Seventeen wicket day brings West Indies to the brink of victory | sport

NORTH SOUND, Antigua (AP):

Bangladesh trailed the West Indies by 224 runs on the fourth day of their first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua yesterday, with just three wickets in the second innings at stumps.

With 333 sets to win, Bangladesh faltered and were 109-7 at stumps on a day that saw 17 wickets fall, 14 of which were to fast bowlers.

At 15, Jaker Ali wasn’t out yet when bad light halted play for the third day in a row. He shared a 43-run partnership with Mehidy Hasan Miraz (45) en route to stumps, which briefly gave Bangladesh hope of winning the game well into the final day.

But Mehidy was out four overs from the end and his dismissal finally ended the tourists’ valiant defense on the fourth day.

Kemar Roach led the West Indies with 3-20 and Jayden Seales won with 3-31.

Roach dismissed Zakir Hasan (0), Shahadat Hossain (4) and Mominul Haque (11) leaving Bangladesh’s innings in tatters at 23-4.

Mehidy revived the innings with partnerships of 36 with Litton Das (22) and 43 with Jaker. Seales struck to drive out Mehidy and Taijul Islam near stumps to set the West Indies up for victory.

Earlier, the West Indies had to suppress a determined comeback from Bangladesh, who scored a surprise 269-9 overnight and conceded a first-innings lead of 181 runs.

Taskin Ahmed then took his first five-wicket haul in Tests as West Indies were bowled out for 152 in just over 46 overs.

The right-hander, playing in his 16th Test, scored a career-best 6-64 as Bangladesh kept the West Indies’ lead below 350.

Taskin showed the value of bowling line and length on a pitch on day four at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium as he progressed through the West Indies line-up in the second session.

The West Indies went into the lunch break on 61-3 and were in a strong position to significantly increase their overall lead.

Taskin dismissed Mikyle Louis (8) and Keacy Carty (3) in the first session and then came into his own by taking four more wickets as the West Indies were only out of the game at tea.

“It’s very special for me, my first five-wicket haul in Test cricket,” Taskin said. “I had a few chances, but I didn’t manage to get those five before.

“In the first innings I thought I was bowling well, but I learned from the first innings what lengths and lines are good here and I tried to bowl consistently.”

Taskin’s huge effort was wasted when Bangladesh lost Zakir Hasan (0) on the fifth ball of the second innings and Mahmadul Hasan Joy (6) three overs later.

Roach also bowled a demanding line and length to eliminate Shahadat and Mominul, leaving Bangladesh four points behind only in the 13th over.

The 17 wickets that fell yesterday was a record for a single day in a Test match in Antigua.