Bangladesh maintain firm grip on first Test despite 50s from Brathwaite and Blackwood

By February 05, 2021
Jermaine Blackwood scored his 14th Test 50 but Bangladesh have maintained a firm grip on the first Test at Chattogram. Jermaine Blackwood scored his 14th Test 50 but Bangladesh have maintained a firm grip on the first Test at Chattogram.

Bangladesh kept a firm grip on the first Test against the West Indies on Friday, leading by 218 runs with seven second-innings wickets still in hand at Chattogram.

Earlier on, the West Indies made a fight of it with half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood and solid contributions from Kyle Mayers and Joshua da Silva. However, the good work was undone by a late order collapse in which the visitors lost five wickets for six runs on either side of the tea interval that put Bangladesh in a position of strength going into Saturday’s penultimate day.

Batting a second time, Bangladesh were 47 for 3 at the close.

Resuming from their overnight score of 75 for 2, the West Indies lost the wicket of Nkrumah Bonner first ball of the morning for his overnight score of 17.

The Jamaican stretched forward to defend a Taijul Islam delivery that spun enough to catch the outside edge and flew to the left of Najmul Hossain Shanto, who snatched it at first slip.

Bonner’s dismissal brought Mayers to the crease and together with Brathwaite, who was 49 overnight took the score to 130 when the West Indies captain was bowled leaving a Nayeem Hasan delivery that bounced and spun before clipping to top of off. He had made 78, his 20 Test half-century that came off 111 balls from which he struck 12 fours.

Blackwood and Mayers added 24 when the latter became the first of Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s four victims and played a large part in the batting collapse that was to come.

Meanwhile, Blackwood brought up his 14th Test 50 in a stand of 99 with Da Silva that took the score to 253.

Da Silva, who had been looking more at ease as the tea interval approached, was caught behind for 42 off a Nayeem Hasan delivery that found a faint outside edge and triggered a collapse that saw the West Indies lose their remaining wickets in just 23 balls.

Blackwood failed to add to his pre-tea score of 68 when Miraz had him caught behind playing at a delivery that was spinning past the stumps. He had faced 146 balls and struck nine fours in his more than three-hour stay at the crease.

Miraz then bowled Cornwall for 2 and then had Kemar Roach hole out to deep mid-wicket without scoring to return figures of 4 for 58 from 26 overs.

Taijul Islam bowled Jomel Warrican for four for figures of 2 for 84, while there were also two wickets each for Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman.

With a lead of 171, Bangladesh lost two wickets in two balls to Cornwall and were in early trouble at 2 for 1. Shannon Gabriel then got Shadman Islam out for 5 as the West Indies mounted a fightback to have the home side 33 for 3.

However, Monimul Haque remained unbeaten on 31 and Musfiqur Rahim on 10 as Bangladesh reached 47 for 3 at stumps.

Leighton Levy

Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.

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