Sports Reporter :
Century by each opener Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes put Bangladesh in command over Zimbabwe on the first day of the third Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Wednesday.
Electing to bat first, Bangladesh piled up 303 for the loss of two wickets in the first innings before the bails were drawn for the first day.
Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes put on together record-making 224 runs in the opening stand before Tamim Iqbal was caught at mid-on by Hamilton Masakadza off Sikandar Raza.
Earlier, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes added together 185 runs in the opening stand against England at Lord’s on May 27 in 2010.
Tamim Iqbal made a brilliant 109 from 171 balls. He hit 14 boundaries and one sixer in his sedate 252-minute innings. Tamim reached his sixth Test hundred using 150 balls. Iqbal’s sixth Test hundred, equal with Mohammad Ashraful for most hundreds by a Bangladesh batsman, was his first international hundred in his hometown.
Imrul Kayes notched up a marvellous 130 utilising 257 deliveries. His painstaking 314-minute knock was laced with 12 fours and two sixes. After many days Kayes was recalled by the selectors and the ace opener proved his genius. Kayes touched his second hundred-run land mark playing 191 balls.
After dismissal of Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque contributed 48 runs for the second wicket partnership before Kayes was caught at the gully by substitute Vusi Sibanda off Hamilton Masakadza when the Tigers score was 272 for the loss of two wickets.
After departure of Imrul Kayes, promising Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah Riyad added 31 runs in the unbroken third wicket stand.
Mominul Haque was on 46 and his partner Mahmudullah Riyad was on 5 before the two umpires pocketted the bails for the first day. Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza took one wicket each for three and 74 runs respectively.
