West Indies in command after restricting Bangladesh to 234 in second Test

Gros Islet (St Lucia):  A 67-run opening partnership between skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell following a dominant display of fast bowling put West Indies in a good position on the opening day of the second Test at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Saturday (IST).

Despite losing both their openers, Bangladesh put up a decent display in the opening session on day one and the visitors would have hoped to put up a score in excess of 300 heading into the lunch break.

The West Indies fast bowlers though had other ideas and put the brakes on in the second session, reducing the visitors from 105/2 to 138/6.

The West Indies seamers’ devastating bowling saw them sharing the 10 wickets between them. Both Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph picked up three wickets each, while Anderson Phillip and Kyle Mayers each secured two-wicket hauls for themselves in a brilliant display of fast bowling on a pitch that looked conducive for batting.

If there was one batter in the Bangladesh lineup that stood up to the challenge, it was Litton Das.

The 27-year-old put up a valiant 53, taking his tally to four fifties in addition to his two centuries in 2022.

With Bangladesh reeling in the second session, Das put up two important partnerships with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shoriful Islam, taking Bangladesh closer to the 200-run mark.

Das has already scored 640 runs in this calendar year, putting him fourth on the list of most runs scored in 2022, only 101 runs behind the leader Usman Khawaja at 751 runs, according to ICC.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite (30 not out) and John Campbell (32 not out) have set up a solid foundation for the home team to put up a big first innings score.

The Caribbean side trail by only 167 runs at the close of play on day one and with all 10 wickets in hand, they could be looking at a big first-innings lead on a relatively good batting surface.

Currently on 42 points, West Indies have the chance to increase their ICC World Test Championship points tally to 54 if they are successful in winning this Test and sealing the series 2-0.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 234 in 64.2 overs (Tamim Iqbal 46, Litton Das 53; Jayden Seales 3/53, Alzarri Joseph 3/50) vs West Indies 67 for no loss in 16 overs (Kraigg Brathwaite 30 n.o., John Campbell 32 n.o.).

–IANS