[www.inewsguyana.com] – Leon Johnson and Kraigg Brathwaite helped sustain West Indies dominance as their lead swelled past 300 by tea. Bangladesh did take a couple of wickets, but the impact was almost negligible.
The opening pair added 76 runs in 19.3 overs, playing quite freely. Even the dogged Brathwaite, unbeaten on 44, wasn’t shy of lofting the ball across the line. He slogged Taijul Islam for a six and a four over midwicket.
But it was Johnson who took care of the run-rate with a busy 41 off 59 balls, including eight fours. He cut Al-Amin Hossain to the boundary off the first ball after lunch and used the pull, sweep and some fine dabs to keep the Bangladesh seamers at bay. He could have reached a fifty quite easily but Taijul Islam put paid to that thought, yorking him in the 20th over.
Taijul could have dented West Indies further in the same over, but Kirk Edwards won a review after umpire Steve Davis adjudged him leg-before. Replays showed the batsman had inside edged the ball to his front pad. But Edwards couldn’t take advantage of the chance, guiding a Shafiul Islam delivery to gully in the 23rd over.
A 10-minute rain break posed as a reminder the poor weather over the next two days, which should keep both teams on their toes as well.
Bangladesh did themselves no favours though when they were bowled out for 161, to hand the hosts a mammoth lead of 219. Mahmudullah making a second successive Test fifty, and Shafiul assisted in the resistance during a 45-run eighth-wicket partnership, but the damage to Bangladesh on the second day was too much to undo.
