Kavem Hodge produced a career-best unbeaten 140 to put West Indies firmly in command of the second Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet, with the visitors closing Day 4 on 345 for 3 and a lead of 315 runs.
It was a punishing day for Bangladesh’s bowlers. West Indies piled up 338 runs and lost only three wickets across the day, turning a match that had looked evenly poised after Towhid Hridoy’s unbeaten 242 on Day 3 firmly in their favour. Fading light eventually brought an early end to play, but by then the damage was done.
It was a sharp reversal. Bangladesh had taken a 30-run first-innings lead on the back of Hridoy’s unbeaten 242, the highest Test score by a Bangladeshi, and at one stage looked the likelier winners. Instead, West Indies’ batters owned the fourth day so completely that the hosts were left chasing the game.
Hodge was the architect. The left-hander reached his hundred off 142 balls with a sweep off Taijul Islam after tea, his third Test century, and in the process crossed 1,000 Test runs in his 19th appearance in the format. He was still there at stumps, unbeaten on 140, having batted West Indies into a position from which they can now push for a series-clinching win on the final day.
He had strong support. Debutant Kevin Wickham, who had made 61 in the first innings, followed it up with 78 in the second, sharing a century stand for the third wicket with Hodge that drained the life out of the Bangladesh attack. Opener Brandon King had earlier set the tone with 61, and Amir Jangoo was unbeaten on 20 alongside Hodge when the umpires checked the light meter and took the players off.
Bangladesh’s bowlers had no answers on a surface that offered them little. Taijul Islam finished with 2 for 118 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz 1 for 58, but the attack looked toothless as the day wore on, and the home side will now need something extraordinary with the bat to save the match.
West Indies, who won the opening Test in Mirpur, are now strongly placed to complete a 2-0 series sweep. Bangladesh face a chase that would be a record for them if they are to win, and with a full day’s play remaining, the visitors will fancy their chances of bowling the hosts out and wrapping up the series. For Bangladesh, the task on Day 5 is simple to state and enormously difficult to execute: bat the day out, or watch West Indies celebrate a clean sweep in Sylhet.
Related: Towhid Hridoy’s Unbeaten 242 Powers Bangladesh to 30-Run Lead Over West Indies in Sylhet — https://t20star.com/towhid-hridoys-unbeaten-242-powers-bangladesh-to-30-run-lead-over-west-indies-in-sylhet/ | Hasan Mahmud’s Career-Best 6 for 90 Bowls West Indies Out for 356 as Bangladesh Hit Back in Sylhet — https://t20star.com/hasan-mahmuds-career-best-6-for-90-bowls-west-indies-out-for-356-as-bangladesh-hit-back-in-sylhet/
