Lunch Bangladesh 181 for 6 (Mushfiqur 54, Das 23*, Mehidy 11*, Cornwall 3-40) trail West Indies 409 by 228 runs
Bangladesh’s overnight batsmen Mohammad Mithun and Mushfiqur Rahim were the two casualties in the morning session of the third day, as West Indies continued to keep the hosts on the back foot in the second Test in Dhaka. Rahkeem Cornwall was the star of the session as he dismissed both batsmen.
At lunch, Bangladesh were 181 for 6 – still 29 runs away from avoiding the follow-on – with Liton Das and the centurion from the Chattogram Test Mehidy Hasan at the crease.
Starting on an overnight partnership of 34 for the fifth wicket, Mithun and Rahim began the morning surviving a barrage of short balls from Shannon Gabriel. But when Gabriel – who overstepped thrice in his first three overs – went fuller, he was put away by both batsmen for fours through cover. Jomel Warrican, the left-arm spinner, had a short opening spell too, as he drifted too often to the leg, allowing both batsmen easy runs on the on side.
Cornwall replaced Warrican in the 44th over and created the first chance of the morning when Mithun mistimed a whip off his toes that went just beyond midwicket. But, in his next over, Cornwall got Mithun’s wicket on the back of an unorthodox field placement.
Mithun looked to flick off his boots, but was through his shot too early. The ball went in the air on the leg side, and Kraigg Brathwaite – lurking at short midwicket – dived to his right to take a catch at full length. Mithun, who finished the second day on 6 off 61 balls, went back on 15 after putting on a stand of 71 with Rahim.
Rahim himself started the day on 27, and had reached his 22nd half-century in Cornwall’s first over. He tried not to let the offspinner settle from the first ball, but was almost caught at short leg after his half-century. He then survived a close lbw call off Cornwall after missing a sweep, but soon paid the price of being overly aggressive in Cornwall’s fourth over. He tried to reverse sweep only to toe-end a simple catch to cover on 54.
That bought Mehidy and Das together, the last of Bangladesh’s recognised batsmen, and together they played out the next 12 overs with minimal risk. Das displayed positive footwork against the spinners, particularly against the short ball. Mehidy, on the other hand, brought out all his defensive tools to ensure he went to lunch unbeaten, dead-batting for most of his time in the middle. Their stand had moved to 26 when the umpires called time on the session.
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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