Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan took a maiden five-wicket haul to help Bangladesh gain the upper hand over New Zealand on the second day of the opening Test yesterday.
The 21-year-old turned his left arm with magical effect to take 6-31, leaving the tourists reeling at 155-9 after Daniel Vettori took five wickets to shoot Bangladesh out for 245 in the first innings.
Vettori the batsman then held fort for the visitors as he went unbeaten for a pugnacious 48, with No. 10 Jeetan Patel falling in the last over of the day for a duck, leaving the tourists 90 runs behind.
Hasan, better known for his left-handed batting, had Jamie How (16) and debutant Jesse Ryder (1) out in successive overs, before trapping Aaron Redmond (19) to wrestle back the initiative for the home team.
Hasan, who had just three wickets to show in his previous six Tests, then got the prized wickets of Brendon McCullum (25) and Jacob Oram (0), to leave New Zealand in tatters at 100-7 before Vettori and Kyle Mills put up some fight.
In between, left-arm spin partner Abdur Razzak trapped Ross Taylor for 12.
Daniel Flynn (19) and McCullum did try to take the attack to the bowlers, with Flynn hitting two fours and a six before he edged to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim to give debutant Naeem Islam a wicket in his first over.
Vettori and Mills (4) added 26 for the eighth wicket before Hasan struck again, forcing an edge off Mills to the keeper. Hasan’s previous best of 2-44 was against the same opponents in Wellington back in January.
In the morning, Vettori took three of the six wickets to fall in the space of just 57 runs to finish with 5-59, his 16th five-wicket haul on a slow Divisional Stadium pitch.
The 29-year-old spinner dismissed Rahim (79), Mashrafe Mortaza (0) and Razzak (11) after Bangladesh resumed on their overnight score of 183-4.
Vettori was ably supported by pace man Iain O’Brien (3-36) and off-spinner Patel, who finished with 2-67.
Bangladesh were pegged back from the start, losing Mehrab Hossain to O’Brien in the fourth over of the day for a fine career-best 83.
Mehrab, playing only his second Test, miscued a drive and was caught at short cover by Redmond. He hit 11 boundaries during his resolute 179-ball knock.
Mehrab and Rahim added an invaluable 144 for the fifth wicket.
Rahim also added 41 for the sixth wicket with Islam (14), before Vettori dismissed him off a miscued sweep. Rahim struck 12 fours and a six during his 209-ball innings.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS