Shadman Islam's Century Not Enough as West Indies Fight Back After Bangladesh Collapse

West Indies spinner Jomel Warrican claimed five wickets, bowling Bangladesh out for 272 before the visitors reached 134-4 on the second day of the opening Test. At stumps on Thursday, the West Indies trailed by 138 runs, with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 43 and Justin Greaves on 15 when bad light halted play early in Mirpur. Warrican, a left-arm spinner who took two wickets on day one, finished with figures of 5-53, marking his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam, who began the day on 99 not out, reached his third Test century on the second morning but was dismissed for 105, as Bangladesh lost their remaining seven wickets for just 51 runs. "We should have done better," Shadman commented. "If our top-order batters had converted their scores into bigger innings of 150, 170 or even 200, the team total could have reached 450 or 500."

The hosts, who resumed on 213-3, saw Shadman reach his hundred with a flick off debutant left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop on the second ball of the day. However, Bishop trapped him lbw in his next over, initiating a collapse. Towhid Hridoy, who had retired hurt on 42 on the opening day due to cramps, returned to bat but was bowled by Bishop without adding to his overnight score. Litton Das attempted to stabilize the innings with the lower order and remained unbeaten on 34, but Warrican and fast bowler Shamar Joseph dismantled the tail, with Bangladesh all out before lunch. Bishop and Joseph each took two wickets, supporting Warrican's efforts.

In reply, West Indies started aggressively, with openers John Campbell and Brandon King taking on the Bangladesh fast bowlers. Hasan Mahmud broke the partnership when King edged out for 15, leaving the visitors at 29-1. Campbell continued his attacking approach, reaching his half-century off 61 balls and guiding West Indies to 89-1 at tea.

Following a rain interruption of about an hour, Bangladesh struck soon after play resumed. Mehidy Hasan Miraz dismissed Campbell for 54 with a sharply turning off-break that took the outside edge, and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto held a diving catch to his left. "The ball was a little bit darker and we had momentum going before the rain break," said Campbell. "I think that [rain] allowed them to regroup and they were hitting better areas." Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam then took two wickets in the 36th over, removing Kavem Hodge (7) and Amir Jangoo for a duck, reducing the opposition to 97-4. Chanderpaul and Greaves steadied the West Indies innings before bad light ended the day's play prematurely.