Bonner’s 74 leads West Indies’ fightback

Dhaka, Feb 11: The first day of the second Test in Dhaka would make neither side too happy. But neither would it make them too sad. West Indies had the opportunity to dominate after lunch, having made 84 for 1 in the morning session.
Their early advantage dissipated when Bangladesh’s seam bowlers struck thrice in a post-lunch session that saw only 62 runs scored. But after tea, West Indies’ middle order displayed enough grit to absorb everything Bangladesh threw at them, restoring parity to the contest after 90 overs. At stumps, the visitors finished day one on 223 for 5, the least number of runs scored on the first day of any Test at the venue. There were three stars on the day. Nkrumah Bonner, unbeaten on 74, was West Indies’ rescuer-in-chief. Swing bowler Abu Jayed (2 for 46) – who replaced Mustafizur Rahman in the XI – was the stand-out quick. And left-arm orthodox spinner Taijul Islam (2 for 64) earned his rewards by exerting control and ensuring pressure was never released from one end.