Tino Best picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in tests as West Indies fought back to beat Bangladesh by 77 runs in the first test in Dhaka on Saturday. The home side caved in under pressure and were all out for 167 runs in their second innings, having been set a target of 245 runs in a maximum of 78 overs to win on a fifth day track.
Best provided the killer blows to finish with a career best five for 24 as Bangladesh lost the test match despite scoring 556 in their first innings replying to West Indies’ 527 for four declared. Bangladesh had the upper hand when a six-wicket haul by debutant off-spinner Sohag Gazi helped them dismiss the visitors for 273 in the second innings.
Gazi took all four West Indies wickets in the morning after the visitors resumed on 244 for six and returned with figures of six for 74 in the innings for a match haul of nine scalps, the best ever by a debutant for Bangladesh. West Indies clawed their way back to reduce Bangladesh to 44 for two before lunch and maintained the pressure after it as they shackled the batsmen. Best began his haul with the wicket of opener Junaid Siddique (20) after Ravi Rampaul made the first breakthrough by dismissing the other opener Tamim Iqbal for five. West Indies captain Darren Sammy said they had seen something in the pitch during the last session of the fourth day that made them believe they could bowl the hosts out cheaply.
“There was something for the spinners and also our guys are much quicker, so I backed my bowlers to go out and put the ball in the right areas,” Sammy told reporters. “It was a hard fought test match. Obviously winning brings a good feeling in the dressing room. To see that we battled and came out victorious definitely boosts our confidence.” Right-arm pacer Best had a rich haul in the second session when he took the wickets of Shakib Al Hasan, Shahriar Nafees and Mushfiqur Rahim to leave Bangladesh limping at 85 for five. Shakib (two) got a snorter which bounced awkwardly from good length to take the edge for wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin to complete the catch. Shahriar Nafees (23) was the next to go offering Best a return catch before the bowler trapped Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim (16) lbw to dampen the hosts’ chances of a win.
Bangladesh’s remaining hopes were over when debutant left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul dismissed Naeem Islam lbw for 26 and bowled Nasir Hossain for 21. Gazi (19) tried to counter attack with some lusty blows but Permaul ended the fight when he had him caught out by substitute fielder Narsingh Deonarine at mid-off. Shahadat Hossain survived only two balls as Best returned to take the final wicket of Mahmudullah, the top scorer for Bangladesh in the second innings with 29, to complete his five-wicket haul and the victory that left the hosts dejected.
