A positive response from the Bangladesh batsmen livened up the first Test in Harare. Bangladesh batted freely in the 25 overs they had to face before the close of play, after Brendan Taylor's 171 - the highest by a Zimbabwe Test captain - guided his team to a challenging score.
With exactly 100 minutes left in the day and much to lose in that tricky period, openers Shahriar Nafees and Jahurul Islam chose to take the attack to the Zimbabwe bowlers, not through outrageous shot-making but attractive strokeplay amid a generous dose of half-volleys. Until Nafees' dismissal in the 13th over, the pair dominated the home bowlers with drives through cover, mid-off and mid-on. Nafees also handled the short ball well, pulling through midwicket. However, he fell for 30 when a leading edge was easily caught at point by Timycen Maruma.
Jahurul expressed himself better, using both his natural inclination to defend and his recently-acquired skill to find boundaries. He was dropped off the sixth ball of the innings, much like Zimbabwe opener Maruma had been on the opening day. Jahurul took advantage of that reprieve, striking seven boundaries in his short stay, most of them owing to excellent timing down the ground. He was also severe on balls offering width.
Mohammad Ashraful played a couple of flashy cover drives, and there were some hits and misses. But how normal is an Ashraful innings without the odd flutter?
The Test match progressed at a contrasting pace earlier in the day, as Zimbabwe took their time to put together a competitive total. Taylor went past Andy Flower's 156, the previous highest for a Zimbabwe Test captain, made in 1995 against Pakistan at this venue. A few overs earlier, he reached the highest score by a Zimbabwe batsman against Bangladesh, going past Tatenda Taibu's 153 in 2005. In the first session, he had overtaken his previous Test highest of 117.
Taylor played a consummate captain's knock, before it was ended by a top-edge that was snapped by his counterpart Mushfiqur Rahim. Taylor came to the crease just after the first hour on the first day and used switched gears depending on conditions, situations, and batting partners. He started off slowly with Hamilton Masakadza before letting Malcolm Waller's energetic approach become the driving force of their 127-run fourth wicket stand. As soon as Waller got out for 55, Taylor restrained himself, only doing enough to reach his third Test hundred.
On the second morning, Taylor was under greater pressure, after losing Elton Chigumbura and debutant Richmond Mutambami early. Along with Graeme Cremer, he slowed the pace down considerably, resisting the bowlers determinedly. Till lunch, the pair batted at 1.85 runs per over, before changing gears as soon as Taylor saw Cremer grow in confidence against spin. The two scored at four an over the hour after lunch. During this session, Taylor scored 36 at a run a ball, and his 171 comprised just eight fours and two sixes.
Taylor survived two close calls. On 35, he was dropped at long-off by Nafees who ran in and dived to his left, only for the ball to pop out of his grasp. The second life came when he was on 116. Robiul Islam trapped him in front, but umpire Tony Hill rejected the call.
Taylor and Cremer added 106 runs and it ended when Cremer was brilliantly caught at slip by Mahmudullah. That wicket was Sohag Gazi's first in the innings, and he added one more.
Enamul Haque jnr and Robiul Islam finished with three wickets each, but they were also made to toil. Robiul was the visitors' best bowler on the first day, which he finished with two wickets. Mutumbami was his third. For the remainder of the day, he bowled with discipline and cut off the runs. Rubel Hossain took two wickets in his 30 overs and looked more disciplined than he did in his previous Test in Colombo.
Enamul bowled 47 overs his left-arm spin seemed largely unthreatening. There was a period on the second afternoon when Cremer was happy to let his turning deliveries go to the wicketkeeper. Gazi was underused, but he, too, didn't deliver what Mushfiqur would have been looking for. The Bangladesh captain even used Shakib Al Hasan for seven overs; Shakib was supposed to play this Test as a specialist batsman, recovering from an injury to his leg.
Zimbabwe 389 (Taylor 171, Waller 55, Robiul 3-84) v Bangladesh
Brendan Taylor's record 171, the highest score by a Zimbabwe Test captain, pushed the home side to a strong total against Bangladesh on the second day in Harare. The home side lifted their scoring rate after lunch, making 92 in the session to move to a first-innings total that reflects proper application and patience.
On a wicket which has given hints of being slow and two-paced, and with a sluggish outfield to contend with, Bangladesh are well behind the home side at this stage.
Taylor had top-edged a sweep off Enamul Haque jnr an hour before tea, but it was not before he set three new milestones. Taylor had reached his highest Test score in the first session when he moved past his previous best of 117. In the second session he reached the highest score against Bangladesh by a Zimbabwean when he went past Tatenda Taibu's 153 from 2005. A few overs later, he went past his hero Andy Flower's 156 against Pakistan in 1995 which was the highest score by a Zimbabwe captain.
The last part of his innings spanned 36 balls after the lunch break, and he batted at a run-a-ball during this period. The highlight of his acceleration was a blast down the track off Enamul, and his trademark upper-cut over the slips, this one coming off Robiul Islam.
The 324-ball innings has been Taylor's return to form after a poor West Indies tour. It will also serve as a point of inspiration for a team unsettled by contract issues over the past few weeks.
Taylor was well supported by Graeme Cremer, who also reached his highest Test score of 42 off 140 balls with three boundaries. He was keen to hog the strike whenever necessary during their 106-run seventh wicket stand. Their stand quickened its pace in the second session, batting at four an over compared to the 1.85 they started off with in the first session.
The partnership ended when Cremer's edge was superbly held by Mahmudullah at slip. The one-handed catch at slip gave Sohag Gazi his first wicket of the game.
Bangladesh's bowlers continued to struggle as their energy was sapped by the Zimbabwe resistance. They trudged through the 30-over session, with moments of real frustration as they couldn't even break the ninth-wicket stand between Shingirai Masakadza and Keegan Meth by tea. None of the Bangladesh bowlers looked to be threatening the tail-enders, though they tried several angles and deliveries.
Zimbabwe's innings finally ended on 389 runs early in the final session. The ninth-wicket partnership between Masakadza and Meth held up Bangladesh for more than 15 overs. Meth was caught in the covers off Enamul, who finished with three wickets. Sohag Gazi picked up his third when Masakadza was caught at point.
The day had begun on a much better note for the visitors after Rubel Hossain dismissed Elton Chigumbura in the second over of the morning. Debutant Richmond Matumbami also fell soon after, edging Robiul for 12.
Captain Mushfiqur Rahim was compelled to continue with Shakib Al Hasan after the lunch break for a six-over spell in all. Enamul and Gazi looked to be losing patience and continued to bowl a limiting line and length that didn't likely to fetch wickets.
Lunch Zimbabwe 285 for 6 (Taylor 135*, Cremer 20*, Robiul 3-68) v Bangladesh
Zimbabwe remained obdurate despite losing two early wickets and they moved to 285 for 6 at lunch on the second day in Harare. The session started with Bangladesh taking an upper-hand, but their lack of imagination held them back.
Proceedings in the first two hours were insipid as Zimbabwe added 68 runs in 30 overs with overnight centurion Brendan Taylor unbeaten on 135. He added 47 runs for the seventh wicket with Graeme Cremer. though the pair batted without the energy that was seen during the fourth wicket partnership. But the Taylor-Cremer pair didn't give away their wicket, despite the sluggishness. Cremer was batting on 20 off 86 balls while Taylor added just 30 to his overnight score, off 77 balls.
The early wickets of Elton Chigumbura and debutant Richmond Mutumbami, both falling in the first 20 minutes after play began, played a major role in Taylor's slow approach. Chigumbura lobbed a simple catch to bowler Rubel Hossain on the tenth ball of the day, a ball after he had crashed a boundary through the covers. Mutumbami edged Robiul Islam after a short and circumspect innings, giving the bowler his third wicket.
The slow scoring rate was probably what captain Mushfiqur Rahim had focused on as he continued to cut out the runs rather than attack fully or let his bowlers bowl more at the stumps. Robiul and Rubel remained disciplined and gave very few runs away, but they also didn't make the batsmen play often.
There were far too many deliveries wasted outside the offstump when it was clear that neither Taylor nor Cremer were interested to dabble at the wider line. Mushfiqur's insistence on using Enamul Haque jnr in the first session was also slightly confusing as the left-arm spinner's angle and turn often went by harmlessly or only forced a backfoot punch from the batsmen.
The late introduction of Sohag Gazi pressed the batsmen to play more, and created some catching chances close to the wicket. It was also surprising to see Shakib Al Hasan being brought in as late as the 120th over, the last over before lunch, as it was always on the cards that the allrounder would bowl at some stage in the game.
But whenever the bowlers attacked the stumps, there was a chance of either leg-before or of the batsman missing it. The best of these deliveries almost accounted for Taylor's wicket when Robiul hit his pads on the knee-roll, but umpire Tony Hill rejected the loud shout. Replays showed it was pitched on middle and off and was possibly going to hit middle and leg as the ball seamed in slightly.
This straighter line and fuller length was the only threat to the Zimbabweans, but Bangladesh used this line of thought sparingly. With both teams so anxious of not losing, this Test could meander unless one batting line-up badly collapses.
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