KINGSTOWN: West Indies were 128 for six wickets, requiring a further 149 runs for victory, at tea on the fifth and final day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Arnos Vale, St. Vincent.
The hosts still needed 149 in the remaining 34 overs but Bangladesh only required four wickets.
Shakib, hailed by the former Australian spinner Kerry O’ Keef as the “best finger spinner in the world”, turned in a strangling spell of left-arm spin to relentlessly squeeze the pressure on West Indies. Shakib was slightly slow through the air in the first innings and couldn’t pose too many problems on a slow track.
However, today, he ripped it slightly quicker and immediately, looked more threatening. He varied his pace, even his angle by lowering the arm on occasions, and, unsurprisingly, was the better of the two spinners. He occasionally got the ball to straighten and slipped a few with the arm.
Meanwhile, the strike by top West Indies cricketers shows little sign of ending with both side’s blaming each other on Sunday for the conflict and the Caribbean team at risk of fielding weakened sides in future series.
West Indies are fielding a weakened side in the test match against Bangladesh, which finishes on Monday, after the 13 selected players boycotted the game due to a conflict with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over contracts and payments.
