First test finely poised between West Indies and Bangladesh

John Campbell reached a brisk fifty. (BCB) Bad light and rain brought an early end to an intriguing second day at Mirpur as West Indies and Bangladesh battled for the upper hand in the first Test. At stumps, the regional side were 134 for four in reply to the home side’s 272 all out, with Tagenarine Chanderpaul unbeaten on 43 and Justin Greaves on 15. Earlier, after resuming on 213 for three, Bangladesh lost their last seven wickets for 59 runs as West Indies vice-captain Jomel Warrican claimed five for 53 and debutant Joshua Bishop took two for 61. Jomel Warrican picked up his fourth Test five-wicket haul. (BCB) Opener Shadman Islam converted his overnight 99 into a century but was unable to build on the milestone, falling for 105 early in the day’s play to Bishop. He faced 234 balls and batted for 310 minutes, striking 11 fours. His dismissal with Bangladesh on 221 triggered a collapse as the hosts lost Towhid Hridoy for 42, Mehidy Hasan Miraz for 15, Nayeem Hasan for five, Hasan Mahmud for six, Taijul Islam for one and Shoriful Islam for a first-ball duck. You Might Be Interested In Only wicketkeeper-batsman Litton Das offered significant resistance, remaining unbeaten on 34 from 88 balls. West Indies then lost opener Brandon King for 15 with the score on 29 before Chanderpaul and fellow opener John Campbell added 61 for the second wicket to take the score to 90. Campbell was eventually dismissed for 54 after registering his sixth Test half-century. His typically brisk knock came from 78 balls and included six fours and two sixes. The visitors then suffered a middle-order wobble as Kavem Hodge was dismissed for seven by Taijul Islam, who also accounted for Amir Jangoo for a third-ball duck. West Indies slipped to 97 for four before Greaves and Chanderpaul steadied the innings until the close. Speaking after the match, Campbell said the intermittent rain and poor visibility made conditions more challenging. “I think when we went out after the rain delay, the lights were a little bit more in effect rather than before we went off for a break, and the ball was a little bit darker. “We had momentum going before the rain break as well and then, with the break, I think that allowed them to regroup, and they were in better areas after we went back out,” he stated. Nonetheless, Campbell believes the match remains evenly poised. “If we can get one or two more big partnerships, then we’ll be in the lead tomorrow. [Earlier,] I knew the pitch was a little bit inconsistent in terms of bounce, so I just tried to stay as positive as possible. “I just wanted to play each ball at a time, so if I thought the ball was in my zone to hit, then that was the plan.” (KH)