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GROS ISLE, May 29: Early morning rain delayed the start of the second day's play in the first Test between West Indies and Bangladesh here on Saturday.
On Friday, Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, hit his third Test century to help Bangladesh bat through the opening day.
Habibul hit a fluent 113, his highest Test score, to be the cornerstone of the visitors' 278 for seven at stumps, after the visitors chose to bat on a hard, easy-paced Beausejour Stadium pitch under sunny skies.
Habibul pulled fast bowler Tino Best to long leg for a single to reach his landmark and occupied the crease for nearly 3-1/2 hours, facing 131 balls and hitting 15 fours.
He shared a 121-run second wicket stand with Javed Omar and then added 50 with Rajin Saleh and impressed all with an array of strokes, particularly the pull and the hook that brought him most of his boundaries.
Crucially, Mohammad Ashraful hit a patient, fourth Test half-century to stabilise the Bangladesh innings, after they declined to 227 for four. His unbeaten 65 from 149 balls contained seven fours.
Pedro Collins was the most successful West Indies bowler with three wickets for 75 runs from 20 overs. Ramnaresh Sarwan twirling his uncomplicated leg-spin took two for 20 from 14 overs.
An unexpected shower about 1-1/4 hours after lunch prompted an early tea break with Bangladesh 166 for two and Habibul having reached the milestone.
Jermaine Lawson, playing in his first Test for a year, made the breakthrough when Habibul was caught at deep backward square leg top-edging a hook, but Rajin and Ashraful resisted with a stand of 56 for the fourth wicket.
With the fast bowlers exhausted from the hard toil on the unresponsive pitch, West Indies captain Brian Lara turned to his slow bowlers and Sarwan had Rajin caught behind for 26.
Three more wickets fell to leave Bangladesh 250 for seven with Faisal Hossain being caught at mid on off Collins for six, Mushfiqur Rahman caught behind off Sarwan for one, and Khaled Mashud stumped off Chris Gayle for two.
Scoreboard
BANGLADESH (1st Innings):
Hannan Sarkar lbw b Collins 0
Javed Omar c D.S. Smith b Collins 32
Habibul Bashar c D.R. Smith b Lawson 113
Rajin Saleh c Jacobs b Sarwan 26
Mohammad Ashraful not out 65
Faisal Hossain c Best b Collins 5
Mushfiqur Rahman c Jacobs b Sarwan 1
Khaled Mashud st Jacobs b Gayle 2
Mohammad Rafique not out 17
EXTRAS (LB-3, NB-14) 17
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 90 overs) 278
FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-121, 3-171, 4-227, 5-238, 6-241, 7-250.
TO BAT: Tapash Baisya, Tareq Aziz.
BOWLING (to-date): Collins 20-4-75-3 (5nb); Edwards 13-1-54-0 (1nb); Lawson 10-0-44-1 (6nb); Best 13-2-46-0; D.R. Smith 4-1-5-0 (2nb); Gayle 16-2-31-1; Sarwan 14-6-20-2.
WEST INDIES: C.H. Gayle, D.S. Smith, B.C. Lara, R.R. Sarwan, S. Chanderpaul, D.R. Smith, R.D. Jacobs, T.L. Best, P.T. Collins, J.J.C. Lawson, F.H. Edwards.-Agencies
