The wicket-less hero

Five overs and five consecutive maidens; that's exactly how enigmatic Mohammad Shahid's third spell on the first day of the first Test in Chittagong was.

His overall figures of none for 34 in 17 overs by no means do justice to the blood, sweat and tears that he shed at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

A careful analysis of the first day would clearly depict the pivotal role that Shahid played. Left-arm pace bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman didn't have the best of starts on the day. But the pressure was never on him, since Shahid, at the other end, kept the run-flow in check with his immaculate line and length.

He was brought in for his third spell an over before lunch. That was the time when South Africa were cruising at a 104 for 1. After the break though, it was Shahid's determined persistence from one end that eventually led to a breakthrough and then a cluster of wickets.

He bowled five consecutive maidens from over number 30 onwards. That spell right there, set the foundation for the others to attack from the other end.

In between overs 30 and 46, the visitors scored just 28 runs and soon after that they began to break.

The bowler didn't try to do anything special. He doesn't have the cutters of a Mustafizur in his armoury or the pace of a Rubel Hossain. Shahid's ability though allows him to bowl with a consistent line and length for a long period of time.

He extracted bounce from the pitch, got some of them go in and teased the batsmen in that nagging off-stump line.

He however, could have been rewarded had Imrul Kayes held on to opportunities in the slip cordon. The first one came in the 70th over when Vernon Philander edged a length delivery towards first slip. A diving Kayes failed to grasp the ball with his left hand.

Ten overs later, it was Temba Bavuma who was spared. He bowled another full delivery and Bavuma, desperate to score some runs towards the end of the innings, edged that one. Kayes though failed to hold on to the catch again.

Frustrated, the bowler wiped off the sweat off his forehead and merely walked back to his bowling mark.

Prior to the first Test, Shahid was described as a workhorse by coach Chandika Hathurusingha. The Sri Lankan had also indicated that it would be a huge boost if Shahid managed to display his best.

Fortunately for the coach and for Bangladesh fans, Shahid arguably put up one of his best international

performances.

Despite his limited abilities, he successfully managed to play the role that no other Test bowler in Bangladesh's current outfit would have been able to perform.