Bangladesh batsmen off to solid start The Report by Siddhartha Talya

A solid performance from Bangladesh's batsmen on a placid track marked the start of the Test series in Chittagong, leaving the bowlers potentially facing five days of hard work. A slightly overcast morning was consistent with the forecast for rain on the opening day of the game but the sun didn't take long to break through the cloud cover, confining whatever assistance was available for the bowlers to just the first hour of the day. Deciding to bat without hesitation, Bangladesh's batsmen built a good platform but experienced a couple of jolts along the way.

Fidel Edwards launched an impressive comeback against India at home after a long break due to a back injury, but the conditions in Chittagong promised to be a test of his stamina. He got some inward shape into the left-hand opening batsmen, and was supported well by Ravi Rampaul who maintained a tight line in the channel outside off. Swing didn't last long, and movement off the pitch was limited, not lethal. Tamim Iqbal's solidity was an obstacle for the West Indies bowlers at one end but Imrul Kayes' occasional extravagance gave them a window of opportunity.

Kayes was beaten a couple of times while trying to drive on the up and his first boundary was an uppish chip over Darren Sammy's head. West Indies had to shuffle their bowling around and experiment very early given there wasn't much on the pitch, and a change of angle from Rampaul gave them their first breakthrough. He bowled round the wicket, produced an outside edge for four from Kayes followed by another attempted drive that beat the bat. The next ball squared the batsman up, angling in and then nipping away just a hint to kiss the edge and end Kayes' morning.

It didn't take long for Shahriar Nafees to settle in, and a couple of confident shots against Sammy followed by a lovely drive off Edwards got him going. He survived a close shout for lbw against Edwards, though a good part of the ball appeared to have pitched outside leg, but his stay was cut short by a bloody blow to the nose as Edwards went at him from round the wicket and slung in a bouncer. Tamim, however, was progressing smoothly at the other end and looked good to continue for much longer, punishing a long hop from Devendra Bishoo who was searching for turn and bite but without much success.