Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny gave Bangladesh a ray of hope when he picked up 4-56 on his debut to leave West Indies reeling at 144-5 on the fourth day of the first Test in Chittagong on Monday.
With the chance of a result dead and buried in the mud, Sunny brought some life into the game, striking at regular interval that initially raised the prospect for Bangladesh to enforce a follow on.
This was the only way Bangladesh would have opened a window for them to push for win and they nearly did it thanks to Sunny who had never played for them in any format of the game.
Sakib al Hasan maintained a tight line from the other end but never looked as threatening as Sunny, who could have ended the day with six to seven wickets to his name if all the catches had been taken off his bowling.
Interestingly, Sunny received his Test cap f
rom Sakib, a former captain and Bangladesh’s main spinner for more than
two years, who often bemoaned a lack of quality partner.
Selectors gave Abdur Razzak several breaks before turning to Sunny, a seasoned campaigner in domestic cricket for nearly a decade, who was never rated so highly.
And he made an impression almost immediately after coming close to a wicket in only his second ball before Shahadat Hossain denied him of the feat missing a simple catch at mid-on.
Sunny then took matters into his own hands and trapped Kirk Edwards
(17) leg before for his first Test wicket and two balls later Mushfiqur Rahim dropped a catch off his bowling.
There was no stopping for Sunny since then as he claimed three more wickets in the final session before announcing at the press conference that it could have been even better.
‘I could not bowl like the way I bowl usually,’ said Sunny after the day’s play. ‘I should have bowled much better, though I am happy with whatever I have got today.
‘It’s a dream come true for me. Every cricketer has this dream. When Sakib was giving me the cap, I simply can’t describe it in words how I felt. It must be very good,’ he said.
He has no regrets for so many missed opportunities with the fielders dropping simple catches and edges falling short of the slip cordon.
‘Catch miss is part of the game. I never think too much about it. I believe whatever Allah does, he does it for our benefit. I am really happy with my achievement,’ he said.
Sunny said he did not feel any pressure despite playing his debut match.
‘You got to have some pressure always in these types of matches. But I never felt this. If think I am playing first time today and took pressure on myself I would not be able to play well,’ he said.
In his debut Test Sunny had an interesting duel with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who took him to the sword hitting him two sixes off successive balls to ease some pressure on his side.
But Sunny came out victorious in the end, taking his wicket minutes before the stumps and this was the wicket that gave him more satisfaction. It is, however, not because of Chanderpaul’s sixes, but for his experience and reputation as good Test batsman.
‘I must say I was very excited to have the wicket of Chanderpaul. It is always great to have the wicket of a batsman like him,’ he said.
Chanderpaul’s wicket also took him close to a record, currently held by Naimur Rahman and Manjurul Islam, who both opened their account in Test cricket for Bangladesh with a six-wicket haul in an innings.
With still five wickets up for grabs in the West Indies innings, Sunny can very well emulate or overtake them and naturally this is what is his main motivation going into the fifth day.
‘After rain killed two days we have nothing much to do. Still we have a day left, batsmen can score few runs. We have also few bowling left, so there are always a few things to achieve,’ he said.
With the chance of a result dead and buried in the mud, Sunny brought some life into the game, striking at regular interval that initially raised the prospect for Bangladesh to enforce a follow on.
Sakib al Hasan maintained a tight line from the other end but never looked as threatening as Sunny, who could have ended the day with six to seven wickets to his name if all the catches had been taken off his bowling.
Interestingly, Sunny received his Test cap f
rom Sakib, a former captain and Bangladesh’s main spinner for more than
two years, who often bemoaned a lack of quality partner.
Selectors gave Abdur Razzak several breaks before turning to Sunny, a seasoned campaigner in domestic cricket for nearly a decade, who was never rated so highly.
And he made an impression almost immediately after coming close to a wicket in only his second ball before Shahadat Hossain denied him of the feat missing a simple catch at mid-on.
Sunny then took matters into his own hands and trapped Kirk Edwards
(17) leg before for his first Test wicket and two balls later Mushfiqur Rahim dropped a catch off his bowling.
There was no stopping for Sunny since then as he claimed three more wickets in the final session before announcing at the press conference that it could have been even better.
‘I could not bowl like the way I bowl usually,’ said Sunny after the day’s play. ‘I should have bowled much better, though I am happy with whatever I have got today.
‘It’s a dream come true for me. Every cricketer has this dream. When Sakib was giving me the cap, I simply can’t describe it in words how I felt. It must be very good,’ he said.
He has no regrets for so many missed opportunities with the fielders dropping simple catches and edges falling short of the slip cordon.
‘Catch miss is part of the game. I never think too much about it. I believe whatever Allah does, he does it for our benefit. I am really happy with my achievement,’ he said.
Sunny said he did not feel any pressure despite playing his debut match.
‘You got to have some pressure always in these types of matches. But I never felt this. If think I am playing first time today and took pressure on myself I would not be able to play well,’ he said.
In his debut Test Sunny had an interesting duel with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who took him to the sword hitting him two sixes off successive balls to ease some pressure on his side.
But Sunny came out victorious in the end, taking his wicket minutes before the stumps and this was the wicket that gave him more satisfaction. It is, however, not because of Chanderpaul’s sixes, but for his experience and reputation as good Test batsman.
‘I must say I was very excited to have the wicket of Chanderpaul. It is always great to have the wicket of a batsman like him,’ he said.
Chanderpaul’s wicket also took him close to a record, currently held by Naimur Rahman and Manjurul Islam, who both opened their account in Test cricket for Bangladesh with a six-wicket haul in an innings.
With still five wickets up for grabs in the West Indies innings, Sunny can very well emulate or overtake them and naturally this is what is his main motivation going into the fifth day.
‘After rain killed two days we have nothing much to do. Still we have a day left, batsmen can score few runs. We have also few bowling left, so there are always a few things to achieve,’ he said.
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