West Indies took a 1-0 lead in their two-match Test series against Bangladesh after securing a comfortable eight-wicket win on the fourth day of the opening Test in Mirpur. Chasing a target of 170 runs, the visitors reached 171-2 in 35.1 overs, driven by opener Brandon King’s career-best unbeaten 81.
King anchored the chase with an aggressive 115-ball innings that featured 10 boundaries and a over-boundary. He was supported by opening partner John Campbell, who smashed 49 off 55 balls, including six fours and a six, before being bowled by Shoriful Islam. Keacy Carty was the other wicket to fall, dismissed for six by Taijul Islam, while skipper Roston Chase remained unbeaten alongside King on eight.
The run chase experienced two weather interruptions before the victory was sealed. Rain stopped play for roughly an hour with the Caribbean side at 64 without loss after 14.1 overs. Shortly after adding 23 more runs, lightning and poor light forced another 45-minute delay. Following the second break, substitute fielder Ebadot Hossain dropped King on 70 off Taijul’s bowling, allowing the batsman to capitalize and complete the win.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh resumed their second innings from an overnight score of 79-6, carrying a lead of 106 runs. However, their lower order was quickly put under pressure in 48.4 overs of play. Jaker Ali, who made 22 off 34 balls to finish as the host’s second-highest scorer in the innings, was caught by Chase at slip off Jomel Warrican early in the session.
Nayeem Hasan provided resistance for the hosts, surviving dropped catches on 21 and 29 off Chase. He put together a 26-run partnership with Hasan Mahmud, who was eventually trapped lbw by Warrican for eight. Taijul Islam added eight runs in a 17-run stand with Nayeem before falling to Chase, leaving Bangladesh at 127-9.
Nayeem went on to hit his maiden Test half-century, scoring 52 off 91 balls with four boundaries. His innings came to an end when he attempted a lofted shot off Chase over long-on and was caught by Joshua Bishop. Shoriful Islam remained non-striker on seven as Bangladesh were folded for 142. With four boundaries, but his resistance ended when he attempted to hit Chase over long-on and was caught by Joshua Bishop, nayeem then reached his maiden Test half-century off 87 balls.
Spinners dominated the bowling for West Indies in Bangladesh’s second innings. Captain Roston Chase took 5-36, recording his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican supported with figures of 4-63, following his five-wicket effort in the first innings, and was named Player of the Match.
Reflecting on the performance, Chase praised his squad’s resilience: “The guys were determined, even though we didn’t have a good start in the first innings,” he stated. “We lost the lead, but we were still determined to fight back and try to win the game, and that’s what we did.” He added that the team is focused on winning the series and improving its international rankings.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto acknowledged his side’s shortcomings across all departments. “All three departments didn’t do well, especially in the field. These things can happen sometimes, but I believe the intention and preparation were quite good,” Shanto remarked, adding that the team must work on correcting those errors in local conditions ahead of the next fixture. “Going forward, we need to look at those areas and work out how we can do better in these conditions.”.
The result extends a strong stretch for West Indies in red-ball and white-ball formats, following competitive outings against India in an ODI series and a 2-2 T20 draw against the world champions earlier this month. The second and final Test of the series will begin on November 5 in Sylhet.
