West Indies beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the first Test at Mirpur. Roston Chase’s 5 for 36 bowled the hosts out for 142 on Day 4, and Brandon King’s unbeaten 81 anchored a 170-run chase finished in 35.1 overs, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Mirpur, Bangladesh: Rain trimmed Bangladesh’s resistance and lightning briefly paused the chase, but neither stoppage changed the direction of a Test that West Indies took command of from the third day. By Saturday afternoon the visitors had turned a 27-run first-innings deficit into a comfortable win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Chase and Warrican close the door
Bangladesh resumed on 79 for 6, 106 ahead after Roston Chase’s three-wicket burst on Day 3, and the lead never became a platform. Jaker Ali had added only 22 when he edged Jomel Warrican to Chase at slip in the first over of the morning, leaving Bangladesh 84 for 7. Hasan Mahmud fell lbw to Warrican for 8 to end a 26-run stand, and Taijul Islam followed lbw to Chase after adding 17 with Nayeem Hasan.
Nayeem was the last real obstacle. Dropped at slip by Chase, he passed his previous Test best of 35 not out on the way to a maiden half-century. Rain stopped play with Bangladesh on 132 for 9 after 46 overs, Nayeem on 49. When play resumed he reached his fifty, then miscued Chase to long-on, where Joshua Bishop took the catch. It was Chase’s fifth wicket of the innings and left West Indies a target of 170.
Chase finished with 5 for 36 and Warrican took 4 for 63, which gave him nine wickets in the match after his five-wicket haul on Day 2. Shamar Joseph claimed the remaining wicket.
King and Campbell take the pressure off
West Indies went to lunch on 8 without loss, and the openers settled quickly after. Brandon King and John Campbell put on 112 for the first wicket, with Bangladesh’s spinners unable to find a breakthrough. Lightning forced the players off with the score on 87 without loss after 17.4 overs, but the delay only postponed the result.
Shoriful Islam finally separated the pair when he removed Campbell for 49, and Hasan Mahmud had Tagenarine Chanderpaul caught at third man for 1. That brought in Kavem Hodge, who struck 31 not out from 27 balls and added an unbroken 50 with King. King finished on 81 not out from 115 balls as West Indies completed the chase in 35.1 overs.
How the match turned
Bangladesh made the better start, with Shadman Islam stranded on 99 on Day 1 before completing a century and carrying them towards 272. Warrican then ripped through the lower order, taking 5 for 53 as the last seven wickets fell for 59.
The visitors answered with 245, bowled out after Nayeem’s 4 for 33. That 27-run deficit was the last edge Bangladesh held in the match. Chase’s Day 3 spell and his Day 4 five-wicket haul swung the Test decisively, and West Indies now lead the two-match series 1-0.
Result: West Indies won by eight wickets.
Bangladesh: 272 (Shadman Islam century; Jomel Warrican 5/53) and 142 (Nayeem Hasan 52; Roston Chase 5/36, Jomel Warrican 4/63).
West Indies: 245 (Nayeem Hasan 4/33) and 170/2 in 35.1 overs (Brandon King 81*, John Campbell 49, Kavem Hodge 31*).
Venue: Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur.
