The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket

Mahmudullah, spinners put Bangladesh in command

Sat, Dec 1, '18

 

Windies v Bangladesh

All twenty Windies wickets in the first Test fell to spin. Yet, it was a bit of a surprise when Bangladesh came into the second Test in Dhaka with an all-spin attack. It was the first time in their tryst with Test cricket that they had no specialist seam option in their line-up. And they proved why. After Bangladesh were bowled out for 508 in their first innings, in the final session on Day 2, Windies were reduced to 75 for 5, shared between Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan on Saturday (December 1). Bangladesh, who have never enforced the follow-on ever before in Tests, could just as well, as they look for their first-ever series win over Windies in Bangladesh, with the hosts trailing by 433.

If Bangladesh's ability to put on stands was a key aspect in them amassing a total of 500, in stark contrast, Windies' woes on that front continued. Once again, their batsmen's ineptness against spin came to fore. Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell and Sunil Ambris's stumps were shattered due to tentative defence, while Roston Chase and Shai Hope were done in by deliveries with turn as all the five had their stumps disturbed, ending a rather dismal day for the visitors. Barring the delivery Hope got, which was unplayable after it kept low and had a tad bit of spin, the other batsmen gifted their wickets away in trying too hard.

With Windies in dire straits, Nayeem Hasan, the promising off spinner, started to extract sharp turn. On the other hand, Shimron Hetmyer and Shane Dowrich were stitching together a partnership after having been reduced to 29 for 5. Hasan also won a decision in his favour when Hetmyer was adjudged out in a leg-before call against the youngster, but the review showed the ball missing the off stump by quite a distance.