Brathwaite ton extends WI domination

ANTIGUA: Kraigg Brathwaite continued his vigil at the crease as Windies extended their domination in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Antigua.

The opener moved on from his overnight score of 88 to register his seventh Test century as the hosts chugged along to 271 for 3, losing only nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo, before Lunch on Day 2.

But by the time Bishoo was castled by Kamrul Islam for 19, he had done his job of seeing through the first hour of the morning without any damage. Despite some spirited bowling, he was rarely troubled or probed, with the conditions becoming easier for batting. The only time he could have been in trouble was when Rubel Hossain had him trapped in the in the 82nd over. But the onfield umpire turned down the appeal and Bangladesh didn’t take a review.

However, soon after Bishoo’s fall Bangladesh could have accounted for the wicket of the other overnight batsman when Brathwaite glanced at a delivery on his pads. Liton Das, the leg slip fielder, went to his left and got his hands to the ball, but couldn’t hold on to it. The diminutive opener made that opportunity count as he sent nothing else Bangladesh’s way. Dropped on 110, he added 11 runs thereafter before going to Lunch unbeaten on 121.

Despite having batted over three sessions, he continued to show ample patience and kept leaving the balls outside off. Yet again, Bangladesh bowlers failed in the waiting game. Shai Hope’s arrival at the crease added for some drama as he played with more audacity. He did score at a fair clip but also looked the most likely player to hand Bangladesh a wicket. Even as their going was slow, Windies added 70 runs to their overnight score.

Earlier, Kemar Roach led the demolition of Bangladesh with a five-wicket haul as the tourists were dismissed for 43, their lowest total ever in Test cricket, before lunch on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Wednesday.

By stumps the West Indies top-order had built on that dominant bowling effort in reaching 201 for two, a lead already of 158 runs with eight wickets in hand. Opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite played his usual sheet-anchor role to perfection in compiling an unbeaten 88 from almost five hours at the crease. He put on 113 for the first wicket with Devon Smith (58), while Kieran Powell stroked his way to 48 in an 81-run stand before falling just before the close of play.

Their serene progress through two sessions contrasted sharply with Bangladesh’s woeful batting performance.

Apart from being their lowest Test innings total and lowest for any team in Test cricket in the Caribbean, it was also the second shortest first innings of a Test match — 18.4 overs - in the game’s 141-year history, bettering by just one delivery Australia’s dismissal for 60 off 18.3 overs by England at Nottingham in 2015. Put in to bat on the greenest surface seen in 10 years of Test cricket at the venue, the Bangladeshis were no match for the quality of the West Indies fast bowling led by Roach, who set the rout in motion by claiming the first five wickets for eight runs in the space of 12 deliveries despite appearing to be troubled by a muscular strain behind his right knee.

Brief Scores: Bangladesh 43 (Liton Das 25; Kemar Roach 5-8, Miguel Cummins 3-11) trail Windies 271/2 (Kraigg Brathwaite 121*, Devon Smith 58) by 228 runs.