1st Test Day 1 WI 264/3 v BAN

WI 264/3 (87 overs)

FOW: 1/116 Gayle 64, 2/133 Edwards 10, 3/261 Bravo 62

Lunch Report: West Indies only had a couple of moments of concern during the first two hours of play at Arnos Vale, while moving to 103 for no loss at lunch. Chris Gayle, who was involved in both chances, moved to 61 and looks menacing for Bangladesh.

In the 18th over, Al-Amin Hossain misfielded at mid-off, but Gayle was too slow to come back for the second. His reach saved him in the end as replays showed he had inched to safety when Rubel Hossain removed the bails. A couple of overs later, Gayle offered Rubel a return catch but the bowler was hit by the ball before he could cup his hands together. Gayle had just reached his fifty.

The visitors picked three specialist bowlers, but that didn't stop Mushfiqur Rahim from choosing to bowl. His reasoning was that early morning moisture might assist the quicks, but on the field he resorted to offspinner Mahmudullah in the fifth over, after Rubel Hossain gave 13 runs in two overs.

There was barely any threat, either from the bowling or from the pitch. Gayle and Kraigg Brathwaite sussed the situation quickly. They did not need to take extravagant chances. Apart from some control from Al-Amin and the odd delivery that moved back at Gayle, Bangladesh didn't have much to offer.

Gayle found boundaries through the offside almost at will, and he chose his shots well. He played mostly in front of the wicket, with his usual minimal footwork and reached his 37th Test fifty with a six over midwicket off the debutant left-arm spinner Taijul Islam.

Brathwaite was steadfast and let Gayle do most of the scoring. He struck his first three boundaries on the off side, a straight drill off Mahmudullah the most attractive of them. He took the opening partnership past hundred, their first since July 2012, when he drove Taijul through extra-cover.

Taijul and the other debutant Shuvagata Hom were both given early look-ins, but were not too effective. Taijul flighted the ball and was encouraged by a bit of turn but Shuvagoto found it hard to find a consistent area. Al-Amin bowled a good first spell, and gave away his first runs after five maidens.

Rubel came back after being taken off after two overs and bowled better but Bangladesh's main concern, apparent from the first morning of the Test series, has to be the lack of threat from any of the bowlers. 

Tea Report: West Indies lost their way slightly in the second session before rebuilding to preserve their sound position at Arnos Vale. They were 182 for two at tea with opener Kraigg Brathwaite keeping his shape with an unbeaten 89.

He was helped by Darren Bravo to thwart the Bangladesh bowlers, who bowled much better in the second session. They slowed down West Indies considerably. 

Till lunch, Chris Gayle and Brathwaite had scored at 3.55 per over but debutants Taijul Islam and Shuvagata Hom bowled tightly in tandem after the interval and picked up a wicket each to have the hosts 133 for 2 at one stage.

Both attacked Gayle, with the left-armer Taijul turning it into his off stump and the offspinner Shuvagata getting the ball to leave him slightly, enough to put some doubt in his mind.

Gayle soon became the first wicket to fall. He had added just three runs off 22 balls to his lunch score of 61, finding Taijul's over-the-wicket angle stifling. He was eventually trapped leg-before by Shuvagata, who needed the aid of the DRS after umpire Marais Erasmus rejected his appeal.

But replays confirmed that the ball had pitched in line, struck Gayle's front leg in front of middle as he looked to sweep, and was going to hit the middle and leg stump halfway up. Three overs later, Taijul got in on the act.

He had been tossing the ball up and was encouraged regularly by captain Mushfiqur Rahim from behind the wicket. The plan was to try and get Brathwaite to play a shot or two but while he resisted the temptation, they had a willing respondent in Kirk Edwards, who struck a four and a six in his first 13 balls.

Taijul then got one to spin on him, pitching on middle and leg. Edwards tried to turn the ball towards the legside, against the turn, and the leading edge gave Mominul Haque a straightforward catch at silly mid-off. It was Edwards' third consecutive low score during this tour.

Bravo proved the right balance for Brathwaite's stodginess, as he found the runs that needed picking up as there was the odd bad ball from the Bangladesh bowlers almost every over. Brathwaite moved to his fifty early in the session, off 126 balls, and played another 70 balls solidly.

Gayle provided the early impetus for West Indies, hammering 10 boundaries and a six to reach his 37th fifty. He waited for the boundaries but made sure every half-volley or half-tracker was dealt with. Bangladesh bowled without any threat in the first session, going wicketless till lunch.

Gayle and Brathwaite added West Indies' first 100-plus opening stand in more than two years after Mushfiqur decided to field after winning the toss on what turned out to look like a decent batting pitch.

Al-Amin Hossain and Rubel Hossain bowled well in spurts, but it wasn't going to bring Bangladesh wickets as they weren't really bowling at full tilt in trying to find accuracy.

Taijul grew in confidence the longer his spell went, finding more reason to flight the ball. Shuvagata, predominantly a batsman, also found his groove coming around the wicket, ensuring Bravo didn't get away too much. 

Stumps Report: 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.

Mushfiqur took an extra second to call for the review, but it looked straight and the replays confirmed it had pitched in line, struck Gayle's front pad in front of the stumps and was going on to hit middle stump.

Gayle had played very well in the first session, reaching his fifty off 62 balls. He threaded the off-side field quite well, taking every chance to pick up runs as his opening partner remained circumspect. 

He struck most of his boundaries in front of the wicket, and got to his 37th fifty with a six over wide mid-on off Taijul. He survived two chances in the first session: a run-out appeal that had him just reach the bowlers' end to complete a second run. Just after reaching 50, Gayle was dropped by Rubel Hossain off his own bowling.

After Shuvagata dismissed Gayle, it was Taijul's turn to take his first Test wicket. 

Kirk Edwards, batting at No 3 and under a bit of pressure after two low scores in the ODI series, attacked from the onset. He quickly got to 10 with a four and a straight six, but Taijul continued to toss the ball up, and took his leading edge in the 43rd over as he looked to work the ball against the turn. Mominul Haque took a sharp catch at silly mid-off, making it 133 for 2.

Brathwaite and Bravo added 128 for the third wicket, with very few deliveries threatening them. There was one from Rubel that reared at Brathwaite but he looked unbeatable outside the off stump. With the inexperienced attack fading in the final session, he got plenty of bad balls to get to his second Test century. Taijul started bowling short and Shuvagata gave away three full-tosses in his 19th over.

Mushfiqur would have wanted Rubel to bowl better too, with his preferred older ball. 

But apart from dropping Gayle and the odd good spell, his efforts never looked like they would get him a wicket. Bangladesh would have also liked Mahmudullah to bowl a lot better, but he went at over six an over and Mushfiqur could only get five overs out of his senior offspinner. 

TOSS: Bangladesh won it & will bowl 1st

WI Team CH Gayle, KC Brathwaite, KA Edwards, DM Bravo, S Chanderpaul, J Blackwood, D Ramdin*†, KAJ Roach, JE Taylor, SJ Benn, ST Gabriel

Bangladesh Team Tamim Shamsur Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur †, Mahmudullah, Nasir , Shuvagata Hom, Taijul Islam, Al-Amin , Rubel