jamarchBangladeshi opener, Tamim Iqbal, said that scoring his maiden Test century is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
“It’s a dream come true,” Tamim said at the end of the fourth day’s play of the First Digicel Test at Arnos Vale during which he scored 128.
And in addition to thanking his team mates for their support, he had special mention for head coach, Jamie Siddons.
“Our head coach, Jamie Siddons, has always said the more you leave (the ball) that means you’ll get a big score. It’s not about the shots, the good balls you leave, that will give you a big score,” Tamim revealed after his 243 ball innings which included 17 fours, six of which came in the space of seven deliveries from medium pacer, David Bernard Jr.
Bernard though had the final laugh when he had Tamim caught at mid on by Travis Dowlin.
The 20 year old left hander who scored 53 and 84 on his Test debut against New Zealand last year said that the Arnos Vale pitch is ideal for batting.
“It’s very flat, if you don’t want to get out, no one will get you out,” was Tamim’s frank assessment.
He blamed an ill-advised shot for his eventual dismissal.
“I was going good but I played a bad shot to get out,” said Tamim who is playing in his 11th Test match since debuting in January of 2008.
He believes that any score over 300 would be difficult for the West Indies to achieve on the last day and that the left arm spin of Shakib Al Hasan will be a trump especially with the absence of captain and fast bowler, Mashrafe Mortaza, who injured his right knee during the West Indies first innings.
“We are going very well, I think about 300 runs will be the target. I think Shakib is one of the best spinners in the world, he is number one now and it will be hard for them (West Indies batsmen) to handle him on the last day,” Tamim reasoned.
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