Overview

Bangladesh v Windies, 1st Test

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Thursday, 22 November 2018; 09:30 local; 03:30 GMT

Match preview

Bangladesh and the Windies head into their two-match Test series with plenty to prove, after both teams were severely tested in their previous outings.

While the Windies were, for the most part, outplayed by India in the two-match series in October, Bangladesh nearly became the side Zimbabwe beat for their first overseas Test series victory in 17 years.

In fact, the Windies can take encouragement from the way Zimbabwe went about troubling Bangladesh. Their batsmen – Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, Peter Moor and Sean Williams, chiefly – were excellent in the way they managed to play spin on turning tracks, and the Windies will know doing that consistently is the way to nullify Bangladesh, reports icc-cricket.com.

The Windies named more or less the same side that played the Tests in India last month. The likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Sunil Ambris and Kieran Powell would have learnt plenty from facing Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, and they will hope to make it count against Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan and the returning Shakib Al Hasan.

Unfortunately for the Windies, they are missing the one player who could have made all the difference – captain Jason Holder. A shoulder injury has forced him out of the tour – he will undergo rehabilitation in Barbados – and Kraigg Brathwaite will once again stand in as skipper.

Holder impressed against India with both ball and bat, and the Windies could have desperately used his experience and expertise against a Bangladesh side who are usually terrific at home. All the more so given Bangladesh are welcoming back their own captain, Shakib.

Shakib was out with a finger injury for over a month, and missed the clashes against Zimbabwe. He will return to skipper the side against the Windies, and Bangladesh will be a significantly raised threat with him in the side.

That said, he joins a Bangladesh side that is quite strong already. Mushfiqur Rahim seems to be in the form of his life – he broke records aplenty with his double-century in Mirpur last week – and the likes of Mahmudullah, Mominul Haque and Mehidy all impressed with the bat in the second Test against Zimbabwe.

Mehidy has been special with the ball as well, his five-wicket haul in the second innings saving the series for Bangladesh, but it is Taijul who will hope to be the real force again – he took three consecutive five-wicket hauls and was Player of the Series against Zimbabwe, and will want more of the same this series.

What’s worrying for Bangladesh is the fact that it took a loss in the first Zimbabwe Test in Sylhet to spark a lot of these performances. Do that against the Windies, and they might not offer them a way back, especially given the record between these two sides in Tests.

The last time the Windies toured Bangladesh for a Test series in 2012, they won the two matches quite comfortably. In fact, you’ve to go all the way back to 2009 for the last time Bangladesh won a Test against the Windies.

The current Bangladesh team is a different animal, though. The Windies will be wary.

Key players

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh): The premier all-rounder will captain the side on his return, and should slot straight back into the XI. But is he match fit? ‘He has no physical problems currently, but he is short of match fitness. But since he is a senior player, we think that he is ready,’ said Chief Selector Minhajul Abedin. If it comes down to a matter of endurance, as is well likely, Shakib will be put to the test.

Roston Chase (Windies): In a poor series against India, the one Windies player who the Indians were glad to see the back of was Roston Chase. He was excellent against spin, and scored a century and a half-century in the two Tests. In similar conditions in Bangladesh, more of the same will be expect of Chase, and with Holder absent, it is crucial for the Windies that he delivers.

Conditions

The sun will be out in Chittagong, with temperatures hanging around the region of 28°C. Not too hot, then, but enough to heat and dry the pitch, and make it more susceptible to spin.

Squads

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Naeem Hasan

Windies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Shermon Lewis, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican