Shadman Islam hit an unbeaten 99 to steer Bangladesh to 213-3 on the opening day of the first Test against West Indies on Wednesday.
The left-hander was on the verge of his third Test century when bad light ended play after 74 overs at the start of the two-match series in Mirpur. Shadman hit 10 fours in his 219-ball innings, with Litton Das on 10 not out.
Shadman and Hridoy steady the innings
Shadman and Towhid Hridoy added 88 runs for the fourth wicket to rebuild the Bangladesh innings. Hridoy retired hurt on 42 with cramps. He came into the side in place of the injured Mushfiqur Rahim.
Shadman brought up his half-century off 95 balls. He found a capable partner in Hridoy, and the pair batted through the afternoon session to take Bangladesh to 177-3 at the tea break. Hridoy then suffered cramps as he approached his maiden Test fifty and was helped off the field.
West Indies strike early
West Indies broke through early when in-form opener Tanzid Hasan edged Jayden Seales to second slip for nine. Mominul Haque added 28 before falling to Jomel Warrican‘s left-arm spin.
Shadman guided Bangladesh to lunch at 96-2. Shortly after the break, Warrican struck again to trap Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto lbw for 19. Warrican finished as the pick of the West Indies bowlers with 2-33.
Bad light ends play
Bad light interrupted play for an hour. The umpires then called off play for the day after a short resumption, with Bangladesh finishing on 213-3.
Reaction
Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Salahuddin said the tension was high for the entire side. “It was nerve-racking even for us — at the end of the day, the whole team was nervous because everyone wanted him to get to his hundred,” he said.
He added: “He has played around 30 (32) Test matches but has only two centuries, and I think that number should have been higher.”
Warrican said West Indies remained in control despite the lack of wickets. “Ideally, I would want one more wicket, but we have control of the game. The game never got away from us,” he said.
“We were very disciplined as a bowling group. Even if you’re not getting wickets, you try to be as disciplined as possible. That’s the key, which we did very well. But ideally, we wanted at least one or two more wickets today.”
Squads
Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam.
West Indies: Jonathan Campbell, Brandon King, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo, Roston Chase (capt), Justin Greaves, Joshua Bishop, Shamar Joseph, Jomel Warrican, Jayden Seales.