|
|
|
| April 11, 2006 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 12, 1427 |
Bangladesh surprise Aussies
FATULLAH (Bangladesh), April 10: Mighty Australia faced the embarrassing prospect of having to follow on against lowly Bangladesh after another stellar performance by the home side in the first Test here on Monday.
Bangladesh had reduced Australia to 145-6 by stumps on the second day after scoring 427. The visitors need another 83 to avoid the follow-on.
Adam Gilchrist (51) and Brett Lee (13) were the not out batsmen as Bangladesh's spinners held centre-stage after their Australian counterpart
Stuart MacGill had produced his best performance in Tests.
Australia were fresh from their memorable 3-0 Test series win in South Africa but struggled in totally different conditions.
The ball kept low when they came in to bat and Bangladesh's left-arm spin-pair of Mohammad Rafique and Enamul Haque struck telling blows after early breakthroughs by the new-ball bowlers.
Rafique bowled Damien Martyn (four) with a ball that skidded through and then castled opener Michael Hussey (23) between bat and pad.
Enamul bowled Michael Clarke (19) and had Shane Warne (six) caught behind by Khaled Mashud as the visiting side fell to 93-6.
Gilchrist's brisk 74-ball knock, including seven fours and two sixes, was the lone bright spot for Australia after the early collapse.
The slide started when opener Matthew Hayden (six) was trapped leg-before by Mashrafe bin Mortaza. Captain Ricky Ponting fell similarly to another paceman Shahadat Hossain, the ball keeping low on both occasions.
Earlier, leg-spinner MacGill returned a career-best haul of 8-108, bagging all five remaining wickets on Monday to restrict Bangladesh after they resumed on 355-5.
Bangladesh, who have struggled against most teams in the past, crossed 400 in Tests for only the fourth time. It was their second best total after 488 against Zimbabwe in Chittagong last year during their only Test win.
Bangladesh's total threatened to inflate further after they lost just one wicket in the morning session, but MacGill bowled a superbly tight line and length to run through the batting, conceding just 26 runs.
His haul included Rajin Saleh (67), Khaled Mashud (17) and Rafique (6) and bettered his previous best of 7-50 against England at Sydney in 1998-99.
It was MacGill's fourth five-for against Bangladesh in five innings. He had finished with 17 scalps in their only previous series of two Tests, both of which Bangladesh lost by innings margins.
Warne, who did not play in that series, was again out of action with a sore shoulder and did not bowl on Monday.
“I feel sorry for Warne but am satisfied with my performance. I am tired but it was good to be among the wickets,” said MacGill.
“I would have been happier if we were in a better position. The pitch has deteriorated a little but full credit to the Bangladeshi spinners for dominating our batsmen,” he added.
Earlier, Bangladesh's overnight pair of Saleh and Mashud saw off the threat of the second new ball, carefully ignoring deliveries outside the off stump.
Saleh, who completed a useful fifth half-century in 16 Tests, was lucky to survive a chance on 48 when paceman Jason Gillespie dropped an easy return catch.
Scoreboard
BANGLADESH (1st Innings, overnight 355-5):
Javed Omar lbw b Gillespie 27
Shahriar Nafees b MacGill 138
Habibul Bashar c Lee b MacGill 76
Rajin Saleh c sub b MacGill 67
Mohammad Ashraful lbw b Gillespie 29
Aftab Ahmed c Hayden b MacGill 29
Khaled Mashud st Gilchrist b MacGill 17
Mohammad Rafique b MacGill 6
Mashrafe bin Mortaza lbw b MacGill 6
Shahadat Hossain not out 3
Enamul Haque Jr c Hayden b MacGill 0
EXTRAS (LB-16 W-2 NB-11) 29
TOTAL (all out, 123.3 overs) 427
FALL OF WKTS: 1-51, 2-238, 3-265, 4-295, 5-351, 6-398, 7-416, 8-417, 8-417, 9-424.
BOWLING: Lee 19-5-68-0 (7nb); Clark 25-4-69-0 (3nb, 1w); Gillespie 23-7-47-2 (1nb); Warne 20-1-112-0; MacGill 33.3-2-108-8 (1w); Clarke 3-0-7-0.
AUSTRALIA (1st innings):
M.L. Hayden lbw b Mashrafe 6
M. Hussey b Rafique 23
R.T. Ponting lbw b Shahadat 21
D.R. Martyn b Rafique 4
M.J. Clarke b Enamul 19
A.C. Gilchrist not out 51
S.K. Warne c Mashud b Enamul 6
B. Lee not out 13
EXTRAS (LB-2) 2
TOTAL (for six wkts, 52 overs) 145
FALL OF WKTS: 1-6, 2-43, 3-50, 4-61, 5-79, 6-93.
TO BAT: J.N. Gillespie, S.C.G. MacGill, S.R. Clark.
BOWLING (to-date): Mashrafe bin Mortaza 15-2-41-1; Shahadat Hossain 10-2-33-1; Mohammad Rafique 17-5-40-2; Enamul Haque Jr 9-3-18-2; Mohammad Ashraful 1-0-11-0. —Agencies
|
|
|
|
