Bangladesh build lead towards 150

(Scores at tea on Thursday: Bangladesh 433 and 78 for 2 (Mominul 27*, Mahmudullah 2*) lead Zimbabwe 368 (Masakadza 158, Chakabva 101, Shakib 5-80) by 144 runs. Shakib Al Hasan had laid down a difficult blueprint if the Tigers were to force a win in Khulna: get five wickets in an hour, score quick runs, then take the 10 Zimbabwe wickets quickly. He did not veer too far from his plans in the 1st hour, striking early and registering his 13th 5-wicket haul, but Bangladesh were made to wait by Regis Chakabva’s maiden Test century on the 4th day of their Test. The start to Bangladesh innings was also as per the Shakib plan while Tamim Iqbal was batting. He laced 4 boundaries, the 4th one smashed over the bowler's head, before punching one into the hands of the bowler, Tinashe Panyangara. Mominul Haque opened his account with a supremely timed flick and Shamsur Rahman followed it with a couple of boundaries through cover, but the 2 batsmen cocooned themselves for the next 1 hour and the run rate dipped well below 3 an over. Mominul played a couple of slog sweeps towards the end of the session to bring some urgency but Shamsur departed after a painstaking 71-ball 23. With the lead past 100 and more than 4 sessions remaining in the game, the hosts have time to accelerate though. Zimbabwe’s hopes of getting close to the target had depended on the overnight pair of Hamilton Masakadza and Chakabva. Both players started solidly, playing out three maidens, and were looking good for the long run. But Shakib got a lucky break, getting one to stay extremely low on Masakadza and hitting the middle stump. Masakadza could only add four to his overnight score, according to a news agency.