West Indian openers remain firm after bowlers sink Bangladesh on 234

SAINT LUCIA: The West Indian opening pair of Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell held their ground firm with an unbeaten partnership after the bowlers wreaked havoc over the Bangladesh batting line-up on the opening day of the second Test.

The West Indian bowlers continued their dominance over the struggling touring batters as they bowled out Bangladesh for a mere 234 runs on the opening day of the second Test.

Batting first, Bangladesh had a rather decent start to their proceedings as the left-handed batter Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudul Hasan Joy provided a fair 41-run opening stand before Anderson Phillip broke the important partnership by removing the latter on 10.

Tamim, on the other hand, then put on a brief 27 runs partnership with Najmul Hossain Shanto before making his way back to the pavilion in the 23rd over as Bangladesh slipped to 68-2. The left-handed opener fell four short of his half-century; scoring 46 off 67 balls, laced with six boundaries.

The right-handed middle-order batter Anamul Haque then joined hands with Shanto and helped the touring side amass a 100-run mark before falling briefly after scoring 23 off 33.

Following his dismissal, the touring side began to lose wickets at a regular interval, while Liton Das stood his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly.

The right-handed batter Das, top-scored for his side with a gritty half-century as he scored 53 off 70 balls with the help of seven boundaries before Alzarri Joseph struck him out in the 58th over; causing Bangladesh to lose their eighth wicket on 191.

With the touring side stranded at 191-8, the tailenders Shoriful Islam and Ebadot Hossain added crucial runs to the team’s total at the death and bolstered the side to a respectable 234. Shoriful chipped in with his valiant knock of 26 runs, while Hossain remained unbeaten with his magnificent 21.

For the West Indies, Jayden Seales and Joseph picked three wickets each, while Kyle Mayers and Phillip bagged two apiece.

In response, the West Indian openers Brathwaite and Campbell displayed sheer dominance and carried their bat through till the conclusion of the opening day.

The duo will now resume the proceedings for the home side at 67/0 as the hosts will be looking to neutralize the remaining 167-run deficit. Campbell scored an unbeaten with 32, whereas, the skipper Brathwaite made a 30 not-out.

READ: Pakistan’s Shahzeb bags Bronze in Asian Taekwondo Championship