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Bravo third Test century ensured a healthy total for West Indies but their fighting efforts were overshadowed by a controversial umpiring review that ended Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s push for a hundred. West Indies must win to keep the series alive and Bravo’s 104 gave them hope, although on a good batting surface six opening-day wickets wasn’t a bad result for Australia.

At stumps, West Indies had moved to 6 for 336, which augured well for a better contest than in Brisbane. Darren Sammy provided some late-afternoon highlights with a pair of sixes down the ground off Nathan Hauritz and he was 44 not out at the close, with Brendan Nash also on 44, having earlier retired hurt.

Bravo rode his luck to reach triple figures after being dropped three times but Chanderpaul’s fortune ran out when he was on 62. Chanderpaul was given out caught-behind off Shane Watson and was the victim of a successful review for Australia after Mark Benson initially denied Australia’s appeal.

Hot Spot did not carry the right angle to show an edge but a camera view from the long-on region seemed to show a slight deflection as the ball passed the bat. It was far from conclusive evidence and nor was the decision a blatant shocker – those are the calls the review system is designed to eradicate – but the third umpire Asad Rauf was convinced and sent Chanderpaul on his way.

Chanderpaul had earlier survived a similar review off Doug Bollinger on 38, when again the evidence was inconclusive despite the Australians being utterly convinced that he had edged the ball. The eventual dismissal was a major blow for West Indies and things went from bad to worse when in the same over Denesh Ramdin played on to give Watson his second wicket.

Watson was pleased to redeem himself after his comical mishap gave Bravo a reprieve on 59. Bravo hooked Peter Siddle and Watson tried to snare the catch at deep square leg but stumbled back and lobbed the ball up as he realised he would step over the boundary. He tried to reclaim the catch after jumping back into the field of play but stumbled and parried the ball over for six.

Bravo had already been dropped twice on 46, though both were tough chances – a caught-and-bowled that rocketed back to Siddle and an edge off Hauritz that ricocheted off Brad Haddin and was missed by Michael Clarke at slip. Bravo wasn’t about to be discouraged from playing his shots and brought up both his half-century and his hundred with drives that sailed over the bowler’s head and away to the boundary.

But Bravo was being far from irresponsible in his strokeplay; he was patient and waited for his opportunities, and a crunching, classic cover-driven boundary off Watson was especially attractive. It was his first Test century in four years, since he made 113 in Hobart in 2005-06, and though he eventually missed a straight ball from Hauritz and was bowled, it was just the sort of innings that West Indies needed to lift their spirits after their innings loss at the Gabba.

He had the perfect ally in Chanderpaul, who had looked out of sorts in Brisbane but here compiled his first half-century in his past eight Test innings. As expected, Chanderpaul scored the majority of his 54 runs behind the wicket but also drove well and enjoyed a lovely clip off his toes for four through midwicket off Mitchell Johnson.

The 116-run stand was comfortably West Indies’ best partnership of the series, which made it all the more frustrating for them that it was ended in such debatable style. The pair had come together after Nash retired hurt on 20 during the lunch break, having been struck on the arm by his former flat-mate Johnson in the final over before the interval.

It left West Indies in a spot of bother after they lost three wickets in the opening session, including Ramnaresh Sarwan, whose return from a back injury ended on 28 when he drove Johnson on the up to Clarke at point. The early damage came from Bollinger, who had been waiting 11 months for his second Test and picked up two wickets in his first five overs.

Bollinger’s first two went for 18 as Chris Gayle, who had chosen to bat, launched an early assault. The bowler’s confidence improved when Adrian Barath (3) pushed a catch to gully and the major prize followed when Gayle tried to cut too close to his body and was surprised by extra bounce, which was unusual for an Adelaide pitch, and was caught behind for 26.

There was no doubt about that decision. If only the same could have been said later in the day.

Finally, West Indies won a game. Bangladesh imploded spectacularly at the top but they kept playing like millionaires to be restricted to a below-par 118, which West Indies overhauled without breaking a sweat.

 The only concern in the chase was whether West Indies would collapse against spin and Bangladesh didn’t wait long to find out. They started with a double-spin attack and Shakib Al Hasan claimed the wicket of Dale Richards first ball, but Devon Smith thwarted them with his aggressive batting.

 Smith started with a slog-swept six off the offspinner Naeem Islam and followed it next ball with a skillful inside-out lofted drive over covers, before taking on Mahmudullah in the third over. Three pulls, one of them a six, helped him take 15 in that over and eased the pressure of the early wicket. Though Smith fell 50 short of the target, and West Indies lost a couple more cheaply towards the end, Travis Dowlin took over to lead the hosts past the line. Dowlin knew the required rate wasn’t steep enough to warrant any risks and he played accordingly. He did hit four boundaries, with a lofted hit over extra cover off Mehrab Hossain jnr being the highlight, but took care not to play many flashy shots. The same couldn’t be said about Bangladesh, though.

 Bangladesh charged ahead with a sense of fatal adventure, which was caught perfectly in the run-out of Naeem, their highest scorer today. He missed a sweep against David Bernard and the ball went straight to the keeper but he nevertheless tried to steal a single, only to be found miles short of his ground. Till then, Naeem had been dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground. He walked down the track to smack Darren Sammy over deep midwicket, moved outside leg to thump Gavin Tonge over long-off before collecting more boundaries with sweeps and pulls.

 Before Naeem, there was more frenetic drama. Bangladesh came out oozing so much intent that something had to give. And it did. Three wickets fell in the first 14 deliveries: Junaid Siddique spooned a slower one to cover, Mohammad Ashraful played a weak lap shot for a first-ball duck, and Tamim Iqbal flicked to short midwicket. The score read 12 for 3 but Naeem was in no mood to buckle down. Shakib Al Hasan started a touch slowly but soon caught the Naeem spirit and unfurled slog-sweeps before he was cleaned up by Nikita Miller, bowled round his legs.

 After Naeem, there was more chaos. Mushfiqur Rahim, who had moved cautiously to 3 in nine deliveries, ran himself out with some poor running. Responding to a push to point for a single, he jogged across and would have still made it had he not tried to plonk his bat lethargically inside the crease. Raqibul Hasan missed a straight ball and was trapped in front.

 It was left to Mahmudullah, who had performed well with bat and ball through this tour, and Mehrab, to an extent, to show some caution and push the score past 100, which eventually proved inadequate.

Bangladesh held their nerve despite wobbles at significant junctures to complete a whitewash in St Kitts. Set a target of 249, they were given a fiery start by Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique before Mahmudullah steered the side through nervy moments to clinch a historic victory.

 Things were looking a touch dicey for Bangladesh at 133 for 5 in the 28th over but they recovered through a serene partnership between Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, the wicketkeeper. It was almost risk-free cricket as the duo picked singles quietly and stole the odd boundary here and there to get closer to the target. Importantly, they knew the batting Powerplay could be taken later when acceleration was the need of the hour; till then it was time to play safe cricket. Mushfiqur picked up a couple of boundaries in the 38th over but he was unlucky to be given out out caught behind in the 40 th over, when replays showed he did not get bat on a flick down the pads.

 Bangladesh opted for the batting Powerplay in the 44th over and immediately Naeem Islam smoked three boundaries off Gavin Donge. Two shuffled flicks followed a biff down the ground and the required rate dipped. Mahmudullah picked a six over long-off against Nikita Miller and Naeem hit another six, off Kemar Roach, before falling to the same bowler but by then the pair had ensured that they made full use of the Powerplay to clinch the win. West Indies were left to rue the first-ball reprieve that they offered to Mahmudullah when Darren Sammy spilled a catch at first slip.

 Just as they finished strongly, Bangladesh had started their chase brightly. Tamim, in particular, was in some hurry, rattling three fours in the first over before repeating the dose in the third. The kind of shots also pointed to the poor bowling. Three were flicked fours and the other three were carved over point as Roach sprayed it around. Tamim later swung Sammy over long-off before smashing one straight to mid-on.

 His opening partner, Siddique, kept the momentum going with a measured innings. He started with a series of on-side boundaries against Tonge before he settled down to drop anchor as a couple of wickets fell. Mohammad Ashraful edged one behind, Raqibul Hasan was caught brilliantly by a diving Floyd Reifer in the covers and Shakib Al Hasan, who started with a flurry of shots, edged an attempted pull but Siddique batted on serenely. Though he got out after reaching fifty, Bangladesh had enough firepower to get past the line.

 West Indies lacked similar firepower in the middle as they wasted a good start provided by Andre Fletcher. As they have done in the Tests and the ODIs, West Indies continued to struggle against the spinners. They lost two quick wickets, proceeded to recover smartly through a breezy fifty from Fletcher, only to lose their way against spin and be bowled out for 248 inside 50 overs.

 A poor finish was in contrast to the great start provided by Fletcher. What stood out in Fletcher’s innings was a delightful tendency to drive straight. Mahbubul Alam was getting some outswing and was looking pretty good but Fletcher countered him with his drives in the v. He started off with an off drive in the third over and upped the tempo in the fifth with two sixes: the first one was dispatched over long-off before he swung the other some 20 rows over the long-on boundary. Neither shot had any touch of violence as he covered for the outswing and drove cleanly and fluently through the line. Mahbubul lost his composure and in the seventh over, he pushed three deliveries on the legs of Fletcher, who put them away for boundaries.

 With the seamers bleeding runs, the action swung to Fletcher versus the spinners. Again, Fletcher won the first round, reeling off several meaty blows. There was a back-foot punch through the covers, a customary swing over long-on and a heave to the midwicket boundary, which brought up his fifty, against Abdur Razzak but he fell soon, launching one straight to long-on. Almost immediately, the run-rate dropped as Bangladesh applied the squeeze. More agony lay in store for the hosts as Travis Dowlin, who gave admirable support to Fletcher, was run out on the last ball of the 25th over.

 It didn’t help West Indies’ cause that their captain Reifer’s travails against spin continued. He couldn’t rotate the strike and it perhaps, led to Dowlin’s dismissal. He was allowed some breathing space by Sammy, who oozed intent from the start and kept unfurling the big hits. He swung Mahmudullah for two consecutive sixes and belted Naeem for a couple of fours but he fell rather tamely, scooping a caught-and-bowled chance to Razzak. That was the final nail on the coffin as West Indies fell short of achieving a defendable target. .

Every time they step on the field, Bangladesh seem to be making history. After having beaten West Indies for the first time in Tests and ODIs, they today sealed their first ODI series win against the hosts. More importantly, this win came by way of their highest successful chase in the limited-overs format, reaching the requisite 275 with six balls to spare.

At the centre of the accomplishment once again was Shakib Al Hasan, pulling West Indies back from a flying start, and then seeing his team through a tricky chase with a calm 65. Mohammad Ashraful, who got to back-to-back fifties for the first time since 2006, set up the Bangladesh reply after the openers struggled on a sluggish pitch that made it difficult to stroke the ball cleanly. The Shakib-Ashraful combination outdid an exceptional effort from Travis Dowlin, whose maiden international century lifted a fledgling West Indies to a fighting total.

Ashraful and Shakib came together after a sensible third-wicket partnership between Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan had ended, thanks to the pressure created by a slow pitch and tight bowling. Nevertheless, they had added 52 after the openers fell in a quick succession.

It was here that Ashraful took the lead, not letting the pressure mount. He first made room and slashed Bernard in the 28th over for the first boundary in 70 balls. When Rawl Lewis replaced Bernard in the next over, Ashraful lofted him over long-off for a six, bringing up his second fifty in three days. Shakib joined him in that charge, sweeping both Lewis and Bernard over midwicket. Those three overs brought Bangladesh 32 runs, and also brought down the asking-rate to less than six.

When Ashraful went for another six off Lewis, he put his team in a tricky state again, holing out to long-off. Until then, his 77-ball 64 had been well-paced, and he had added 74 with Shakib in 63 deliveries. But with 85 still required, Shakib had a major role to play. The boundaries were not easy to come – even Lewis negated the big sweep with googlies and straighter ones – but Shakib ran purposefully. He had to run all but six of his last 50 runs, but hardly did he ever let the scoring-rate fall.

During the match, the cameras panned to a spectator reading a magazine article on Shakib, titled the “Ice Man”. Shakib indeed played like one, but needed some luck on his side. With 71 required off 60, Shakib tried to hit Lewis out of the ground, only skying it to land perfectly between cover and long-off, which also resulted in a collision between Darren Sammy and Bernard. That shot also took Shakib to his half-century, kicking off a spell of ordinary cricket from both sides.

With 56 needed off the last eight overs, Shakib called for the batting Powerplay, and Roach immediately threatened to finish the match in a hurry. Even before he could do that, Floyd Reifer almost let him bowl with five fielders outside the circle. Roach started with a half-volley and a fulltoss both hit for boundaries, before bowling his second beamer of the match to be removed from the attack. What’s more, Shakib deposited it for a six.

Now it was the Ice Man’s turn to falter with the match almost pocketed. He swung across the line to Sammy, getting out with 37 needed off 41. Three wides came in the next two overs before Bangladesh contributed their bit to the chaos. Devon Thomas, the designated wicketkeeper, had to bowl what was left of Roach’s overs, and Mahmudullah gifted his second delivery with a leading edge. Riefer brought the fine leg up, Thomas saw two of his straight deliveries being punished and bowled two off-side wides to compensate. Mushfiqur returned the favour by hitting a fulltoss straight to cover. During that surreal period, the only question was which team wanted to lose more badly.

An overthrow here, an edge there, and Bangladesh reached the series win with an outside-edged boundary by Abdur Razzak. During this period of drama, the turnaround earlier in the day was almost forgotten.

For the majority of the first innings, both Dowlin and West Indies seemed to struggle to get the ball off the square against the spinners. West Indies had huffed and puffed their way to 176 for 4 in 40 overs, struggling to combat the grip and the turn. Dowlin’s story was no different – he took 88 deliveries to reach his fifty and had trouble with his running between the wickets, too.

But with the Powerplay taken in the 41st over, things changed. Dowlin slog-swept the spinners with vengeance, getting close to the pitch every time, and hitting to long-on, cow corner, midwicket, square leg, et al. By the end of the Powerplay, West Indies had reached 216 for 5, and Dowlin 87 off 105 deliveries. In the next five overs, Dowlin took little time to reach his maiden century, and Lewis and Sammy made sure West Indies finished with 98 runs in their last ten overs. In the end, though, they were to be second-best.

Bangladesh 276 for 7 (Shakib 65, Ashraful 64) beat West Indies 274 for 5 (Dowlin 100*, Smith 44) by three wickets

Shakib Al Hasan, yet again, was the architect of Bangladesh’s success as he delivered a fine all-round performance to lead his team to a 52-run win, their first over West Indies, in the series opener in Dominica. His fighting half-century helped his team post a formidable total on a slow pitch; his tactic of opening the bowling with left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak succeeded in denting West Indies early in their chase, and his dismissal of Devon Smith helped strangle the resistance which threatened to cause an upset. Mohammad Ashraful and Mahmudullah backed the effort with important contributions while fighting through a disciplined bowling performance led by Kemar Roach’s five-for.

West Indies showed few signs of learning from their mistakes in the Test series. Inept footwork combined with poor shot selection from their batsmen produced a top-order collapse on a track favouring slow bowlers. Shakib, without hesitation, opened the bowling with Razzak, who made a successful return to international cricket after being suspended for a suspect action. Accustomed to sharing the new ball – he had opened the bowling in the 2007 World Cup – he struck with his second ball, trapping Dale Richards in front and returned to bowl Travis Dowlin, who was found cutting too close to an arm ball. Razzak stuck to a flat trajectory, varied his pace, got the ball to grip and surprised the batsmen with both turn and bounce.

 The arrival of the left-handed Floyd Reifer prompted another ploy from Shakib. Mahmudullah – the offspinner who had dismissed Reifer on four occasions in the Test series – was brought on, and he soon had the West Indies captain swinging across the line to be caught at point.

 West Indies had to rely on their old hand Smith, and again on Dave Bernard, who struck three half-centuries in the Test series, to stage a recovery. The pair opened up once Razzak was given a break, using their feet and opting to play the spinners straight while ensuring the strike kept rotating after the second Powerplay. Smith’s workmanlike 65 included just three fours, but he pierced the field with consistency while Bernard, the more cautious of the two, was prompt to see off any quiet phase with the pressure-relieving boundary. Their stand of 78 came close to evening out proceedings before Shakib made the change, bringing himself on in the 29th over to trap Smith in front while sweeping across the line. The call was marginal as it appeared to be just clipping leg, but proved decisive. Bernard scored just one run off Shakib’s next over, and holed out one ball later to put the visitors in control. Though the lower order kept the crowd intrigued, stepping up the pace, Razzak hit back with two more wickets to seal the finish.

 The comprehensive win marked a contrast to the start of play for Bangladesh. The hosts delivered the best possible start to the Dominican crowd, witnessing their first international fixture, when Roach got opener Tamim Iqbal to edge one first ball. The overnight and early morning showers had made their mark on the pitch and the four-pronged pace attack was expected to thrive on the movement on offer. But Roach and debutant Nelon Pascal, another slinger on the international scene, faced a counter-attack.

 Determined to make amends for a woeful Test series, Ashraful crafted an innings with traces of his usual flamboyance. Along with Junaid Siddique, he forged a methodical stand of 74 for the second wicket. Being instinctively aggressive, they went for their shots and, despite the early loss, promptly dealt with anything pitched up or dropped short. Though there were the inevitable plays and misses from Ashraful, it was not his often senseless style of batting that had proved his undoing on many an occasion. Good balls were treated with caution and the loose deliveries, like the two rare ones from Roach in his fourth over, were cannoned through cover and over midwicket.

 The pair dealt mainly in boundaries in the first Powerplay but became subdued once the restrictions were lifted. Sammy and Bernard maintained a tight line and gave very little away despite a spread out field. The boundaries dried up, the singles were infrequent and one of the batsmen snapped not too long after Reifer tempted him by taking the second Powerplay. Siddique’s failed attempt to clear mid-off earned Bernard his reward for persistence.

 The combination of Roach – who dismissed Raqibul Hasan with the first ball of his second spell – and Bernard worked superbly as both remained consistent with their lines, teasing the batsmen just outside off. Bernard, in particular, was accurate and showed excellent stamina, bowling ten overs on the trot.

 With the surface beginning to hold up and the spinners introduced, Ashraful and Shakib shed their aggressiveness and relied on nudges, dabs and sweeps. And when the time for acceleration came, it was Mahmudullah who cut loose, breaking a 104-ball boundary drought with a six off Lewis. Shakib joined in the act to smack two fours off Nikita Miller to reach his half-century. Though Roach bagged three wickets in his spell, 43 runs had come off the final Powerplay, boosting Bangladesh to a match-winning total.

West Indies’ leading players have ended their strike and made themselves available for international duty following the appointment of an arbitrator to settle their dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Chris Gayle and other star players could now take part in the one-dayers against Bangladesh.

The original 13-man squad picked by the board for the Bangladesh Tests had boycotted the series due to a disagreement over contractual issues. The strike forced the selectors to pick a second-string side which lost both Tests, handing Bangladesh their first overseas series victory.

The WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), which is negotiating on the cricketers’ behalf, agreed to resolve the impasse by mediation on Tuesday, after meeting with Guyana president Bharat Jagdeo, who is also chairman of the 15-nation trading bloc Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). Both sides agreed to the appointment of former Commonwealth secretary general Shridath Ramphal as arbitrator.

“It was agreed that in the light of the Mediation Agreement which the Parties expect to lead to the resolution of outstanding issues all the players will make themselves available for selection,” they said in a joint statement.

“The mediation team, with assistance from the Caricom secretariat, would begin work immediately,” they said. “Both parties have taken this step, mindful of the interest of their respective organisations but conscious also of their wider responsibility to the people of the West Indies and the international sport of cricket.”

The agreement came hours after a weakened squad was announced by the board for the first two one-dayers against Bangladesh.

Pool A

Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies

Pool B

South Africa, New Zeland, Sri Lanka, England

Sept 22 : South Africa Vs Sri Lanka (D/N) , Centurion

Sept 23 : Pakistan Vs West Indies (D/N), the Wanderers

Sept 24 : South Africa Vs New Zeland , Centurion

Sept 25 : Sri Lanka  Vs England (D/N) , the Wanderers

Sept 26 : West Indies Vs Australia, the Wanderers

Sept 26 : India Vs Pakistan, Centurion

Sept 27: New Zeland Vs Sri Lanka, the Wanderers

Sept 27: South Africa VsEngland (D/N), Centurion

Sept 28:Australia Vs India  , Centurion

Sept 29:England Vs New Zeland  , the Wanderers

Sept 30: India Vs West Indies  , the Wanderers

Sept 30: Australia Vs Pakistan  , Centurion

Semifinals

Oct 2 : A1 Vs B2 (D/N) , Centurion

Oct 3 : B1 Vs A2 (D/N) , the Wanderers

Final

October 5

History was calling and Bangladesh showed they were all ears in Grenada. Raqibul Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan shared a thrilling 106-run partnership to charge Bangladesh to their first overseas series win. On an enthralling afternoon’s play, Darren Sammy threatened to do the improbable but Raqibul lifted Bangladesh with a plucky innings before the equally aggressive Shakib joined him to clinch a euphoric win.

Set a target of 215, a counterattacking Raqibul, who had walked in at 29 for 2, was joined by Shakib at 67 for 4 and the pair batted bravely to seize back the initiative. Though Sammy took out Raqibul and Mushfiqur Rahim, 14 runs away from the win, Shakib held his nerve to steer the team home. The winning moment came at 5.38 pm and in some style, with Shakib lofting Kemar Roach over long-on.

Though Raqibul fell 42 runs short of the target, it was he who had set up the win with an inspired performance. He had never hit a Test fifty before and he had struggled in the first Test due to his penchant of playing away from the body. However, he had held his own in the first innings here and added a dash of bravado today to lift Bangladesh from a hole. It was a gem of a cameo under the circumstances. Every time West Indies picked up a wicket and threatened to charge ahead, Raqibul counterattacked to keep the hosts on their toes. He chose to take the adventurous route and didn’t waste a single run-scoring opportunity; in fact he created a few chances of his own.

It was risky at times but someone had to seize the initiative back from West Indies and Raqibul decided to shoulder that burden. Apart from Sammy’s superb spell, Raqibul’s battle against Roach was the highlight of the session. Roach v Raqibul was the turning point in the first innings as Roach successfully probed a weakness in Raqibul against the bouncers before proceeding to scythe through the rest of the line-up. Raqibul was in no mood to buckle down today.

He started with a fierce slash over point and remained audacious against anything that was pitched up to him. It was a tantalizing battle as Roach troubled him a bit with short-pitched deliveries and a couple of jaffas that left the bat late but Raqibul released the pressure with a couple of impish square drives. He flicked Sammy and guided him through to third man boundary and thus, preventing West Indies from deploying close-in fielders. And when Ryan Austin, the offspinner, was brought in for the over before tea, Raqibul dispatched him over deep midwicket and in the last session, he unfurled a couple of peachy off drives to further calm the dressing-room nerves.

Thankfully, for Bangladesh, Raqibul found a willing partner in his captain Shakib, who too oozed intent through his knock. He started off a touch shakily with a stab past second slip, an airy drive past mid-off, and an edge past gully but soon settled down to blunt the attack. Now and then, he teased the slip cordon with his slashes but just when it appeared he was living on the edge, he would unfurl a meaty off drive, defend solidly or steal a single to frustrate the attack.

Shakib took on the dominating role in the final session, spanking boundaries almost at will, including a hat-trick of fours against Roach. The first one, an extra-cover drive that brought up his fifty, was followed by a crunching cut and a feisty pull as Bangladesh galloped towards victory. If the final session was almost serene, the second was a dramatic and event-filled. The day had started with a two-hour rain delay and Bangladesh took just 4.1 overs to wrap up West Indies for 209; it was the first time Bangladesh had bowled out the opposition for less than 250 in both innings.

Till Raqibul and Shakib took the bowling on, it was Sammy who stole the show. Every one knows that Sammy is not going to blow the opposition away; his is a gentle art. He builds pressure with a cluster of seaming deliveries in the corridor outside off and gently nudges the batsmen into making a mistake. Bangladesh initially stumbled into making fatal mistakes under the pressure of the chase and perhaps, under the strain of making history.

Sammy struck in his very first over, inducing Tamim Iqbal into edging a delivery leaving him before turning his attention to Junaid Siddique. After bowling 14 deliveries – most of them in the off-stump channel – for just one run, he got the next one to curve away from the middle and off line and Siddique tried to flick it rather injudiciously across the line but edged it low to first slip where Floyd Reifer took a sharp catch. Sammy then produced a gem to take out Mohammad Ashraful, who has gifted his wicket previously in the series but was unlucky to get a very good delivery that shaped away from him very late.

Sammy was supported well by Roach, who was the chief tormentor of Bangladesh. Roach, who surprisingly didn’t take the new ball, was introduced in the second session and immediately looked menacing with his cocktail of bouncers and full deliveries outside off stump. He followed a lifting delivery with the one angling away to coax Imrul Keyes into edging to slip where Sammy took a brilliant catch, leaping at second slip.

For a brief while, when Roach and Sammy operated in tandem, the game appeared to be hanging in balance but Shakib and Raqibul ensured their fans won’t lose too much hair or nails.

Bangladesh 232 (Rahim 48, Raqibul 44, Roach 6-48) and 217 for 6 (Shakib 96*, Raqibul 65, Sammy 5-55) beat West Indies 237 (Dowlin 95, Richards 69) and 209 (Bernard 69, Shakib 5-70) by four wickets