BAN VS IRE 2ND TEST

Frustrations rose in the Irish camp as they saw the Rahim-Das alliance growing stronger over after over. Two of the most experienced batters in this Bangladeshi camp ensured that there were no further hiccups as the day drew to a close. As expected, we saw a barrage of spin from Ireland to exploit the slowish nature of the wicket. Of a total of 90 overs bowled in the day, 76 were delivered by the spinners. The same can be expected for the second day as well and as the game goes on. Ireland need wickets and need to come afresh on the second day to challenge the hosts with renewed determination whereas Bangladesh would bank on this particular partnership to play the long haul. We will be back for Day 2 as it begins on Thursday, 20th November with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 3.30 am GMT. Until then, stay safe. Ta-ta!

McBrine struck immediately after being reintroduced, ending Mominul Haque's stay early in the final session. But that only brought Litton Das to the crease, who linked up with Mushfiqur Rahim for yet another rock-solid stand. Rahim brought up his fifty, and Ireland's frustration grew. And that was Ireland's day in a nutshell. The older ball went soft, lost its bite, and Ireland lost their edge. Partnerships kept blooming in the middle, with Rahim pulling the strings like a maestro. Ireland huffed, toiled really hard, but got very little in return.

Bangladesh bossed the afternoon session, adding 92 runs without loss and making Ireland look toothless. Mominul Haque eased to his fifty while Mushfiqur Rahim, in his 100th Test, played the perfect foil. They played smart cricket - rotating strike, milking gaps, and cashing in when the bowlers erred. Three catches were spilled, two of Mominul, and later, Rahim was also offered a reprieve as they stretched their stand to triple figures. Had either of the chances stuck, the session could have flipped. Instead, they watched Bangladesh cruise. The surprising part? McBrine, their best spinner, was mysteriously sidelined for a part-timer in Tector. Even with grip and turn on offer, Ireland couldn't capitalize much.

It has been a very slow and absorbing opening day of this second and final Test match. So let's rewind a bit and take a sneak peek. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. They blazed to 52 in the first hour, with Shadman Islam attacking freely as Ireland's pacers sprayed it around and wasted early movement. Skipper Andy Balbirnie quickly turned to spin, and Andy McBrine - the only bowler showing real discipline - struck just before the hydration break to end the opening stand. Spin in tandem from McBrine and Humphreys then strangled the scoring with stump-to-stump lines and subtle turn. The pressure told as Mahmudul Hasan Joy threw his wicket away attacking McBrine, who soon claimed the Bangladeshi captain with a beauty to cap Ireland's fightback in the first session.

Okay, hang on! Are we getting another over? Umpire Sam Nogajski waits for the confirmation. Nope. STUMPS are called as we have gone past the allotted time. Exactly 90 overs completed. A very good day of cricket. Take a bow, Mushfiqur Rahim! He walks back to the dugout and gets a guard of honour from his teammates. He ends his day on a nervous 99, but hasn't been remotely nervous at all throughout the day. We wonder who scripts moments like these? Overall, a good job from the hosts as they hold an upper hand in the contest. A rather frustrating day from Ireland's perspective as they were made to toil hard. They were good in patches, especially whenever Andy McBrine came to bowl, but they would definitely admit that they were a bit sloppy in the field.

This is short, on off, Litton Das goes on the back foot for the cut and ends up chopping it down off an under edge. It goes on the bounce to the man at gully. That will be STUMPS on Day 1!

Drifting onto the pads, on the fuller side, Mushfiqur Rahim reaches out in front and plays the slog sweep in front of deep square leg for a single. Moves to 99, does Rahim. He could remain on 99 today unless we can squeeze in one more over.

Ireland taking their own sweet time to delay to make sure that this is the final over of the day. Tector walks up to the bowler to have a chat. Shines the ball for him and we are good to go. Final two balls coming up. Can Mushfiqur Rahim complete his century? Let's find out...

Flat and short, on the off pole, Das cuts it to deep backward point and crosses over.

Shorter and on off, Mushfiqur presses back and guides it wide of point for a single.

Shorter and on middle, Mushfiqur pats it back on the deck with a straight bat.

Flighted delivery, on off, on a length. Rahim defends with his bat close to the front pad.

Final over of the day? We still have 5 minutes or so remaining. Gavin Hoey (18-1-45-0) to continue. Rahim on 97!

Matthew Humphreys drops it short, on middle, Mushfiqur goes back and makes room to punch it to deep cover for a single.

Nearly sneaked through! Speared in at 79.1 kph, short and on middle. Litton Das plays down the wrong line and just hangs his bat out. Gets an inside edge that goes down to deep fine leg for a run.

Tight single! Floated up, on off, Rahim knocks it in front of mid off and sets off. Cade Carmichael gets to the ball, picks it up but misses the shy at the bowling end. It would not have mattered much as Mushfiqur was in.

Shorter and on middle, Mushfiqur Rahim gets inside the line and plays the scoop towards deep fine leg for a couple of runs.

Pushed through, outside the off stump, Rahim covers the off stump and makes the leave.