Sports reporter:
Paying the price of their batting debacle in both
innings, Bangladesh endured an eight-wicket defeat to West Indies in the
first cricket Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.
Resuming the Day 4 at 79-6, Bangladesh were bowled out for 142, setting West
Indies just 170 for victory, a target that West Indies gunned down with
incredible ease.
Unlike Bangladesh batters, West Indies employed a strategy of attacking
rathar defending against the spinners, knowing surviving on an increasingly
deteriorating pitch is a tough task.
Opener Brandon King led the charge with an unbeaten 81 as West Indies reached
the target in just 35.1 overs, losing two wickets.
On a day interrupted by bad light, lightening and rain frequently, West
Indies openers swept the Bangladesh spinners with precision to score runs
fluently and put on 112 runs for the opening stand, which determined the
course of the game.
King raised his sixth fifty from 68 balls, with a late-cut-boundary toward
deep backward point. It also brought up a 100-run partnership, keeping
Bangladesh bowlers frustrated.
After the spinners failed to give the breakthrough, skipper Najmul Hossain
Shanto introduced the pacers, which fetched immediate success but that was
only too late.
Pacer Shoriful Islam broke through with the wicket of Campbell with a perfect
inswinger that flattened the stump. After scoring 54 in the first innings,
Campbell made 49.
Pacer Hasan Mahmud then dismissed Tagnarine Chanderpaul for 1, giving
Bangladesh a glimmer of hope.
But Kevam Hodge, unbeaten on 31 ball-27 and King put on 50 from 58 ball to
help the side seal the game and take 1-0 lead in the two-match series. King
struck 10 fours and one six for his 115 ball-81 not out.
Resuming the day at 79-6, Bangladesh was able to add just 63 runs with Nayeem
Hasan scoring most of them.
Nayeem was the last batter out on 52, after brining up his maiden fifty in
the test.
Nayeem guided the lower order astutely to take the lead past 150 amid the
vicious spin bowling from Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase.
Chase dropped Nayeem on 29 but the batter showed the grit on tricky surface
to raise his maiden half-century off 87 balls, when he guided a delivery from
Warrican to mid-wicket for a single.
Chase, however, dismissed him for his fifth five-wicket haul and wrapped up
Bangladesh innings as Nayeem miscued a shot to long-on.
Bangladesh earlier was bowled out for 272 in its first innings before
dismissing West Indies for 245. But that 27-run lead in the first innings
mattered little because of their batting debacle in the second innings.
The final Test is in Sylhet, starting from November 4.
