Tigers in trouble after another record of ‘ducks’

A total of six Bangladeshi batters registered ‘duck’ on the day one of the first cricket Test against West Indies, leaving the side in a position of embarrassment at Sri Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Thursday.

This was the second straight match in which a record six Bangladeshi batters produced duck and overall third in their Test history. No other team had six batters with duck in more than one game in the cricket’s elite format.

Courtesy to the brittle batting, Bangladesh were reduced to 45-6 before captain Shakib Al Hasan’s valiant 51 runs knock helped them get past 100 as they were bowled out for 103.

West Indies then ended the day on 95-2, with captain Kraigg Brathwaite batting on 42 and Nkrumah Bonner on 12. They are now trailing by just 8 runs, BSS reports.

This was the consecutive third Test that Bangladesh were six down before crossing 50 runs mark. In the last two Tests at home against Sri Lanka, they tasted the same fate.

The problem worsened when Bangladesh dropped three catches during West Indies innings including one against Braithwaite who could have been out for 0 when Mustafizur Rahman found his edge in just third over of the day.

Mustafizur who returned to the Test side after more than one year, however, led the bowling in impeccable way after the side showed a shaky batting performance.

In his 12 overs, he conceded just 10 runs and took one wicket. The bowling stat proved how decisively he bowled to prevent West Indies batter scoring freely. Bangladesh’s prime Test bowler Ebadot Hossain however continued his good bowling show, taking one wicket for 18 runs in 12 overs.

After some luckless effort, Mustafizur finally gave Bangladesh a breakthrough, removing John Campbell for 24 with a delivery that moved sharply to scatter the stump.

The opening pair of Brathwaite and Campbell added 44 runs in 25.1 overs. Ebadot later struck as he produced a beauty to dismiss Raymon Reifer for 11. Bonner and Brathwaite who played 149 balls for his 42 saw off the day without any fuss.