Bangladesh fight back against West Indies

Bangladesh hit back in the opening Test on Saturday, when they claimed four wickets before tea to leave West Indies on 228 for six in their first innings.

The breakthrough featured two wickets off successive balls for Test newcomer Mahmudullah.

At the break, Dave Bernard Jr was not out on 36 and Darren Sammy was not out on nought, as the home team continued their reply to Bangladesh's first innings total of 238 on the second day at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex.

Bangladesh, hamstrung by the absence of their new captain and main fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, fought gamely in the afternoon period on the slow, low pitch to remove Travis Dowlin for 22, Omar Phillips for 94, West Indies captain Floyd Reifer for 25, and Chadwick Walton for a first-ball duck.

Shakib Al Hasan, bowling his steady left-arm spin, has been the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers with two wickets for 52 runs from 27 overs.

Mahmudullah captured two for 45 from 14.3 overs, and Rubel Hossain has taken two for 52 from 10 overs to give him steady, if not spectacular support.

Shakib made the early strike after lunch, when he gained an lbw verdict over Dowlin, one of the players West Indies selected in the face of a strike by their established stars, in the third over after the interval.

But Shakib, leading the side in the absence of Mortaza, showed a great sense of awareness with Phillips approaching his maiden Test hundred.

He brought back Rubel - the fastest bowler available to him - and he struck a vital blow, when Phillips tried a loose drive and was caught at short cover to become the sixth West Indies batsman to fall in the 90s on Test debut.

The left-hander struck seven boundaries from 177 balls in close to four hours of batting.

Things however, returned to normal, and Bangladesh spent most of the next hour-and-a-half on the defensive, as Bernard joined Reifer and they added 51 with little trouble for the fifth wicket.

Just when it appeared that Bangladesh would have settle for the two scalps before tea, Mahmudullah got Reifer to edge a delivery that ripped outside the off-stump to be caught at slip in the penultimate over before the break.

Mahmudullah then had Test newcomer Chadwick Walton caught at leg-slip with his next delivery, and will aim to complete a hat-trick after the break. Before lunch, Bangladesh had limited success, as Phillips anchored West Indies to 136 for two at the interval.

Bangladesh were hunting early wickets to put the depleted West Indies batting under pressure, when the home team continued from their overnight total of 17 for one.

But the Tigers were held up, when Phillips and night-watchman Ryan Austin added a valuable 79 for the second wicket.

Bangladesh suffered a huge setback, when Mortaza fell over following the third delivery of his seventh over, and injured his right knee.