West Indies completed a comprehensive win over Bangladesh in the first Test on Saturday (October 31), taking a lead in the two-Test series.

Skipper Roston Chase led the way with a second-innings five-fer, ensuring Bangladesh’s lead was capped at 169. Then, on a surface with grip and turn, Brandon King and John Campbell set up the chase with a 112-run opening stand, leaving Bangladesh without an opportunity to throw in a twist. Campbell fell one short of his fifty, but King, with Kavem Hodge for company, ticked off the remaining runs in an extended post-Lunch session with a day to spare.

Bangladesh had ended Day 3 on 79/6, the lead just over 100. With Jaker Ali, the concussion substitute for Mominul Haque, and Nayeem Hasan having seen off the danger the previous evening, the duo were the best bet to extend that lead. But Warrican took just five balls to strike, forcing a thick edge off Jaker’s bat to Chase at slip. An over later, he dropped Hasan Mahmud off his own bowling. And not long after, Chase spilled another off Warrican, giving Nayeem another life at 29.

Nayeem made the most of it. Without trying to break away, he held one end, and was unbeaten on 49 when a rain-break interrupted West Indies’ charge. By then, Warrican had removed Mahmud and Chase had induced an edge off Taijul Islam’s bat, giving him his 100th Test scalp. When rain subsided, Nayeem got to his debut Test fifty, but fell the next over trying to take on Chase. It gave the skipper his fifth scalp, and left West Indies with 170 to chase.

The hosts got one over before Lunch to deal early damage, and reviewed twice for two leg-before calls, but Campbell and King managed to get through the phase unscathed. Bangladesh couldn’t really find a real opening thereafter. Campbell hit Miraz for a four and a six in a stretch of three balls, ensuring West Indies’ position didn’t sag at any point.

By the time another rain break came, West Indies had cruised to 63/0 from 14 overs.

Campbell and King kept collecting boundaries, and were only stopped by lightning in the distance, which forced the umpires to briefly take the players off the field. King got to his fifty with a hat-trick of fours: the second one proved to be a dropped chance at second slip, which left Najmul Hossain Shanto injured. He had to walk off the field.

Campbell was finally dismissed for 49, inside-edging a Shoriful delivery that nipped back in just enough. With a typically slow-moving Tagenarine Chanderpaul for company, King continued to push West Indies along under floodlights, switched on despite the sun being out.

Chanderpaul’s wicket gave the hosts another brief moment to savour, but King ensured there were no more subplots lying in wait. Helped along by a dropped catch when he was on 70, and with Kavem Hodge starting off briskly at the other end, West Indies cruised to a win, chasing down 170 at a run-rate of nearly five.

Warrican, with nine wickets in the game, was adjudged Player of the Match.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 272 & 142 (Nayeem Hasan 52, Jaker Ali 22; Roston Chase 5-36, Jomel Warrican 4-63) lost to West Indies 245 & 170/2 (Brandon King 81*, John Campbell 49; Hasan Mahmud 1-14, Shoriful Islam 1-20) by eight wickets.