WEST INDIES VS BANGLADESH , 1ST TEST, ANTIGUA, 2024 : West Indies Shatter Bangladesh’s Dreams in 201-Run Stunner To Take Lead 1-0 In Test Series
West Indies beat Bangladesh by 201 runs on Tuesday, securing a swift win when Shoriful Islam, batting at the tail, had to leave due to an injury. Bangladesh, needing an unlikely 334 to win and starting from 109-7, lost Jaker Ali and Hasan Mahmud to fast bowler Alzarri Joseph early on the final day at North Sound. At 132-9, Shoriful retired hurt after getting hit on the shoulder by a bouncer from Joseph in the fifth over of the day. West Indies Shatter Bangladesh’s Dreams in 201-Run Stunner To Take Lead 1-0 In Test Series .
Toss:
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first.
West Indies Squad:
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Mikyle Louis, Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales
Bangladesh Squad:
Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Mominul Haque, Litton Das (wk), Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam
DAY 1-
Bangladesh, opting to bowl first, aimed to capitalize on early seam movement and moisture in the pitch. Despite this, the openers managed the challenge until near the end of the first hour when Taskin Ahmed got things rolling. He trapped West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite LBW and then had Keacy Carty caught at mid-on for a duck after a failed leg side flick, leaving the hosts at 25 for 2.
After lunch, runs were hard to come by, with the first boundary only arriving in the ninth over of the session, marking Louis’ fifty. Kavem Hodge, who contributed to a 59-run stand with Louis, was run out attempting an imprudent second run, thanks to Taijul Islam’s precise throw. Athanaze and Louis struck a few boundaries to take West Indies to 116 for 3 by tea.
The pace escalated in the last session, with Athanaze hitting two fours in the first couple of overs. Together, they added 59 in the initial 10 overs after the break. Louis neared his first Test century but was dropped at slip by Bangladesh’s captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Even though Athanaze kept the scoreboard ticking, Louis grew cautious as he closed in on the ton, eventually getting caught at slip on 97 off Mehidy. Shortly after, Athanaze was caught behind by Litton off Taijul. When Bangladesh got the second new ball, Hasan was met with two boundaries from Joshua da Silva before the game was halted due to poor light.
DAY 2-
Roach then dug in and partnered with Greaves, guiding the hosts past 300 as they began their recovery. They achieved their second century stand of the match, eventually crossing 400 before Roach fell as Hasan Mahmud’s third wicket of the day, narrowly missing out on a half-century by three runs.
Greaves celebrated his maiden triple-digit Test score with a boundary straight down the ground after Roach’s departure. Useful cameos from Jayden Seales (18 off 25) and Shamar Joseph (11 off 8) quickly propelled West Indies to the 450-mark post-Tea, prompting a declaration.
This left Bangladesh with nearly a session to navigate, and Jayden Seales alongside Alzarri Joseph struck late to leave the visitors struggling at 21 for 2.
The openers displayed patience and had their share of luck, but Seales removed Zakir Hasan in the 10th over just as he began to settle with a couple of boundaries. On the other end, after the drinks break, Joseph dismissed the other set batter, with Mahmadul Hasan Joy edging to the slips after making five from 33 balls.
From 21 for 2, Mominul Haque and Shahadat Hossain helped Bangladesh reach stumps, under diminishing light, at 40, importantly without losing more wickets.
DAY 3-
Beginning the day at 40 for 2, Bangladesh’s batsmen managed to get starts but failed to convert them into significant scores under the pressure exerted by the West Indies bowlers. The morning saw an early breakthrough from Kemar Roach, who reduced the visitors to 66 for 3 by dismissing Shahdat Hossain for 18. The other overnight batsman, Mominul, then collaborated with Litton Das to put on some resistance.
The seasoned duo constructed a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket, capitalizing on a pitch that remained favorable for batting. Litton guided Bangladesh past the 100-run threshold with a cover drive in the final over before the Lunch break, as the team successfully kept the aggressive West Indies pacers at bay throughout the morning session, signaling a potential recovery led by their experienced players.
Nonetheless, the post-break period swiftly unraveled their progress. Jayden Seales rejoined the attack and immediately trapped Mominul LBW on the first ball after the interval when he was on 50. Mominul had just concluded a careful half-century off 115 balls in the last over before the break, and he wasted a team review on an obvious call.
The Josephs began to generate chances, spending a review on Mehidy Hasan Miraz, before Shamar Joseph reaped rewards, shattering Litton’s stumps and dismissing him 10 short of a fifty following a crucial innings that initially rescued Bangladesh from early peril.
This dismissal brought Jaker to the crease, who persisted until Tea without further loss, guiding his team to 165 for 5. However, Mehidy’s stay was short-lived post-Tea as Alzarri Joseph added to the wickets tally with a short ball. Jaker then aligned forces with Taijul Islam, and the duo compiled a 68-run partnership for the seventh wicket, marking Bangladesh’s best stand of the day.
The pair propelled Bangladesh past the 200-run milestone immediately after the second new ball was introduced, yet Alzarri returned to halt Taijul’s boundary-finding spree at 25. On the opposite end, Justin Greaves quickly dismissed Jaker soon after he reached his half-century. Although this late resilience spared Bangladesh from the indignity of a follow-on, Greaves claimed his second wicket in the day’s closing moments by catching Hasan Mahmud in the slips, leaving the visitors trailing by 181 runs with only one wicket remaining.
DAY 4-
Bangladesh took a bold step by surprisingly ending their innings at the overnight score of 269 for 9 on the fourth morning, leaving them with a deficit of 181. West Indies crumbled for just 152 in their second innings, mainly due to Taskin’s debut Test five-wicket haul. The pacer consistently hit the channel outside off, challenging the batters and giving the visitors a glimmer of hope by taking regular wickets.
Taskin orchestrated a couple of mini collapses, the first during a continuous seven-over spell with the new ball. Mikyle Louis managed only 18 balls before getting caught by the keeper, and soon after, Keacy Carty gave an easy catch to second slip. On the opposite end, Shoriful Islam removed the established Kraigg Brathwaite, who edged a low catch to Mahmudul Hasan Joy at second slip after scoring 23 off 35 by the drinks break.
Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze showed some resistance later in the session, taking the home side to Lunch without further loss, standing at 61 for 3 with their lead extended to 242, but the session favored the visitors due to their daring declaration earlier.
Both batters used DRS successfully to overturn LBW decisions early in the afternoon, with Athanaze especially finding boundaries more frequently. However, Taskin ended their stand by making Hodge edge one, marking Litton Das’ 100th Test catch as a wicketkeeper. Mehidy Hasan Miraz compounded the damage by trapping Athanaze LBW in the next over, leaving West Indies faltering at 93 for 5, quickly becoming 95 for 6 as Taskin dismissed Justin Greaves cheaply for his fourth wicket of the morning.
Just before drinks, Taijul Islam joined in and dismissed Joshua da Silva, who attempted a quickfire 22 off 18 balls. Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph’s fortune ran out after surviving a couple of drops, and Taskin wrapped up the innings, taking the wickets of Shamar Joseph and Roach, turning his maiden five-fer into a six-wicket haul that set Bangladesh a challenging yet attainable fourth-innings target of 334.
Unfortunately, the batters failed the team once more in Antigua. Roach made an impressive impact with three quick wickets using the new ball triggering a collapse of 23 for 4 that the visitors couldn’t recover from, swiftly dashing their hopes of contesting for a draw. Litton tried to stage a counteroffensive, but Shamar quickly quashed that attempt. Captain Mehidy was able to build a few valuable partnerships, notably with Jaker Ali, to hold off the hosts for a while. However, Seales’ two late-day blows left Bangladesh struggling at 109 for 7 before bad light stopped play early.
DAY 5-
As play commenced on the fourth morning, Jaker Ali hit a boundary in the first over, but Alzarri Joseph made an immediate impact in the next. Hasan Mahmud had to attempt a shot on a delivery placed perfectly outside and ended up edging it behind.
Jaker Ali continued to find the boundary at one end, but Joseph soon ended his resistance by trapping him lbw as a low ball beat his defense. Shoriful Islam was hit on his shoulder on the first ball, continued for just one more over, then decided not to risk further injury with the outcome already clear. Despite Bangladesh’s subpar performance with the bat in the Test match, the West Indies’ batters set up the win by posting 450 runs in the first innings.
Brief scores:
West Indies 450/9d (Justin Greaves 115*, Mikyle Louis 97; Hasan Mahmud 3/87) & 152 (Alick Athanaze 42; Taskin Ahmed 6/64) defeated Bangladesh 269/9d (Jaker Ali 53; Alzarri Joseph 3/69) & 132 (Mehidy Hasan 45; Kemar Roach 3/20) by 201 runs.
