Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 17, 2014 Sports
By Sean Devers in St Lucia in Association with Mike’s Pharmacy, Raj Singh Insurance, Universal Sports Store, Carib Beer & Rex Resorts St. Lucia
Shivnarine Chanderpaul feasts on Bangladesh’s bowling and yesterday at the Beausejour
Stadium in St. Lucia, the 40-year-old left-hander stroked a solid unbeaten 101 on the fourth day of the second Test and together with left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn’s sixth five-wicket haul, helped the West Indies to a comprehensive 296-run victory with over a day to spare.
Chanderpaul, in his 158th Test, became the 10th batsman to score 30 Test centuries, he shared in an unfinished 166-run partnership with Jermaine Blackwood (66*) as West Indies took their score 269-4 before they declared when Chanderpaul reached his ton, leaving Bangladesh 489 for an improbable win.
In the end Bangladesh were bowled out for 192 despite an accomplished 64 from Tamin Iqbal, 56 from Mominul and a cameo 39 from Shamsur. The 33 year-old Benn bagged 5-72 and Jerome Taylor 3-39.
Chanderpaul, the man-of-the-match, now has 683 runs in his last seven innings against Bangladesh, who only managed to dismiss him once (when he was ill and batted at number X1) during that period while his undefeated innings yesterday was a world record 48th for the man from the village of Unity.
Resuming on 208-4 in bright sunshine, Chanderpaul and Blackwood approached the situation yesterday in positive fashion with Chanderpaul taking his overnight 63 to 101 in 47 minutes while 22-year-old Blackwood reached 66, (his second Test fifty) after starting the day on 43.
Chanderpaul, with an angled face hit Shafiul for the first boundary of the day to third man and paddle swept Mahmudullah to fine leg for four. Blackwood chipped into Shafiul and hammered the pacer through cover for four while Chanderpaul, cut a short lifting delivery from Shafiul to the point boundary to move in the 80’s.
Blackwood then pulled Mahmudullah for four much to the delight of the noisy crowd of mostly school children in the ground as both batsmen dispatched the bad balls with disdain on a track which continued to get better as the game progressed.
When Chanderpaul turned Mahmudullah for a couple to square leg he had reached his 30 Test ton. Chanderpaul, who has been playing at this level since he made his debut against England on his home ground Bourda in 1994, leaped in joy and kissed the pitch to celebrate yet another landmark as he moved to within 368 runs of Brian Lara’s West Indies record of 11, 953 Test runs.
Chanderpaul, who passed Sir Donald Bradman’s 29 tons yesterday, joined Jacques Kallis as the only second batsman to remain undefeated throughout a Test series having played a minimum of three innings and scored 200-plus runs. Kallis did so against Zimbabwe in 2001.
By Lunch, Bangladesh were 55-2 with Shamsur, who counter attacked the West Indies pacers in a cameo 39 (4×4) and two hooked sixes off consecutive balls from Taylor, being taken on the deep mid wicket boundary as he attempted another six when Taylor bowled short to leave Bangladesh on 47-1.
Benn got one to bounce and turn to find the edge of Anamul’s bat for Ramdin to take his sixth catch in the match before the right-hander had scored to leave the tourists on 48-2 and in danger of losing with a day to spare. However, after the interval, resolute batting by Tamin and Mominul held up the West Indies as they could not dislodge the pair in the entire post Lunch session as they put together 61 carefully constructed runs and by Tea Bangladesh were battling for survival with Tamin on 43 and Mominul on 31.
The Bangladesh resistance was as frustrating as it was becoming all too familiar for the West Indies and as over after over proved unsuccessful, the body language of the players showed how they felt.
Pacers Kemar Roach, Taylor and Shannon Gabriel found the flat track hard work while Benn bowled too flat and Leon Johnson was used as a part time off-spinner as the confidence of the batsmen increased the longer they batted with Tamin, who played an array of delightful shots, reaching his 16th fifty.
Mominul soon got to his fourth fifty and the partnership progressed to 110 before Tamin, who has four tons to his name, lost his concentration and skied Benn to short mid wicket after facing 181 balls and batting for 226 minutes in his 64, the stand was finally broken an hour after Tea at 159-3.
Mahmudullah was trapped LBW to Gabriel for a duck before Mominul hit a full toss from Benn to Gabriel at short mid wicket, two wickets falling at 160. Nasir (2) played back to a quicker ball from Benn and was LBW as Bangladesh wobbled to 167-6.
Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim has been his team’s rock in this series with scores of 48 not out and 116 in St Vincent and yesterday he was Bangladesh’s last hope of taking the contest into the final day today.
Taijul once again showed no intention of getting behind Gabriel and was in all sorts of trouble as he fended at some lifting deliveries from the Trinidadian. But it was Benn who had him caught and bowled to claim his sixth five-wicket haul and second in two matches to leave the score on 173-7.
But this West Indies team lacks the ‘killer instinct’ of past teams and Darren Bravo soon put down his second catch to let off Rahim on six at 183-7 as Bangladesh frustrated the Caribbean team.
Rahim stuck around for over an hour for his 11 before he had his middle stump rocked by Taylor who collected his 100th Test scalp when he trapped Rubiul in front for a duck in the same over. Roach then scattered Rubiul’s stumps to wrap-up the series 2-nil in the final over of the day.
Kraigg Braithwaite was named man-of-the-series while Chanderpaul said winning the Test match was the most important thing.
“That was our aim from the beginning. We just tried to get as much as we could in the first innings, and then see where we could go,” he added. When asked about not being dismissed in this series the veteran left-hander said “Can’t think about getting out… need to think about batting the next day and hopefully I can maintain my unbeaten run for as long as possible”
“Let’s see how far I can go” Chanderpaul responded when asked about his age and how longer will he play.
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