The West Indies cricket team is now touring Bangladesh for the ODI and Test bilateral series. The first three ODIs have been held. Where West Indies lost the series 3-0 to Bangladesh. There are two Test matches in this series, which will start on February 3 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.
A three-day warm-up match between West Indies and BCB XI was held at MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on January 29-31. BCB XI was all out for 160 runs in the first innings where West Indies gigantic bowler Rahkeem Cornwall took five wickets for 47 runs in his spin magic alone. Another spinner Jomel Warrican took three wickets. Two fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph took one wicket each. West Indies scored 257 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, West Indies lost 5 wickets in 48 overs and scored 179 runs. The batsmen have batted well. For Bangladesh, this gigantic spin bowler Rahkeem Cornwall may be the cause of fear in this series.
On the other hand, the injury of the world’s best all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has not fully healed yet. However, he has been batting and bowling regularly for the last four days. Shakib got injured while bowling in the last ODI of the series against the West Indies. After taking a rest for two days, he returned to practice. But he is not 100% fit yet. Leaving Shakib out of the team to play the first Test will be a big pressure for Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo is hopeful that Shakib will recover before the first Test.
Since 2002, Bangladesh and the West Indies have met in a total of 16 Test matches. Where West Indies have won 10 matches and Bangladesh have won 4 matches and drawn 2 matches. However, in the two-match Test series held in Bangladesh in 2018/19, the host Bangladesh whitewashed West Indies. West Indies have also been whitewashed by the hosts in the latest Test series against New Zealand. West Indies won their last Test match against England in July last year but the Caribbeans did not win the series despite winning the match. England won the series 2-1.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, won their only Test match of the last Zimbabwe series. The previous win was in the series against West Indies (2018/19). Bangladesh has not won any Test series and Test matches in almost two years. So this time it is a golden opportunity for both the teams to prove themselves. Both teams will want to try their best to make the series memorable. So this series is very important for both teams to create a strong position in the ICC Test Championship points table. They have to play according to that.
In the ICC Test rankings, West Indies are in 7th place in the points table with 77 ratings in 25 matches and Bangladesh are in 8th place in the points table with 55 ratings in 17 matches. The series between the West Indies and Bangladesh are set to be part of the ICC Test Championship 2019-2021 tournament and for the first time the two teams will face off in this prestigious tournament.
Test Squad:
Bangladesh – Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Yasir Ali, Shadman Islam, Abu Jayed, Mominul Haque (c), Saif Hassan, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadot Hossain.
West Indies – Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Kavem Hodge, John Campbell, Sheyne Moseley, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Rahkeem Cornwall, Raymon Reifer, Shannon Gabriel, Kyle Mayers, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Veerasammy Permaul
Test match schedule for Bangladesh and West Indies:
First Test – 3rd-7th February, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (Chattogram), 09:30 (GMT+6)
Second Test – 11th-15th February, Shere Bangla National Stadium (Dhaka), 09:30 (GMT+6)
Red ball cricket is going to start soon. Predict whether the Tigers can dominate the Caribbeans in this format as well and play on Baji！！