Mushfiqur Rahim fell back sweeping for 54; Bangladesh 228 will run after him at lunchtime on the third day
Lon Bangladesh 181 for route 6 (Mushfiqur 54, Das 23 *, Mehidy 11 *, Horn 3-40) West Indies 409 with 228 runs
Bangladesh night strikers Mohammad Mithun and Mushfiqur Rahim were the two casualties in the morning session of the third day, as the West Indies continued to keep the guests on the back leg in the second Test in Dhaka. Rahkeem Cornwall was the star of the session as he eliminated the two bats.
At lunchtime, Bangladesh had 181 for 6 – still 29 running away from avoidance following – with Liton Das and the centurion from the Chattogram Test Mehidy Hasan at the center.
Starting an overnight partnership of 34 for the fifth wicket, Mithun and Rahim began this morning to survive from a block of short balls from Shannon Gabriel. But when Gabriel – who took over three times in his first three pets – left – he was sent off by the two bats for four through cover. Left arm spinner Jomel Warrican also had a short opening spell, as he moved too often to the leg, allowing the two bats to run easily to the side.
Cornwall replaced Warrican in the 44th over and created the first opportunity in the morning when Mithun whipped a toe off her toes just past midwicket. However, in his next step, Cornwall got a Mithun wicket behind a neutral business period.
Mithun was looking to take off his shoes, but he was through his picture too early. The ball went into the air on the side of the leg, and Kraigg Brathwaite – weeping at a short midwicket – dived to his right to catch full length. Mithun, who finished the second day at 6 off 61 balls, bounced back 15 after a 71-run lead by Rahim.
Rahim himself started the day on the 27th, and had reached his 22nd half in the first instance at Cornwall. He tried to let the offspinner settle from the first ball, but was almost caught at the short leg after his half-century. He then survived with a close lbw call off Cornwall after missing a sweep, but soon paid the price for being too aggressive in the Cornish quarter over. He tried to sweep back just to stop a simple catch to cover on 54.
That bought Mehidy and Das together, the last of Bangladesh’s best known fighters, and together they played out the next 12 overs with very little risk. Das showed progressive footwork against the spinners, especially against the short ball. Mehidy, on the other hand, took out his defensive gear to make sure he went to lunch without a loss, without a hitch for most of his time in the middle. Their stance had shifted to 26 when the umpires called time on the session.
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo