The West Indies defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets in the opening Test on Saturday, taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series thanks to a career-best 81 not out from Brandon King. After Bangladesh was dismissed for 142 in their second innings, King’s 115-ball knock of 10 fours and a six helped the visitors chase down the goal of 170 in 35.1 overs on the fourth day in Mirpur.
Due to his nine wickets throughout the match, Jomel Warrican was named Player of the Match. In Bangladesh’s second innings, he added 4 for 63 to his haul from the first. The other important bowling player was captain Roston Chase, who took 5 for 36 in Bangladesh’s second innings to reach his 100th Test wicket, a noteworthy achievement for the off-spinner.
West Indies scored 245 in response to Bangladesh’s 272 in their opening innings. By the end of Day 3, Bangladesh had dropped to 79 for 6 in their second innings, with a lead of just over 100, before being bowled out for 142.
Bangladesh’s aspirations of setting a difficult mark were dashed early when Jaker Ali pushed Warrican to slip, where Chase took the catch. Bangladesh had started the fourth day at 79-6, leading by 106. Jaker was Bangladesh’s second-highest scorer of the innings, scoring 22 from 34 balls. To keep Bangladesh going, Nayeem Hasan survived two dropped catches off Chase on 21 and 29.
Hasan Mahmud took 1 for 14 and Shoriful Islam took 1 for 20 for Bangladesh’s bowlers during the West Indies’ second innings, but neither of them was able to stop the visitors from easily achieving the goal. After Campbell left for 49, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled in the chase as well, but they were unable to end the King-Hodge partnership.
Chase reached 100 Test wickets with his five wickets in Bangladesh’s second innings. His 5 for 36 helped bundle out Bangladesh for 142 and maintained the objective comfortably within West Indies’ reach at a pivotal moment in the game. Warrican made an equally important contribution in both innings. He was named Player of the Match for his nine wickets during the game, including four for sixty-three in the second innings. The main architects of the triumph were Chase and Warrican, who together destroyed Bangladesh’s batting in both innings.
