Bangladeshi allrounder Shakib Al Hasan followed his four wickets with a fighting 97 to delay West Indies' likely win in the second and final test in Khulna yesterday. The 25-year-old left-hander missed his third test hundred by a mere three runs but carried the home team from a precarious 82-5 to 262-6 at close on the fourth day, still needing 35 to avoid an innings defeat. Shakib fell off the first ball of the penultimate over of the day, miscuing a lofted shot off left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul and was caught at mid-off for a simple catch to Tino Best. Shakib added a new Bangladesh versus the West Indies record of 144 for the sixth wicket with Nasir Hossain who supplemented the fight with an aggressive 64 not out. Paceman Best (3-26) had put the West Indies on course for an innings victory with a triple strike in the post lunch session but Shakib and Nasir ensured Bangladesh did not go down without a fight. AFP
Lewis Hamilton won the pole position for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix yesterday, while Formula One leader Sebastian Vettel will start fourth and title challenger Fernando Alonso only eighth. Hamilton set a lap of 1 minute and 12.458 seconds with his McLaren at Interlagos, just in front of teammate Jenson Button. Vettel's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber will start third after a lap of 1:12.581. AP