DHAKA – Shivnarine Chanderpaul said today he was thrilled to score his second Test double century and also draw level with Sir Garfield Sobers on the all-time West Indian list of century-makers.
But the veteran left-hander was quick to brush aside any comparisons with the iconic Sir Garry, the former West Indies captain who is considered the finest cricketer in the history of the game.
“Sir Garry is Sir Garry. Being level on centuries with Sir Garry is good, but I cannot be Sir Garry,” Chanderpaul told reporters.
“I have played a lot more games than Sir Garry, but it’s still a great honour to be mentioned in the same sentence with Sir Garry.”
With his century on Tuesday’s opening day of the first Test against Bangladesh, Chanderpaul pulled level with Sir Garry on 26 centuries.
Chanderpaul achieved the feat in his 145th Test while Sir Garry needed just 89 of his eventual 93 Tests to reach his landmark.
The 38-year-old, himself a former Windies captain, carried his overnight 123 to 203 not out to equal his career-best score which came against South Africa in his hometown Georgetown seven years ago.
Overall, he batted for seven-and-a-half hours, faced 372 balls and struck 22 fours while putting on 296 runs for the fifth wicket with wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin, who was 126 not out when West Indies declared their innings at 527 for four, 20 minutes before the scheduled tea interval at the Shere Bangla Stadium.
The right-handed Ramdin hit 11 fours and a six in an innings spanning five-and-a-half hours and consuming 236 deliveries.
Exciting opener Tamim Iqbal then livened up proceedings with a better than run-a-ball 72 as Bangladesh made a daring reply to finish the day on 164 for three, still 363 runs in arrears.
Pacer Ravi Rampaul has so far claimed two for 49.
Chanderpaul also heaped praise on rookie opener Kieran Powell who hit 117 on Tuesday to record his second Test century. The two put on 125 for the fourth wicket.
“Powell played a fantastic innings. Unfortunately, he got out when he did. I had a quiet chat with him about the way he got out,” Chanderpaul related.
“I’ve seen him score two Test hundreds already and I do not see anybody getting him out. He’s the one giving his wicket away. This is something about which I have spoken to him. I feel West Indies cricket looks very bright for the future. We have some really good, young players.” (CMC/EZS)
