10th Test Century Eludes Tamim again

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal was on the verge of his 10th Test century for the third time in a row in the series against Sri Lanka but it eluded him again.

This time, he missed the ton by eight runs when he was out on 92 in the first innings of the second and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Saturday.

In the first innings of the first Test in this series, he was out on 90 and then started the second innings such aggressively that he reached 50 when the team’s run was 52. His whirlwind knock broke the 131-year old record. However, when he looked all set to hit the century, a spell of the shower and bad light washed out the last session of the fifth day, leaving him stranded on 74.

Sri Lanka declared their first innings of the second Test on 493-7 on day three, leaving Bangladesh to bat on an increasingly deteriorating pitch. But Tamim responded aggressively once again and reached 50 when the team’s run was 61.

While the other batsmen got it tough to bat on this pitch, Tamim looked to play on different surfaces and soon reached his 90’s.

However debutant left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrema baffled him with a change of angle as Tamim edged it to the first slip. Tamim struck a dozen of boundaries in his 150 ball-92. The century could elude but it was his 31st and fourth consecutive Test half-century that kept him in the elite group of batsmen in the world.