Bangladesh were set 245 to claim a rare Test victory

West Indies defeated Bangladesh by 77 runs in an unlikely finish to the first Test in Dhaka.
BanNews

After just 10 wickets fell during the opening three days, a draw seemed the strong favourite as bat dominated ball.

A late West Indian collapse to spin near the end of the fourth day brought about the possibility of an outright result but the path to that outcome arrived in the unexpected form of touring pace bowler Tino Best.

Slow bowling had seemed the most likely way to unsettle batsmen as the match wore on, highlighted by Sohag Gazi’s 6-74 on debut as West Indies were dismissed for 273 in their second innings.

That represented a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Caribbean side after strolling to 209-1 on the fourth evening.

Bangladesh were set 245 to claim a rare Test victory but their run-chase stalled from early on when opener Tamim Iqbal edged Ravi Rampaul behind the wicket.

Tino Best then produced an outstanding spell of pace on what had appeared a lifeless wicket for pace bowlers up to then, claiming 3-12 in his opening five-over spell as the home side collapsed to 55-4.

The right-armer returned to dismiss skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (16) before Veerasammy Permaul - who enjoyed a solid debut - struck twice as Bangladesh slumped to 119-7.

Mahmudullah (29) and Gazi (19) played out 10 overs but just as Bangladesh put themselves into a position to at least draw the match, Gazi played a wild shot at Permaul and skied the ball to mid-off.

Best fittingly wrapped up the match, with an hour to go, when he bowled Mahmudullah, finishing with Test-best figures of 5-24. Slow left-armer Permaul took 3-32 while Rampaul also chipped in with 2-32.

WEST INDIES 527 for four declared (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 203 not out, Denesh Ramdin 126 not out, Kieran Powell 117, Chris Gayle 24; Sohag Gazi 3-145) and 273 (Kieran Powell 110, Darren Bravo 76, Sunil Narine 22 not out; Shohag Gazi 23.2-2-74-6, Rubel Hossain 2-53, Shakib Al Hasan 2-56)

BANGLADESH 556 (Naeem Islam 108, Nasir Hossain 96, Shakib Al Hasan 89, Tamim Iqbal 72, Mushfiqur Rahim 43, Mahmudullah 62, Shahriar Nafees 31; Ravi Rampaul 3-118, Sunil Narine 3-148, Darren Sammy 2-83) and 167 (Mahmadullah 29, Naeem Islam 26, Shahriar Nafees 23, Nasir Hossain 21, Junaid Siddique 20; Tino Best 12.3-2-24-5, Veerasammy Permaul 3-32, Ravi Rampaul 2-32)

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