Bangladesh the moral victors in drawn Test

Cricket365
October 25, 2011

A rain-affected first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies predictably ended in a draw, but it was the hosts who walked away from it with their tails up.

A rain-affected first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies predictably ended in a draw, but it was the hosts who walked away from it with their tails up after enjoying the better of the exchanges on the final two days.

With days two and three both abandoned due to a wet outfield a result was always unlikely in Chittagong, but both teams did their best to make up for it with some positive cricket which ultimately saw the West Indies finish on 100 for two chasing 226 in the fourth innings.

West Indies had resumed on 144 for five in their first innings at the start of the final day, and were able to add exactly 100 runs in quick time thanks to their skipper Darren Sammy before they were bowled out.

Sammy smashed 58 from 43 balls in an entertaining counter-attack that made sure his side were safe from an unlikely defeat, but the most noteworthy performance came from left-arm spinner Elias Sunny, who finished with 6 for 94 on debut.

That gave Bangladesh a lead of 106 on first innings, and they moved to 119 for three in their second innings before declaring at the tea break with an overall lead of 225.

The hosts caused a few jitters when Sunny trapped Kraigg Brathwaite lbw in the first over of the West Indies' second dig, but Lendl Simmons hit 44 and then Kirk Edwards (28 not out) and Darren Bravo (24 not out) put on an unbeaten partnership of 42 before the players shook hands on the draw.

Sunny had got the ball rolling on the fifth morning when he had Marlon Samuels caught at short cover, but it was Shakib Al Hasan who did most of the damage either side of Sammy's counter-attacking knock.

Shakib finished with 3 for 53, while Shahriar Nafees was the star of the Bangladeshi second innings as he scored exactly 50 before he was bowled by Samuels in the penultimate over of the second session.

The hosts elected to have a shot at turning their dominance into a series lead by having a bowl at the West Indies in the final session, but even though the pitch was providing turn, the task was too great.

The two sides now head to Dhaka for the second and final Test, which gets underway on Saturday.

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