Windies in control

MIRPUR, Bangladesh, (CMC):

Fidel Edwards followed up a second Test hundred from unrelated compatriot Kirk Edwards with a devastating opening spell to put West Indies in control of the second Test against Bangladesh yesterday.

Fidel grabbed five wickets for 58 runs from 12 overs to leave Bangladesh wobbling on 204 for seven, replying to West Indies' first innings total of 355 at the close on the second day.

The West Indies fast bowler became the fifth-fastest bowler to take five wickets in an innings in Tests, using 29 balls, extracting pace and bounce from the typically easy-paced Sher-e-Bangla Stadium pitch, to reduce Bangladesh to 59 for five before Shakib Al Hasan led a fight-back with 73 for the hosts.

Fidel's fire came after Kirk's 121 that followed his maiden Test hundred of 110 against India almost three months ago in Dominica. He struck 14 fours and two sixes from 273 balls.

He reached his milestone from 234 balls, when he sashayed down the pitch and lofted Suhrawadi Shuvo for his 14th four straight back over the bowler's head.

Kirk and Marlon Samuels, with 48, added 87 for the sixth wicket before Shakib ended with five for 63 from 34.4 overs, triggering a typical West Indies batting collapse with the last five wickets falling for 36.

Difficult chance

Fidel then started the Bangladesh top-order cave in, when he had left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal caught at forward short leg for 14 fending a short ball in the third over.

He might have grabbed a second wicket in the same over, when Marlon Samuels dropped a difficult chance at gully from opener Imrul Kayes, on zero.

Kirk Edwards then turned from hero to villain, when he dropped Shahriar Nafees on five, also at gully off Kemar Roach in the following over.

Fidel coughed up two boundaries to Kayes in the fifth over before he had Nafees caught at forward short leg for seven, fending away another short ball.

Fidel tightened West Indies' grip with two wickets from consecutive deliveries. He trapped Raqibul Hasan lbw for a duck, plumb in front on the back-foot with a pitched-up ball and had Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim caught at first slip for a first-ball duck flirting with danger at a short ball outside the off-stump.

Fidel finally ended the threat of Kayes, when he had him caught at square leg for 29 flicking straight down the throat of the fielder.

The West Indies fast bowler started to come under the hammer from Shakib, whose first scoring stroke was a pull for four off him, and followed up with successive boundaries to third man and straight off the first two balls of his sixth over, as he carried Bangladesh to 86 for five at tea.

Further defiance

After the break, West Indies met further defiance from Shakib and Naeem Islam, as they put 84 for the sixth wicket to add some beef to the total.

With the threat of Fidel out of the way, the Bangladeshi batsmen continued to blossom. Naeem and Nasir Hossain consolidated with a stand of 52 for the seventh wicket.

Sammy offered Nasir a bit of fortune on eight, when he dropped a sitter at slip off Marlon Samuels before the two Bangladesh batsmen completely muffed a third run to give West Indies a late scalp.

Earlier, the day started nervously for Samuels, when he survived a confident appeal for a catch to silly point off Shakib in the second over of the day. TV replays showed he drove the ball into the ground and it bounced up into the clutches of the fielder.

Kirk Edwards too, had his problems, when Nasir drew him on to the front foot, he edged, and Mushfiqur dropped him on 90. He made the Bangladeshis pay for that indiscretion, walloping the fourth ball of the over for four straight over the bowler's head and crashing the last ball through mid-off for another boundary.

The two-Test series is level 0-0, after the badly weather-affected first Test ended in a draw at the Chowdhury Stadium.