Sylhet: Bangladesh go into the second and final Test against West Indies on Thursday, November 5, knowing only a win will do. The visitors lead the two-match series 1-0 after an eight-wicket victory in Mirpur, and the hosts must level the series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, where play starts at 09:00 IST.
The Mirpur defeat still stings because Bangladesh had the game in their hands at one stage. They made 272 in the first innings, with Shadman Islam scoring 105, and took a 27-run lead. Then came the collapse that decided the match: bowled out for 142 in the second innings, they left West Indies just 170 to win, and the visitors chased it down for the loss of two wickets, with Brandon King unbeaten on 81 and John Campbell making 49.
West Indies’ spinners were the difference, and head coach Daren Sammy said so plainly afterwards: his spinners had outbowled Bangladesh’s. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican took nine wickets in the match, five for 53 in the first innings and four for 63 in the second, and captain Roston Chase added a five-wicket haul in the second innings. Sammy wants the same mentality carried into Sylhet, where West Indies can seal a series win rather than settle for a draw.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, have been forced into a change. Mominul Haque is out after suffering a head injury while fielding in the first Test; he was replaced by concussion substitute Jaker Ali during the match and must observe a mandatory minimum seven-day stand-down period under ICC concussion guidelines. His replacement is wicketkeeper-batter Amite Hasan, who made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in June but has a formidable domestic record — 4,040 first-class runs in 54 matches at an average of 50.50.
Amite, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said he was ready to bat at No. 3, Mominul’s usual slot, if given the chance. “Unfortunately, Mominul bhai is unavailable because of concussion. If I get the opportunity, I will try to play the same kind of cricket and follow the same process that I have been following in first-class cricket,” he said. He also noted the Sylhet surface looked like a grass wicket so far, while cautioning that there were still a couple of days before any final judgement.
There is also a World Test Championship cost to the Mirpur defeat. Bangladesh slipped from fourth to fifth in the standings, their points percentage falling from 55.56 to 47.62, while West Indies improved to 26.92 per cent in eighth. A win in Sylhet would not restore Bangladesh’s fourth place on its own, but it would stop the slide and deny West Indies a series victory on their travels.
The questions for the hosts are familiar ones: can their batters handle Warrican and Chase second time around, can their own spinners match the visitors, and can the top order give Shadman and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto a platform? Sylhet, over five days, will answer all three.
