Paceman Shafiul Islam and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam removed both the openers to bring Bangladesh back into the contest after West Indies made a solid start in the second Test at St Lucia. Shafiul had first Test double centurion Kraigg Brathwaite dismissed for 63 runs before Taijul trapped debutant Leon Johnson leg-before for 66 as West Indies reached 153-2 at tea on the opening day on Saturday.
Brathwaite and Johnson shared 143 runs in the opening stand after Bangladesh put West Indies in to bat for the second successive Test.
Bangladesh’s decision to bowl first came as a little surprise as the pitch at the Beausejour Stadium offered some bounce and encouraging movement to the bowlers from the very beginning.
Unlike the first Test at St Vincent, Bangladesh went into the game with four regular bowlers, including three pacers in Al-Amin Hossain, Shafiul and Robiul Islam, who all had some kind of assistance from the pitch.
However, they all bowled too wide to allow West Indies openers survive the early pressure and take the control.
Brathwaite was the most cautious between the two openers, taking at least 40 balls to reach the double figure.
He was unbeaten on 20 at lunch but not before consuming 81 balls as West Indies stayed away from hitting any boundary in the first one hour, when just 35 runs were scored.
Debutant Jonson, playing for Chris Gayle, who was given a time off to deal with a personal matter, struck Taijul a six to grow in confidence and Brathwaite soon joined him in attacking play.
Bangladesh did not fancy any chance until an edge from the bat of Johnson raced for a boundary between the first slip past Nasir Hossain and wicketkeeper Mushfiq off the bowling of Shafiul.
Shafiul finally earned the breakthrough, albeit with a poor delivery, which Brathwaite flashed to point fielder Taijul.
The left-arm spinner himself was on the wicket two overs later when he had Johnson out leg-before.
Television replay showed the ball was going down the leg but Johnson was denied a review as he took more than 15 seconds to ask for it.
In an eventful last few minutes of the second session, Taijul dropped an easy catch off Kirk Edwards denying Bangladesh their third wicket.
Shafiul, one of the three changes Bangladesh made for the Test, was the unlucky bowler.
The Tigers dropped Rubel Hossain, who has a stiff neck, and Shubhagoto Hom to accommodate Shafiul and Robiul with top-order batsman Anamul Haque being the only other change for sick Imrul Kayes.
The game started with a simple ceremony as West Indies marked the beginning of their 500th Test match. There was a brief photo session while Bangladesh team presented the West Indies side with a small crest on the historic occasion.
-With New Age input
