Tamim lights up the day for Bangladesh

by Saurabh SomaniThe Royal Bengal Tiger is a fascinating animal, whose majesty one can't comprehend if one sees the animal in a cage in the zoo. In the wild, the Bengal Tiger marks its territory and fiercely defends it against any intrusion. Today, Bangladesh were like the Bengal Tiger let out into the wild. They had spent two days being hopelessly caged in by the Indian cricketing might, but today - with nothing to lose - their batsmen let their primal instincts flow, and suddenly for a brief while, India were the hunted team, looking for cover instead of going in for the kill. The first session of the day gave little clue to how the rest of it would unfold. India batted through it, with MS Dhoni guiding the tail intelligently with him as they built a total that ought to have taken the wind out of Bangladesh's sails. Shakib's captaincy was perplexing in the first session, as Bangladesh seemed to be waiting for Dhoni to declare rather than aggressively pursuing wickets. Dhoni was routinely allowed to take singles off the fifth balls of the over, with the field remaining spread out. India scored 85 runs in the first session off which Dhoni scored 67. Bangladesh bowled 30.1 overs (181 balls) off which Dhoni faced 129 balls. He got out within sight of a Test hundred off the last ball before lunch, but his 89 had taken India to 544/8 - a massive lead of 311 runs. Yuvraj Singh did not come out to bat with a torn ligament in his wrist, and with Dravid nursing a fractured jaw, it effectively meant that India were all out, even though they were only 8 wickets down. Dhoni duly declared, and Bangladesh came out facing a deficit that was larger than their first innings score. It seemed initially as if the bowlers would carry on their first innings work, as Zaheer Khan got Imrul Kayes early on to leave Bangladesh 19/1. However, that is when Tamim Iqbal grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck and turned it on its head. Neither the loss of his opening partner, nor the enormous deficit, seemed to faze him as he set about destroying the Indian bowling with a superb exhibition of clean hitting. At the other end Junaid Siddique dropped anchor and was content to play second fiddle to Tamim, while ensuring that he didn't give his wicket away. None of the Indian bowlers could make an impression on Tamim. He raced to fifty off 49 balls, and then brought up the fastest century by a Bangladesh batsman in Test cricket when he reached the landmark in just 101 balls. The partnership between Junaid and Tamim progressed smoothly, and it seemed that the two were set to bat out the day. With Dravid and Yuvraj effectively out of it, and with the way Tamim was batting, there was every chance that Bangladesh could entertain hopes of a miracle. That feeling was bolstered when Sachin Tendulkar went off the field with a hurt shoulder, as he tried and failed to reach a steepling ball off Tamim. With three premier batsman injured, the Indian side would not only have trouble chasing a moderate total, but the pressure on the remaining batsmen would grow manifold because of the caliber of batsmen that India could potentially be missing. Whether this thought played a part in the Bangladeshis minds or not is moot, since Tamim continued batting in the same vein even after reaching his century. However, as the day was drawing to a close Tamim reined in his natural instincts and became more watchful. Junaid Siddique too reached a well-deserved half-century and from 19/1, the pair put on a 200-run partnership. In the process, Tamim reached yet another landmark by scoring 150. However, at the fag end of the day, India's premier bowler ensured that they wrested back the advantage from Bangladesh. Zaheer Khan got the old ball to reverse, first getting Junaid Siddique for a patient 55, and then netting the big fish Tamim Iqbal in his next over. Tamim departed for 151 of the finest counter-attacking runs. Bangladesh ended the day at 228/3, still trailing by 83 runs. They were far from safe in the Test match, but today's display had ensured that they could hold their heads high and know that they gave the world's number one side a real fight.