Shakib hits Zimbabwe for a six on his return

Shakib Al Hasan claimed six for 59 to spin Bangladesh into a strong position against Zimbabwe on the first day of the first Test here on Saturday.

The left-arm spinner ripped through the Zimbabwe batting line-up on his way to his 12th five-wicket haul as the tourists were dismissed for 240.

At stumps, Bangladesh were 27/1 to trail by 213. Mominul Haque was on 14 and Shamsur Rahman was batting on eight.

Tamim Iqbal was the only batsman out for seven after he was undone by a rising delivery off Tinashe Panyangara, fending the ball to Masakadza who stretched high to hold the catch.Shakib was returning to the national team after serving a three-month ban for his “severe attitude problem”. His haul meant that he has now taken five wickets against every Test playing nation.

For Bangladesh, the day started almost perfectly as Shahadat Hossain, back after a year, removed Vusi Sibanda in the first over, setting the tempo for the innings.