MIRPUR, Bangladesh, CMC – Devendra Bishoo continued the impressive start to his international career, when he finished with career-best bowling, leading West Indies to a 229-run victory in the second Test against Bangladesh yesterday.
The wiry leg-spinner collected five wickets for 90 runs from 25 overs, as West Indies earned a rare Test series victory on foreign soil.
“As the main spinner in the team, I knew I would be called upon to do the job on the final day of the Test match,” said Bishoo, who celebrates his 26th birthday on Sunday.
“Spinners usually come into play later on in the match, so I figured out what my game plan would be from early. I came to the ground prepared to do what was required and I’m very happy it all worked out in the end.”
He said: “The captain kept on telling me to believe in myself and all my other team-mates gave me a lot of support. That gave me the confidence to go out and do the job.
“I gave the ball a good ‘rip’ and also used my variations. We didn’t just win the match, but we also won the series and this feels great for me as well as all the others in the team. As a cricketer the best feeling is winning.”
Bishoo, the ICC Emerging Player-of-the-Year, ended with match figures of eight for 152, the best by a West Indies spinner in an overseas or neutral Test since his compatriot Lance Gibbs collected nine for 143 against India 36 years ago in Mumbai.
“Before we left the Caribbean, we knew the pitches would favour spin bowling, so I expected to have a lot of work in this series,” he said.
“No matter what the ball is doing for you as a bowler, you still have to be deadly accurate, otherwise the batsmen will pick you off and you would go for runs.”
He said: “The captain kept reminding me of the team plan and he also kept telling me a wicket was always around the corner.
“My best wicket was that of the captain (Mushfiqur Rahim). He was playing well and we needed that at the time. When I saw the ball hit the stumps, I said ‘yes’! I knew once we got him we could go through and that’s exactly what happened.”
