On an attritional first day, Nkrumah Bonner (74*) propped up the West Indies' innings, with the visitors finishing on 223/5 at close of play in the Dhaka Test on Thursday.
Bonner stood up again. The player who failed to score more than 31 runs in an innings in the ODI series, is now shining in the Test series. In the most prestigious format of the game, we ae witnessing a different Bonner. Bonner failed to do well in the in the first innings of the Chattogram’s Test, but since his match winning partnership with Kyle Mayers to in the Chattogram Test, Bonner seemed to have found some consistency with the bat as he stood up again when others Windies batsman failed to deliver.
Chasing 395 runs in the first Test, his 86-run innings off 245 balls played a great role in the victory of Windies in Chattogram. Today, on the first day of the Mirpur Test, he has put his firm grip in the wicket. West Indies made 223 for 5 at the end of the first day, where Bonner played an innings of 74 off 173 balls.
Bonner, who came out to bat at the fall of Sheyne Moseley's wicket, also shared crucial stands with Jermaine Blackwood (62) and Joshua Da Silva (unbeaten stand of 45). With the score reading 116/4, Bonner and Blackwood pinched singles alongside the occasional boundary to keep the scorecard ticking over. Blackwood, in particular, took the aggressive route essaying a few flicks and drives. However, in the 72nd over of the innings, Taijul broke the threatening stand by removing Blackwood via the caught and mode dismissal.
Bonner then was joined by Da Silva as the pair negated the threat of Bangladesh's spinners for the rest of the day. In the 79th over, Bonner had a close shave when he was given out caught. The middle order batsmen decided to opt for the review and replays showed that Bonner had chopped one onto the pitch before it was caught. The decision was aptly overturned. With the second new ball, Jayed found some swing and Taijul also extracted bounce but the pair couldn't make the breakthrough.