Recent Match Report – West Indies vs Bangladesh 2nd Test 2020/21
Abu Jayed and Soumya Sarkar struck in the second session
Tea West Indies 146 for 4 (Bonner 30*, Blackwood 18*) vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s two pacers – right-arm quick Abu Jayed and the part-timer Soumya Sarkar – were the standout performers in the second session as West Indies lost three wickets for 62 runs after lunch in Dhaka. Having got to lunch at 84 for 1, West Indies lost Kraigg Brathwaite, Shayne Moseley and Kyle Mayers – their hero from Chattogram – to slip to 116 for 4.
The session began with West Indies scoring at a run rate of just one for the first eight overs as Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and Jayed kept things tight. In that period, Jayed shifted from length balls – a characteristic from his spell in the morning session – to fuller deliveries that got the older ball to swing more. That troubled the No. 3 Moseley for enough time such that when Jayed offered a full and wide ball from around the stumps in the 34th over, he was tempted to drive. But the loose, off-balanced shot from Moseley ended in an inside edge onto leg stump, ending his 38-ball stay for 7.
After his first spell ended, Jayed briefly went off the field, and Sarkar – the only other seam bowler in the XI, playing instead of the injured Shadman Islam – replaced him in the attack. Although Sarkar’s pace was not menacing by any means, his control by bowling a nagging line kept West Indies quiet. He was rewarded in the 42nd over when Brathwaite, on 47, tried to cut a ball that was too close to his body, edging to Nazmul Hassan Shanto at first slip.
That brought in Mayers, the double-centurion from the first Test, at No. 5. He was comfortable against spin, as was evident in Chattogram too, but Jayed’s persistence with the around-the-stumps angle to left-hand batsmen earned him a second wicket. It was another full and wide ball, with a hint of swing, that brought out the drive from Mayers and resulted in an edge to Sarkar at wide slip for 5. By the end of the session, No. 4 Nkrumah Bonner and No. 6 Jermaine Blackwood had begun West Indies’ recovery, but a combination of controlled aggression from the bowlers and the brief flurry of wickets meant that the visitors could score at only 2.13 runs in the session.
The Test had begun with West Indies dominating the first session, losing just one wicket after winning the toss. Brathwaite and John Campbell had put on 66 for the opening stand with the latter doing the bulk of the scoring in the partnership. With Brathwaite holding up one end, Campbell looked to attack more, moving to 36 with five fours before his dismissal. It was a contentious decision that sent him back when he was deemed lbw off Taijul in the 21st over.
Taijul got a full ball to angle in from around the stumps that hit Campbell’s front leg. Umpire Sharfuddoula then raised his finger but Campbell reviewed for the second time in the session. TV umpire Gazi Sohel checked if the ball grazed the bottom edge of the bat during Campbell’s sweep but felt there was no bat involved – despite the tiniest of spikes on UltraEdge – which could also have been generated by the on-ground noise – and upheld the on-field decision. A few balls later, a seemingly dissatisfied West Indies coach Phil Simmons could be seen talking to the reserve umpire Masudur Rahman near the boundary line, perhaps wanting to know more about how the TV umpire reached his decision.
That was the only moment of joy for Bangladesh in the morning session, who otherwise struggled with the ball. Jayed, who had replaced Mustafizur Rahman in the XI, was wayward in his first spell. Although he got the ball to swing away from the right-hand batsmen, his inconsistent lines allowed Brathwaite and Campbell to begin positively.
Mehidy shared the new ball with Jayed, and kept the openers quiet as long as he bowled full. The shorter balls, however, were put away behind square on either side. Like Mehidy, first-change Nayeem Hasan found turn but didn’t challenge either batsman’s edge. Full balls were defended by Brathwaite, but when the same were offered to Campbell, he attacked the ‘V’ down the ground.
That remained West Indies’ most promising batting stand by tea. With the next three partnerships adding less than 20 runs each, the onus for West Indies to post a respectable first-innings total now falls on Blackwood and Bonner, who went into tea with an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 30.
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
