MIRPUR, Bangladesh, CMC – Darren Bravo made the breakthrough, collecting his maiden Test hundred to put West Indies in a near impregnable position in the second Test against Bangladesh yesterday.
The stylish left-hander promised much in the past, but finally delivered with an even, undefeated 100 that propelled West Indies to 207 for three in their second innings for an overall lead of 331 after three days in the final match of the two-Test series at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.
This came after leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo claimed two of the last three Bangladesh wickets, finishing with three wickets for 62 runs from 23 overs, as the host were bowled out for 231, replying to West Indies’ first innings total of 355, about an hour before lunch.
Bravo, the younger brother of West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, reached his milestone from 165 balls, cutting the short, wide last delivery of the day from left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo through point for two, naturally sparking a leap of joy in obvious relief.
He added 151 for the third wicket with Kirk Edwards, after the departure of young openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell cheaply which left West Indies 33 for two.
Edwards looked set to follow up his first innings 121 with another hundred before Shuvo captured his wicket for 86 in the final hour.
West Indies were set back early, when Brathwaite was run out off the second ball, when he failed to beat a direct hit at the bowler’s end from Naeem Islam.
Edwards joined Powell and they settled down into the job with the left-handed opener drilling Nasir Hossain straight back past the bowler for the first boundary of the innings.
The two batsmen however, got tied down when Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim turned to an all-spin attack after six overs, as West Indies reached 27 for one at lunch.
After the interval, Edwards started confidently, driving Nasir Hossain through cover for four, but Powell remained circumspect before he skied a delivery from Shakib Al Hasan and was caught at mid-on for 12.
This brought Bravo to the crease and he got into stride with a lofted straight drive for four off his second delivery from Shakib.
He also lofted Shakib for a six over long-on in the left-arm spinner’s next over before destroying the confidence of Nasir a few overs later with a drive for four over mid-on, another drive through cover for another boundary, and a pull for six over mid-wicket in the off-spinner’s 10th over.
A war off attrition took place over the next hour or so before Bravo broke the shackles with a booming drive through cover off Shahadat Hossain to bring up the 50-run stand with Edwards, who also exploded with a straight six in the next over from the same bowler.
Bravo was blessed with two slices of good fortune, when Rahim, also the Bangladesh ‘keeper, dropped him on 45 off Shakib, who suffered again two balls later, when Imrul Kayes put the younger Bravo down again on the same score.
The young left-hander reached his 50 from 62 balls, when he cut a short ball from Raqibul Hasan square for a single.
Not to be outdone, Edwards reached his landmark in style, sweeping the first ball of Shakib’s 11th over to deep fine leg for four before driving the left-arm spinner through cover off the back-foot for his fifth boundary to reach 50 from 115 balls.
The West Indies pair continued merrily with little or no incident until Shuvo bowled him, essaying a flick at an over-pitched delivery.
The two-Test series is level 0-0, after the badly weather affected first Test ended in a draw at the Chowdhury Stadium.
Scoreboard
West Indies 1st Innings 355
(K. Edwards 121; Shakib Al Hasan 5-63)
Bangladesh 1st Innings
(overnight 204 for seven)
Tamim Iqbal c Bravo b F. Edwards 14
Imrul Kayes c Brathwaite b F. Edwards 29
Shahriar Nafees c Bravo b F. Edwards 7
Raqibul Hassan lbw b F. Edwards 0
*+Mushfiuqur Rahim c Chanderpaul b F. Edwards 0
Shakib Al Hasan b Bishoo 73
Naeem Islam run out (Chanderpaul/Bishoo/+Baugh) 45
Nasir Hossain c Edwards b Samuels 42
Suhrawadi Shuvo c Brathwaite b Bishoo 15
Shahadat Hossain b Bishoo 4
Rubel Hossain not out 2
Extras 0
TOTAL (all out, 68 overs) 231
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-36, 3-46, 4-46, 5-59, 6-143, 7-95, 8-225, 9-225
Bowling: F. Edwards 13-0-63-5; Roach 9-0-52-0; *Sammy 10-3-32-0; Bishoo 23-4-62-3; Samuels 13-2-22-1
WEST INDIES 2nd Innings
K. Brathwaite run out (Naeem Islam) 0
K. Powell c Nasir Hossain b Shakib Al Hasan 12
K. Edwards b Suhrawadi Shuvo 86
D.M. Bravo not out 100
K. Roach not out 4
Extras (lb2, nb3) 5
TOTAL (3 wkts, 71 overs) 207
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-33, 3-184
Bowling: Rubel Hossain 9-2-22-0 (nb2); Nasir Hossain 16-3-49-0; Shakib Al Hasan 17-1-62-1; Naeem Islam 7-2-13-0; Suhrawadi Shuvo 15-2-32-1; Shahadat Hossain 3-0-15-0 (nb1); Raqibul Hasan 4-0-12-0
Position: West Indies lead by 331 runs with seven second innings wickets standing
Umpires: K. Dharmasena, N. Llong
TV umpire: Nadir Shah
Matchreferee: A. Pycroft
Reserve umpire: Enamul Haque