Ban vs WI 2nd Test: Rana’s five-for and Mehidy’s blitz lead Bangladesh to 211-run lead over West Indies

Bangladesh turned an 18-run first-innings lead against the West Indies into a competitive 211-run advantage on day three Monday (December 2, 2024) of the second Test at Sabina Park.

Bangladesh defended its first-innings 164 by bowling out the host for 146 just after lunch.

Fast bowler Nahid Rana took his maiden Test five-for.

As the pitch started to ease up in the sun, the Bangladeshis batted with unexpected boldness, especially Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shadman Islam, and grabbed a handy lead at 193-5 when bad light ended play.

Captain Mehidy’s counterattacking 42 off 39 balls consolidated Bangladesh’s renewed confidence of tying the two-Test series.

First, Bangladesh had to overcome losing Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the first over after he edged Jayden Seales to the slips.

Shahadat Hossain was dropped on 18 but the damage was limited. He scored only 10 more runs, 28 off 26 balls.

That brought in Mehidy, who promoted himself from No. 7 in the order to No. 4, in part to protect No. 3 batter Mominul Haque, who stayed off the field because of an unspecified illness.

Mehidy got off the mark first ball, fended off the second he faced, then smashed four consecutive boundaries; two drives, and two through the slip cordon.

Shadman added two boundaries, Mehidy pulled one to the fence, and they had hit seven boundaries in nine balls.

They combined for 50 in 29 balls, and had the run rate at nearly seven an over. But then they eased just before tea, when Bangladesh was 110-2 and leading by 128.

Kemar Roach returnsBangladesh also exploited the absence of West Indies’ most experienced fast bowler Kemar Roach, who was hit in the shoulder while batting. He didn’t reappear until 30 overs into Bangladesh’s second innings. He bowled five overs and conceded 12 runs.

That last session looked more like Test cricket.

Shadman edged behind off Shamar Joseph for 46, ending the stand with Mehidy of 70 in 74 balls.

Mehidy followed him soon after on 42, out on review to a leg-side flick.

Litton Das was dropped on 12, and fast bowler Shamar Joseph dropped to his knees. It was the sixth drop off his bowling in the series. Litton was out for 25, bowled through the gate by Justin Greaves.

At stumps, Jaker Ali was 29 not out, and Bangladesh had five wickets in hand, including Mominul’s.

West Indies collapseIn the morning, the West Indies collapsed and lost the advantage from a slow but solid 85-1 start. The home side was all out for 146, losing the last nine wickets for 61 runs.

It was only the second time Bangladesh got a first innings lead after scoring less than 200. Previously, it scored 192 against South Africa in 2008 for a lead of 22 runs.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, on 33, and Keacy Carty, on 19, started the day in the middle at 70-1 and remained the only batsmen to get into double figures.

Brathwaite triggered the collapse when he was out for 39 off 129 balls, trying to defend Rana only to see the ball pop off his bat shoulder to gully, where substitute Zakir Hasan made a diving catch.

Carty was the seventh man out trying to flick Hasan Mahmud and edging behind, ending his team-best innings of 40 off 115 balls.

Rana tried bouncing out West Indies before lunch and hit Shamar Joseph on the grill and Roach on the shoulder. They lasted three more overs after lunch. Roach was the last man out, trapped by Rana, who bagged his first five-for in his sixth Test. He made his Test debut in March.

Rana took 5-61 in the innings, but on Monday he claimed 4-26 from his last seven overs.

“We knew it was coming,” Bangladesh bowling coach Andre Adams said. “When you bowl at 150 kph you’re going to take wickets at some stage. What he has done in the last year is become accurate. We just try to give him some instructions and let his instincts take over.”

All of the Bangladesh bowlers got a wicket, and Hasan, Taskin Ahmed and Taijul Islam each averaged less than two runs an over.