DHAKA: Shakib Al Hasan claimed five wickets to help dismiss Australia for 217 and give Bangladesh the upper hand on the second day of the opening Test on Monday.
Australia, who resumed the day on a precarious 18-3, were bowled out early in the final session for 217 to hand the hosts a 43-run first-innings lead.
By stumps they had increased that to an 88-run advantage for the loss of one wicket.
Shakib, who finished with 5-68 and also top-scored in Bangladesh’s first innings with 84, was ably supported by off-spinner Mehedi Hasan.
Mehedi claimed three wickets for 62 including the prized scalp of skipper Steve Smith for eight.
“By grace of Allah the match is in our hand. Hopefully we will also do well tomorrow,” said Mehedi, a practicing Muslim.
“If our batsmen take responsibility and put a good total it will be challenging for them. I don’t think the wicket is very difficult. But we bowled well.”
The hosts reached 45-1 at stumps in their second innings, with opener Tamim Iqbal on 30 and nightwatchman Taijul Islam yet to score.
Slow left-armer Ashton Agar ended a confident 43-run opening stand when he had Soumya Sarkar (15) caught by Usman Khawaja at long-on after several attempts.
Australia also had Agar to thank for helping get them close to Bangladesh’s first innings total of 260 after their regular batsmen struggled against spin.
Agar, batting at number nine, made an unbeaten 41 and shared a crucial stand of 49 with Pat Cummins, taking Australia past the 200 mark after Shakib and Mehedi had the visitors on the ropes.
Agar and Cummins came together after Mehedi had Matthew Wade plumb leg-before for five and Shakib drew Glenn Maxwell forward for a stumping on 23 to leave Australia struggling on 144-8.
When he was on 11 Cummins survived a dropped catch by Shafiul Islam at cover off Shakib and was then reprieved by the third umpire after being given out caught behind.
Shakib finally bowled Cummins for 25 in the evening session and then had Josh Hazlewood caught by Imrul Kayes at short leg to end Australia’s innings and complete his 16th five-wicket haul in Tests — at least one against each of the nine Test teams he faced.
But the left-handed Agar frustrated the Bangladesh bowlers during a 97-ball stay at the crease that included two fours and a six.
“We’re positive. We’ve had a pretty good fightback today and anything can happen on this wicket,” Agar told reporters.
“Things happen so quickly when the ball’s spinning and turning and as you saw tonight a few of them really jumped, so we’re confident that if we get on a bit of a roll tomorrow we can knock them over.”
The 23-year-old took the attack to the opposition but ran out of partners.
Shakib’s five-for puts Bangladesh on top
Shakib’s five-for puts Bangladesh on top
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
