Brathwaite century puts West Indies in command

West Indies 264 for 3 (Brathwaite 123*, Gayle 64, Bravo 62) v Bangladesh
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Kraigg Brathwaite's quintessential Test innings, an unbeaten 123, directed West Indies towards early control of the first Test against Bangladesh at Arnos Vale. A third rain break at exactly 5.00pm ended the first day's play with West Indies 264 for three.

It was Brathwaite's second century, coming in the space of three Tests having scored his last one against New Zealand at Port-of-Spain in June. He hasn't played much cricket since that series, so he must have retained rigorous focus.

West Indies lost a late wicket when Bravo got out for 62 off 126 balls, getting a bit too impish for his own good. He struck Taijul Islam for two consecutive fours over mid-off towards the fag end of the day but he tried to repeat the shot even after the bowler changed angle and went around the wicket and hit him straight to the fielder, Mahmudullah.

But that was one of precious few bright moments for Bangladesh on a day when they picked only three specialist bowlers and put West Indies in to bat in what looked like and later proved to be excellent batting conditions. It was enough encouragement for Brathwaite, who hardly dithered from his known and trusted method.

Brathwaite let Chris Gayle to do all the scoring at first, before reaching his fifty at the start of the second session. West Indies lost two wickets quickly but he remained unfazed, again letting his partner get the boundaries as he went after only the deliveries that were too wide or two full or both. Hardly anything troubled Brathwaite, except for a few missed flashes and the odd ball from Rubel Hossain that jumped on him.

When the opener hung back on his backfoot, the bowlers didn't bowl full enough, and Al-Amin didn't make him play enough, bowling a one-day line wide outside off stump.

Brathwaite reached his century off 219 balls, having struck eight boundaries at that point. To reach the three-figure mark, Mahmudullah offered him a full-toss which he slapped past cover for a boundary. This was reward for his patience. He was further rewarded on 113 when Mushfiqur him off Shuvagata Hom when he got one to go with the around-the-wicket angle and kiss his outside edge.

But some credit is due to the Bangladesh bowlers, especially the two newcomers. Taijul, the left-arm spinner, and Shuvagata, the offspinning allrounder, became the 72nd and 73rd Test players for the country, and they had an eventful first day.

The pair bowled the majority of the overs, picking up all three wickets. They looked lost at first, but soon they discovered the rewards of bowling proactively. They stuck to trusted lines, and slowly began to bowl like they would in domestic cricket.

Gayle's wicket was Bangladesh's first success of the match. Having made 61 before lunch, he added just three runs off 21 balls after the break, with the two newcomers muffling his strokeplay. Both attacked his off stump, either spinning in or leaving him slightly. Eventually he missed a sweep off Shuvagata, but umpire Marais Erasmus denied the loud appeal.

Readmore