CHITTAGONG : Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal cracked impressive
half-centuries to help Bangladesh post 255-4 against the West Indies on
the opening day of the first Test on Friday.Wicket-keeper
Rahim scored an unbeaten 68 in his first Test as captain and left-handed
opener Tamim made 52 as Bangladesh batted steadily to consolidate their
position after winning the toss on a good pitch.Rahim added
79 runs for the fourth wicket with former captain Shakib Al Hasan (40)
to prop up the innings after Tamim and Raqibul Hasan (41) fell in the
afternoon session.The Bangladeshi skipper has so far hit five fours in his 144-ball knock for his seventh Test half-century.Tamim
batted patiently for more than a session before falling to a loose
shot, caught by teenager Kraigg Brathwaite at mid-wicket while
attempting to slog-sweep part-time spinner Marlon Samuels.He cracked five fours in his 141-ball knock for his ninth half-century in 21 Test matches.Middle-order
batsman Raqibul, returning to the Test side after more than a year,
also fell in the same session, trapped leg-before by seamer Darren Sammy
after hitting three fours in his 92-ball knock.The West
Indies struggled for success on a first-day track which had little for
fast bowlers and spinners, taking just one wicket in the opening
session, two in the second and one in the third and last.Samuels bagged two wickets, while pacemen Ravi Rampaul and Sammy took one wicket apiece.Shahriar
Nafees retired with a bleeding nose in the opening session after being
struck by a bouncer from paceman Fidel Edwards in the 20th over. He is
expected to bat later in the innings.Bangladesh lost opener
Imrul Kayes in the 12th over before being steadied by Tamim, who had put
on 32 runs for the second wicket with Nafees.Rampaul struck in his sixth over when he had Kayes caught by wicket-keeper Carlton Baugh.Nafees
played some attacking shots early in his innings, hitting Sammy for two
successive fours and then smashing Edwards for two boundaries in an
over.All-rounders Elias Sunny and Nasir Hossain made their Test debuts for Bangladesh.The second and final Test starts in Dhaka on October 29.
