Debutants Elias Sunny (L) and Nasir Hossain (C) are being congratulated by the skipper Mushfiqur Rahim as they take the field for the first time in Test cricket on the fourth day of Chittagong Test against West Indies at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday. Sunny later made it a memorable day by claiming four scalps. A fine afternoon of bowling from Elias Sunny put the Tigers in command against West Indies on the fourth day but with just the final day of the first Test left to play, a result at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium could be out of reach. Instead, supporters of the national team will probably be left wondering what could have been had days two and three not been entirely lost to rain and the horrendous outfield.
When the umpires called off proceedings due to bad light, the visitors were 144-5, still 206 runs adrift of Bangladesh's 350-9 declared, in one full day of cricket.
The left-arm spinner, who had earlier christened his debut with a duck in the Tigers' first innings, waited while Shahadat Hossain provided the breakthrough removing Lendl Simmons in the third over (after Rubel Hossain clean-bowled Kraigg Brathwaite off a no-ball in the previous over).
As soon as he was brought into the attack, Sunny got Kirk Edwards to miscue a hard drive towards mid-on but Shahadat dropped one that was over his head. In his third over, Mushfiqur Rahim dropped the same batsman but his luck returned as Edwards swung mightily at a pitched-up ball and Sunny had his first Test wicket.
Darren Bravo struggled for 27 minutes before he tapped with the spin and gave Shahriar Nafees a simple catch at short-leg. Immediately, the veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul went after the debutant and kept up the pressure, though Brathwaite continued to ride on his luck when his lunged top-edge fell between three close-in fielders. But the 18-year-old's luck ran out when his poke found Imrul Kayes, also at square-leg, to give Sunny his third, the Barbados batsman gone after a typically austere 33 in nearly three hours.
Chanderpaul too tapped one just in front of short-leg after the ball hit his thigh-pad from the bat. Playing in his 134th Test and despite losing Brathwaite after a 62-run fourth wicket stand, Chanderpaul played an unlikely hand as he went after the spinners hammering three boundaries and two consecutive sixes off Sunny.
Nearing yet another Test half-century, Chanderpaul's enterprise cost him dearly when his venture down the wicket to clip the ball through mid-wicket went horribly wrong. The ball, probably off a thin inside-edge, went off the pad towards slip where Nafees took his second catch.
Having the dangerous Chanderpaul back in the hut will be an edge for the Tigers who will be desperately looking to make up for lost time.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh's tactic to keep up the advantage was dealt a major blow when Mushfiqur Rahim fell off the first ball he faced, out for 68. He became the second Bangladesh captain after Shakib Al Hasan (96) to score a half-century on his Test captaincy debut.
Nasir Hossain and Naeem Islam added 43 for the seventh wicket before the other debutant fell while trying to up the ante in his 34 but cost his team five runs when he ran straight down the wicket (Tamim Iqbal had earlier been warned by the umpires on the first day).
The Tigers declared a few minutes after lunch, making it the fourth instance that they have done so in their history and 14 Tests after their last time in 2008.
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