick but also delivered the goods with the bat by hitting a century.

Talking to a news conference here, BCB Chief Selector Akram Khan said, "He (Shohag Gazi) played very well in the National Cricket League, took few wickets and scored a century, so we thought this is the perfect time to give him the break. Also he is an off-spinner, as you all know West Indies team has plenty of left-handed batsmen, so we needed someone like him."

Fast bowler Rubel Hossain made his comeback into the side while Mushfiqur Rahim has been retained as skipper of the national side. Former skipper Mohammad Ashraful was singled out by the selectors as they replaced him with Naeem Islam.

The Test series between Bangladesh and West Indies consists of two Test matches with the second match starts from November 21 at Khulna.

The 14-man Bangladesh squad includes Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Zunaed Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Naeem Islam, Nazimuddin, Nasir Hossain, Elias Sunny, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Abul Hasan, and Shohag Gazi.

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