Dhaka: West Indies rode on Roston Chase’s five-wicket haul and an unbeaten half-century from Brandon King to defeat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the opening Test and take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series on Saturday.
Chasing 170 for victory, the hosts made light work of the target, reaching 170/2 at a scoring rate of nearly five runs per over, with King remaining unbeaten on 81 and Kavem Hodge providing support at the other end. The result also meant the West Indies wrapped up the contest with a day to spare.
Bangladesh, resuming their second innings at 79/6 on the fourth morning, had hoped to stretch their overall advantage beyond the 100-run mark. However, the West Indies bowlers ensured the visitors could not build a substantial total despite some resistance from Nayeem Hasan.
Jomel Warrican broke through early, having Jaker Ali caught by Chase at slip, before Chase and Warrican continued to trouble the lower order. Nayeem survived two dropped chances to keep Bangladesh in the contest and eventually brought up a maiden Test half-century, scoring 52.
Chase, however, ended his resistance by dismissing him shortly after a rain interruption, completing his five-wicket haul with figures of 5-36. Warrican claimed four wickets for 63 runs, taking his match tally to nine and earning the Player of the Match award. Bangladesh were dismissed for 142, setting the West Indies a target of 170.
The hosts began their chase positively, with King and John Campbell putting together a commanding 112-run opening partnership. Both batters took advantage of the conditions, regularly finding the boundary and preventing Bangladesh from building pressure.
Campbell narrowly missed out on a half-century, falling for 49 after edging Shoriful Islam onto his stumps. King, meanwhile, continued his aggressive approach and brought up his fifty with three successive boundaries.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul was dismissed for a brief score, offering Bangladesh a fleeting opportunity to fight back, but King remained in control. Hodge joined him and accelerated the scoring as the hosts moved closer to the target.
King finished unbeaten on 81, while Hodge remained at the crease as West Indies completed the chase comfortably.
For Bangladesh, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam picked up a wicket apiece, but their efforts were insufficient to prevent a comprehensive defeat.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 272 & 142 (Nayeem Hasan 52, Jaker Ali 22; Roston Chase 5-36, Jomel Warrican 4-63) lost to West Indies 245 & 170/2 (Brandon King 81*, John Campbell 49; Hasan Mahmud 1-14, Shoriful Islam 1-20) by 8 wickets
–IANS–
