On this day in 2021, West Indies secured a 2-0 series sweep with a 17-run win in the second Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur. With second-string players and stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite, the team managed to prove the doubters wrong.
The Windies’ Test series victory was achieved after Bangladesh completed a 3-0 clean sweep in an ODI series which concluded in January 2021. As a result, the Windies failed to collect a single point in the ODI Super League.
West Indies’ players pose with the Test tournament trophy after winning the second Test cricket match against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. AFP
However, the second and final Test played between the two teams in February was an edge-of- the- seat thriller and the visiting team won the two-match series with a dramatic 17-run victory. West Indies edged out Bangladesh to seal their first overseas series success since 2017.
Bangladesh had lost the first Test played at Chattogram as West Indies chased down a 395-run target to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The visiting team had pulled off the fifth-highest successful run chase in Test history with their three-wicket win in the series opener.
In the second Test, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first. Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva were the top-scorers in the first innings with a splendid 90 and 92 respectively. Alzarri Joseph too made a solid 82, while stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite added 47 to the team. West Indies gave an outstanding performance as they made 409 in the first innings.
As Bangladesh came to bat, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal top-scored with 71, 54 and 44 respectively. Mehidy Hasan Miraz added a valuable 57 before the team were bowled out for 296. With West Indies making 117 in the second innings, Bangladesh were now chasing a target of 231.
Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar began batting brilliantly. Iqbal’s half-century with nine fours raised visions of a Bangladesh win. However, Kraigg Brathwaite bowled Sarkar for 13. Four overs later, Brathwaite also dismissed Iqbal for 50.
Captain Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim then took charge of the chase, putting together 23. Jomel Warrican inspired a turn around in the game by dismissing Rahim. Bangladesh was now left at 115 for 5.
Mohammad Mithun was next to be picked up by Cornwall. Warrican claimed two of his three wickets for the day by dismissing Haque. Litton Das and Taijul Islam were bowled by Cornwall and the end seemed near for Bangladesh at 163 for 8 wickets.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan added a 45-run stand until skipper Braithwaite dismissed Hasan. Abu Jayed kept Miraz company and nudged the total above 200 but Warrican gave the final blow to seal West Indies’ 17-run win and a 2-0 series victory.
The spin trio of Rakheem Cornwall (4-105), Braithwaite (3-25) and Jomel Warrican (3-47) claimed all 10 wickets to bowl Bangladesh for 213.
Cornwall was declared Player of the Match for his spectacular bowling performance while Nkrumah Bonner was awarded Player of the Series for his 231 runs in the two-match series.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram