Bangladesh Strike Three Times in First Session to Put West Indies on the Back Foot

West Indies were put on the back foot early in the final match of the two-Test series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, thanks to an impressive display by Bangladesh’s pace bowlers. The visitors reached 86 for 3 at lunch on the opening day.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, West Indies got off to a shaky start. Bangladesh pacers Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud maintained tight lines and lengths, making it difficult for the visiting batters to score freely. After reaching 13 without loss in the fourth over, the Caribbean side soon suffered a batting collapse.

Taskin provided Bangladesh with their first breakthrough early in the fifth over. The right-arm speedster produced a superb delivery to bowl West Indies opener Brandon King for 9, giving the hosts their first reason to celebrate.

Before the visitors could recover from the early setback, Hasan Mahmud struck again to deepen their troubles. Kavem Hodge failed to settle at the crease and was bowled by a brilliant delivery from Hasan for just 1 run.

Taskin delivered another blow to the visitors in the ninth over, reducing West Indies to 27 runs for 3 wickets. He dismissed opener Joshua Da Silva for 12, leaving the Caribbean side in a precarious position.

With three quick wickets down, debutant Kevin Wickham and Amir Jangoo took responsibility for rescuing the innings. The pair put together an unbeaten 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket, facing 106 deliveries to guide West Indies safely through the first session.

At the lunch break, Wickham remained unbeaten on 27, while Jangoo was batting on 32. For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed has claimed two wickets, while Hasan Mahmud has picked up one.