ANTIGUA: West Indies right-arm pacer Alzarri Joseph bagged two wickets in the final session of the second day after West Indies gathered a 162-run lead at the back of brilliant half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood to power the home side to continue their domination over Bangladesh.
The hosts after resuming their first inning at 95/2 on the second day of the ongoing first Test, put on a decent show with the bat as the side managed to post a commendable 265 at the back of outstanding fifties from Blackwood and the skipper Brathwaite.
The overnight pair of Brathwaite and Nkrumah Bonner carried the momentum and showed no sign of rustiness as the duo kept ticking the scoreboard until the 63rd over as the latter perished as he was castled by the Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hassan for 33.
Brathwaite then joined hands with Blackwood and the duo further excelled in West Indies’ lead as they put on a 63-run stand for the fourth wicket.
The skipper, who was inching closer to his 11th Test century, fell six runs short as Khaled Ahmed trapped him in legs for 94. The right-handed batter faced a mammoth 208 deliveries and smashed nine boundaries.
Brathwaite’s departure saw Blackwood stand up for his team and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly as the home side was losing wickets at a rapid pace and were slipped from 224/4 to 239/8.
Blackwood then added a valuable 19 runs with the tailender Gudakesh Motie before the latter perished after scoring 63. He faced 139 balls and hit nine boundaries.
The Bangladesh bowling line-up then wasted no time and soon bundled out the home side for 265. Motie remained unbeaten with his valuable 23.
For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the way with four wickets, while Ebadot Hossain and Khaled bagged two each. Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib, on the other hand, made one scalp each.
The touring side then started their second innings with a deficit of 162 runs and was jolted by the early strikes of Joseph, who made two scalps to keep Bangladesh on the back foot as he removed the left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal and the nightwatchman Miraz cheaply.
The touring side will now resume the proceedings with a 112-run trail with Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Najmul Hossain Shanto at the crease.
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