MIRPUR // Tim Bresnan is confident England will maintain their 100 per cent record against Bangladesh with a fifth-day victory in the second Test tomorrow. The Tigers, a side with 57 defeats from 66 Tests, pushed their opponents closer than ever before over the first two-and-a-half days at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, but have had to endure a solid fightback from the tourists.
Aided admittedly by some helpful umpiring decisions, England managed a 77-run first-innings lead on the back of Ian Bell's 138 and Bresnan's 91. The bowlers then worked hard despite some poor catching to leave the hosts 172 for six at stumps on day four, a modest lead of 95 with the tail exposed. And although England have struggled to roll over the Bangladesh tail in this series, Bresnan is in no doubt about who the favourites are.
"I think it's four quick wickets tomorrow, then we chase 150 and win. That's how I see it," Bresnan said. "Of course, we'll see how it goes but that's how we've set it up. We will be chasing a total tomorrow, I have a feeling about that, especially after getting the key wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim at the end. "We've got a nightwatchman [Shafiul Islam] in and then Naeem Islam, who'll hang in a bit. If we can get them out I think we are definitely sniffing a win."
Bangladesh batsman Jahurul Islam bounced back from his first- innings duck on debut to make 43, with his first two scoring shots in Test cricket both sixes. Jahurul was one of two wickets to fall in the last seven overs before the close and while he admits that handed the initiative to England, he feels a match-saving rearguard action is still possible. "The last two wickets were too much for us. If we could have ended the day with four wickets down that would have been good," he said. "But you can always hope in cricket. We should not look for runs and instead we should concentrate on surviving the first two sessions.
"If we don't lose any wickets before lunch it would be good for us. It will make them tired and our job will be easier." Meanwhile, the Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons has been fined 10 per cent of his match fee after objecting to a series of umpiring decisions during Monday's play. "Jamie became increasingly frustrated and let his emotions out during the second session of day three which was obvious for all to see," said the match referee, Jeff Crowe. "Clearly he behaved inappropriately and he agrees that such actions and gestures must be kept behind closed doors." * PA Sport
Bangladesh 419 England (overnight 440-8): Tim Bresnan st Rahim b Razzak 91 James Tredwell st Rahim b Razzak 37 Steven Finn not out 0 Extras: (9b, 12lb, 1w, 7nb) 29 Total (all out, 173.3 overs) 496 Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-105, 3-107, 4-174, 5-272, 6-415, 7-426, 8-434, 9-481. Bowling: Shafiul Islam 14-3-45-0 (1w) Abdur Razzak 39.3-8-132-3 Shakib Al Hasan 66-27-124-4 Mahmudullah 20-4-53-1 Rubel Hossain 26-4-88-1 (7nb) Naeem Islam 7-0-29-0 Tamim Iqbal 1-0-4-0. Bangladesh (2nd innings): Tamim Iqbal c Broad b Swann 52 Imrul Kayes b Broad 4 Junaid Siddique c & b Tredwell 34 Jahurul Islam b Swann 43 Mahmudullah c Prior b Bresnan 6 Shakib Al Hasan not out 25 Mushfiqur Rahim b Broad 3 Shafiul Islam not out 0 Extra: (5w) 5 Total (for six wickets, 68 overs) 172 Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-86, 3-110, 4-130, 5-156, 6-169. Bowling: Stuart Broad 11-2-37-2 Tim Bresnan 9-2-21-1 (1w) James Tredwell 23-7-59-1 Steven Finn 7-2-17-0 Graeme Swann 18-6-38-2.
