Bad weather spoils first day of India-Bangladesh Test

The match could be the last Test outing for former BD skipper Shakib

KANPUR:

Bad light followed by heavy rain ended play before tea on day one of the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur with the visitors 107-3 on Friday.

Mominul Haque, on 40, and Mushfiqur Rahim, on six, were batting when dark clouds made visibility tough and umpires took the players off the ground after lunch.

The match could be the last Test outing for former Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who announced his impending international retirement on Thursday.

Dim light turned into heavy rain and officials called off play after the covers were laid out, with more downpours forecast for Saturday in the northern Indian city.

India, who lead the two-match series 1-0, elected to field in overcast conditions and fast bowler Akash Deep vindicated captain Rohit Sharma's decision with two wickets in the first hour of play.

He removed openers Zakir Hasan, caught out for a duck, and Shadman Islam, trapped lbw on 24, with his seaming deliveries to the left-handers.

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, who made 31, put on 51 runs with Mominul to play out the remainder of the first session, but first-match hero Ravichandran Ashwin broke the stand after lunch.

Off-spinner Ashwin, who hit a century and took six wickets in India's opening win, took down Najmul lbw with a turning delivery from around the wicket.

The hosts have come in unchanged with three seamers, who have regularly troubled the opposition batsmen with plenty of deliveries beating the bat.

Bangladesh ex-captain Shakib, 37, announced his international retirement on Thursday and could be playing his last Test match if he is unable to return home for a slated South Africa series.

Shakib is a former lawmaker for the party of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina and has stayed away from Bangladesh due to the threat of criminal charges levelled against him and dozens of her former allies.

India are favoured to sweep the two-match series after winning the opener in Chennai by 280 runs and extend their advantage at the top of the World Test Championship rankings. AFP

West Indies all-rounder Bravo retires

Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has retired from professional cricket after 21 years and joined Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor.

"With a heavy heart, I officially announce my retirement from the sport."

Bravo, the most successful bowler in professional Twenty20 cricket, has 631 wickets in the format including T20 Internationals (T20Is) and franchise tournaments. He played 40 tests, 164 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 91 T20 for West Indies and was part of their T20 World Cup-winning side in 2016.