West Indies 407 for 3 (Brathwaite 205*, Chanderpaul 51*) v Bangladesh
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kraigg Brathwaite raised his maiden double-century – the third youngest West Indian to the mark at 21 years and 279 days – but his watchfulness contributed to a slow second day at Arnos Vale. They progressed at 2.55 per over, allowing Bangladesh some breathing space despite not picking up any wickets.
The morning session was lost to a wet outfield, a result of persistent overnight rain. However the hosts were in no rush to compensate. They took 80 runs from 28 overs after lunch and were happy with scoring at 2.25 runs in the final session to finish at 407 for three after the 56 overs that were possible.
Brathwaite and his hero Shivnarine Chanderpaul added 146 runs at 2.49 to the over. The pitch wasn’t doing much and Bangladesh’s bowling was steady at best. There were moments when caution was needed, but not in the final session when the spinners looped the ball into the slot with the field up. Towards stumps, the Bangladesh fielders were even joking about keeping this partnership going into the third day.
Every team, barring Zimbabwe, has struck at more than three runs an over against Bangladesh over the past five years. Had West Indies followed their average of 3.31 runs per over, they would have reached 450.
Initially though, things were tough. Rubel Hossain used the new ball to nip past Chanderpaul’s outside edge and into the keeper’s gloves. The appeal was instantaneous, but the umpire disagreed. Mushfiqur Rahim, misled by the noise of bat hitting ground, opted for a review and lost it. There were a few more deliveries that beat the bat, and there was enough reason for the two batsmen to stick to their naturally circumspect style of play.
Brathwaite added to his reputation of being stubborn with Chanderpaul, one of the bests exponents of that trait, to guide him. He favoured pace on the ball, hitting a couple of fours off Rubel in the 96th over with cuts and pulls.
Taijul Islam posed greater threat, beating Brathwaite a number of times. However, the batsman corrected his tendency to hang hang back in the crease against the spinners and began working Shuvagata Hom and Taijul quite well through the on-side to ease past his 150.
Chanderpaul barely put a wrong foot after the initial half an hour, waiting for the poor delivery to get runs. He eventually reached his fifty off 171 balls, in the same over that Brathwaite secured his double ton and West Indies moved past 400.
Brathwaite had been bogged down in the 190s. He spent 39 deliveries nudging around before reaching his double hundred with slog off Mahmudullah, the same bowler he had hit to the boundary to reach his century on the first day. He claimed all his previous landmarks – 50, 100 and 150 – with fours as well. He hit 14 in all, but played out 314 dots from 437 balls faced.
Source: CricInfo
