Bonner leads Windies to 223-5 on slow day in Dhaka Test against Bangladesh

West Indies batsman Nkrumah Bonner has picked up where he left off in Chattogram by fending off Bangladeshi spinners and Abu Jayed well enough to give his team a shot at a fighting first innings total on a slow opening day of Dhaka Test.

Bonner was 74 with Joshua Da Silva (22) at the other end in an unbroken 45-run sixth-wicket stand as the Caribbeans reached 223 for five at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

After Kraigg Brathwaite chose to bat, his batsmen dominated the morning session with a 66-run opening stand, scoring 84 for the loss of opener John Campbell (36), taken out by Taijul Islam (2-64), before lunch.

Campbell was the more attacking of the pair, smashing five fours and six before walking back in the 21st over at the expense of a review.

Brathwaite led the fight from the front, smashing 47 before perishing to a stunning catch by Nazmul Hossain Shanto at the slips off Soumya Sarker.

The Tigers’ pacer Abu Jayed (2-46), who was initially wayward, swung the ball in to account for the wickets of Shayne Moseley (7) and Chattogram’s double centurion Kyle Mayers (5) before either could get into the groove and reduced the visitors to 116 for four.

West Indies then fought back, courtesy of Bonner’s 62-run fifth-wicket stand with Jermaine Blackwood (28). The duo dug in and looked comfortable as Taijul, Mehidy Hasan Miraz - who picked up eight wickets in both innings combined in Chattogram - and Nayeem Hasan allowed the batsmen to pick up the run rate.

However, Taijul gave a crucial breakthrough when Blackwood popped a return catch to reduce the visitors to 178 for five in the 72nd over.

Bonner then took charge and patiently waited on deliveries which allowed him to put them away while leaving alone ones that may threaten. Finding an able partner in Da Silva, Bonner cleverly rotated the strikes and kept the scoreboard moving and left little room for the bowlers to find a way through.

Even after Bangladesh opted for the new ball, the pair continued playing in the same fashion and maintained temperament to see through the day.

Brief score:

West Indies 1st innings: 223/5 in 90 overs (Brathwaite 47, Campbell 36, Bonner 74 not out, Blackwood 28, Da Silva 22 not out; Abu Jayed 46-2, Taijul 2-64)