West Indies were trailing in the match for most of the time. There seemed very little chance for them to win by chasing a whopping target of 395 runs. Experts, critics, fans, everyone thought it was either a comfortable win for Bangladesh or a
hard-fought draw. But debutant Kyle Mayers had other plans. He took his team past the mammoth target enroute completing his 200. West Indies now holds the record of the highest target chased in Asia.
Brief Scores:
1 st Innings BAN – 430/10 (150.2 Overs). Mehidy Hasan 103(168), Shakib Al Hasan 68(150), Warrican 4/133.
WI – 259/10 (96.1 Overs). Brathwaite 76(111), Blackwood 68(146), Mehidy Hasan 4/58, Taijul Islam 2/84.
2nd Innings BAN – 223/8 d (67.5 Overs). Mominul 115(182), Liton Das 69(112), Cornwall 3/81, Warrican 3/57.
WI – 395/7 (127.3 Overs). Kyle Mayers 210(310), Bonner 86(245), Mehidy Hasan 4/113, Taijul Islam 2/91.
Man of The Match – Kyle Mayers
Mehidy Hasan displays his all-round show
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat. This decision proved to be in their favour for one part of the game as they posted a mammoth total of 430. Opener Shadman Islam 59(154) gave them a steady start after an early wicket of his partner Tamim 9(15). The middle order got starts but couldn’t bat long. Shanto 25(58), Mominul 26(97) and Rahim 38(69) gave minor contributions in the score. But the one who got Bangladesh this far was Mehidy Hasan who made a well deserved century. Warrican was the highlight for WI as he picked up 4 wickets. Roach and Gabriel got 1 wicket each while Cornwall went away with 2.
The West Indians had a large task up ahead to stay in the game. As their opponent, for WI too one opener Campbell 3(15) got out early. While the opener Brathwaite went on to score 76(111). Blackwood 68(146) and Joshua 42(141) slowed things with a 99 runs partnership. But from here, wickets went in quick succession for WI. Mehidy Hasan after his valuable contribution with the bat, took 4 wickets in quick succession to rattle the hopes of West Indies. Bangladesh were on top gaining a 207 runs lead in the 1st innings.
Kyle Mayers Double Hundred Takes WI Past Bangladesh
Bangladesh were already well ahead with a huge 1st innings lead. Their 2nd innings didn’t start well as they lost early wickets and were 33/3 in 14.1 overs. Mominul played a captain’s knock scoring 115(182) and his partnership of 133 runs with Liton Das 69(112) again brought Bangladesh back in the game. They declared on 223/8 giving a target of 395 runs but as it turned out, it was not enough.
West Indies tried to start their innings slowly as a win was still too far from them. Mehidy Hasan once again proved his worth by picking up wickets of the top order of West Indies. They were 59/3 in 24.2 overs but from then, it was the debutant’s show. Kyle Mayers announced himself to the world with an under-pressure innings of 210(310). He along with Bonner 86(245) gave WI a chance to create history. In this innings too Hasan took 4 wickets. But his all-round performance in the match was overshadowed by a much deserving innings from the youngster.
Many records are broken by WI in this match and maybe they have announced a new era in WI test cricket, especially by way they approached this game. WI now leads the 2-match series 1-0 and will be looking for a series win after gaining massive confidence from this game.
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