Dhaka, Jan. 26: Ahead of the ongoing second Test here, Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal had talked about how they could be a competitive unit, even after crashing to a 113-run defeat in the series opener at Chittagong last week. On Tuesday, in the Tigers’ second innings, he showed he could bat as well as talk, after falling for a duck in the third over of the game.
Facing a massive 311-run deficit after India declared their first innings at 544/8, Bangladesh got off to another rotten start, losing Imrul Kayes with just 19 on the board. From that point on, however, it was rollicking entertainment as Tamim tore into the Indian attack to rack up a 101-ball hundred, the fastest by a Bangladeshi batsman in Test cricket.
“I promise you we are not on the field just to watch Sachin Tendulkar or Gautam Gambhir bat. We are there to compete,” Tamim had suggested on match-eve. Three days later, he gave the quarter-full Sher-e-Bangla Stadium a glimpse of what he meant.
The aggressive left-hander launched himself full-tilt at the Indians. No bowler was spared the lash as he cut, drove and pulled with ferocious power and timing. It was not all brute force, though, with a generous sprinkling of his shots being placed to perfection.
Tamim, who had devastated Indian hopes at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies with an audacious assault, would have watched Tendulkar compile his 182-ball 143 on the second day and learnt a few lessons. On the day, he simply revelled in the conditions.
In doing so, Tamim (151, 154b, 13x4, 3x6) also belied the Indian assessment of this track being a two-paced one with variable bounce. In perfect batting conditions, he laid into the rival attack, Yet there was no brutality or will to dominate. This was a young man enjoying himself at what he does best.
On Saturday, Tamim promised, “We can compete with India. If we don’t commit the mistakes of the first Test, we can get a positive result.” On Tuesday, he put those words into practice, hammering away to bring the deficit down in double quick time.
“I enjoy scoring runs in one-dayers but Tests are different. In Test cricket, I want to bat as long as possible and for that, concentration is important. If you bat long you will score,” Tamim had added.
Clearly, he seems to have taken the lessons of Chittagong to heart, but left before the main job of erasing India’s first innings lead could be completed.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
