Openers help West Indies dominate first session of second Test

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Taijul Islam took the onl wicket in the session

Lunch West Indies 84 for 1 (Brathwaite 39*, Moseley 6*) v Bangladesh

After winning the toss, West Indies made the most of a slow surface on the first session of the second Test with openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell putting on 66 for the first wicket. Campbell, who was doing the bulk of the scoring in that opening stand, was the only wicket to fall in the session when he was deemed out lbw in contentious fashion.

Campbell’s dismissal came in the 21st over when he looked to sweep left-arm spinner Taijul Islam. Bowling from around the stumps, Taijul got a full ball to angle in, go under the bat, and hit Campbell’s front leg. Umpire Sharfuddoula then raised his finger but Campbell reviewed. The decision then went to TV umpire Gazi Sohel, who tried to determine if the ball grazed the bottom edge of the bat during Campbell’s sweep. But umpire Sohel said there was no bat involved – despite a small deviation on UltraEdge, which could also have been generated by the on-ground noise – and upheld the on-field decision to send Campbell back for 36. A few balls later, West Indies coach Phil Simmons could be seen talking to the reserve umpire Masudur Rahman near the boundary line, perhaps wanting to know more about how the TV umpire reached his decision.

That was the only moment of joy for Bangladesh, who otherwise struggled with the ball. Abu Jayed, the right-arm quick who replaced Mustafizur Rahman in the XI, was wayward in his first spell. Although he got the ball to swing away from the right-hander, his inconsistent lines allowed the Brathwaite and Campbell to begin positively. He did, however, get umpire Sharfuddoula to give Campbell lbw in the ninth over, but the batsman’s review showed that the ball was going over the stumps and therefore he survived.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz shared the new ball with Jayed, who kept the openers quiet as long as he bowled full. The short balls however were put away behind square on either side. Like Mehidy, first-change bowler Nayeen Hasan found turn but didn’t challenge either batsmen’s edge. Full balls were defended by Brathwaite, but when the same was offered to Campbell, the left-hander attacked the V behind the bowler.

With neither offspinner making a great impact, Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque turned to Taijul, who struck in the fifth over of his spell. By the time the umpires called for lunch, West Indies were 16 short of hundred in 29 overs. Brathwaite stayed unbeaten on 36 with No. 3 Shayne Moseley (6*) for company in an 18-run unbeaten stand for the second wicket.

Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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