Rahim, Tamin boost Bangladesh in Windies Test

Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal cracked impressive half-centuries to help Bangladesh post 255-4 against the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test on Friday. Wicket-keeper Rahim scored an unbeaten 68 in his first Test as captain and left-handed opener Tamim made 52 as Bangladesh batted steadily to consolidate their position after winning the toss on a good pitch. Rahim added 79 runs for the fourth wicket with former captain Shakib Al Hasan (40) to prop up the innings after Tamim and Raqibul Hasan (41) fell in the afternoon session. The Bangladeshi skipper has so far hit five fours in his 144-ball knock for his seventh Test half-century. Tamim batted patiently for more than a session before falling to a loose shot, caught by teenager Kraigg Brathwaite at mid-wicket while attempting to slog-sweep part-time spinner Marlon Samuels. He cracked five fours in his 141-ball knock for his ninth half-century in 21 Test matches. "We batted well today and will try to bat as long as we can on Saturday. I think a total of 320 or 350 will be very good on this pitch," said Tamim. "At the moment, I'm not in my best form but the way I batted today I'm quite satisfied. I hope it will be a good match for us." Middle-order batsman Raqibul, returning to the Test side after more than a year, also fell in the same session, trapped leg-before by seamer Darren Sammy after hitting three fours in his 92-ball knock. The West Indies struggled for success on a first-day track which had little for fast bowlers and spinners, taking just one wicket in the opening session, two in the second and one in the third and last. Samuels bagged two wickets, while pacemen Ravi Rampaul and Sammy took one wicket apiece. Shahriar Nafees retired with a bleeding nose in the opening session after being struck by a bouncer from paceman Fidel Edwards in the 20th over. He is expected to bat later in the innings. Bangladesh lost opener Imrul Kayes in the 12th over before being steadied by Tamim, who had put on 32 runs for the second wicket with Nafees. Rampaul struck in his sixth over when he had Kayes caught by wicket-keeper Carlton Baugh. Nafees played some attacking shots early in his innings, hitting Sammy for two successive fours and then smashing Edwards for two boundaries in an over. All-rounders Elias Sunny and Nasir Hossain made their Test debuts for Bangladesh. The second and final Test starts in Dhaka on October 29.