West Indies 356 and 7 for 0 (King 5*, Da Silva 2*) trail Bangladesh 386 (Hridoy 242*, Mushfiqur 34, Warrican 4-104, Seales 2-58) by 23 runs
Towhid Hridoy staged a turnaround for the ages as his record-breaking unbeaten 242 handed Bangladesh a 30-run first-innings lead on day three of the second Test against West Indies. Just before lunch, it looked like the hosts would concede a 150-plus deficit. They were 184 for 7 before Hridoy put on 202 runs for the last two wickets with Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed, even as opening batter Shadman Islam's injury to his left ankle on the first morning left Bangladesh with ten men in the Test.
Hridoy became the fourth Bangladesh batter to score a double-hundred, after Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. On the way, he broke several Bangladesh records. His 242* is now Bangladesh's highest score, as he went past Mushfiqur's 219* against Zimbabwe in 2018. Hridoy also struck 11 sixes in his innings, one short of the world record held by Wasim Akram and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Hridoy scored 213 runs on the third day, beating Shakib's record of 212 from the Wellington Test in 2017.
Hridoy turned it on during the day's second session. Already batting on 100, he went for broke while batting with the lower order. Hridoy focused on big-hitting and farming the strike, though it also meant he missed out on plenty of runs while turning down singles.
Hridoy's boundary spree began with an upper-cut four off Shamar Joseph, before he deposited Roston Chase over square leg for his second six. It was followed by two more sixes in Chase's next over.
West Indies would have felt that the second new ball would give them breakthroughs. Instead, Taijul started off with two boundaries off both Jayden Seales and Joseph, before Hridoy lashed Seales for a four and six in the same over. He brought up his 150 with a wonderful flick off Joseph, before crashing him for two more fours in the next over.
When Hridoy moved to 172, it was the highest Test score in Sylhet, beating Mahmudul Hasan Joy's 171 against Ireland last year. He finished the session with a huge six and four. Hridoy's 117-run eighth-wicket partnership with Taijul ended when Warrican had the tailender stumped for 22; but Taijul's biggest contribution was playing out the 56 balls. Hridoy, meanwhile, finished the session with a huge six and four.
In the fourth over after tea, Hridoy reached his double hundred with a single off Warrican. Shortly afterwards, he smacked Bishop for his eighth six, breaking Tamim's record for the most sixes in an innings for Bangladesh.
Hridoy hit Warrican for a four each in his next three overs, before again launching Bishop down the ground for another six. Six number ten and 11 came off Chase shortly afterwards, with a slog sweep and a loft straight down the ground, respectively.
Taskin, so supportive till this point, top-edged Seales to fine leg to end the Bangladesh innings on 386.
Much earlier, though, the day belonged to West Indies. Warrican had both Mushfiqur and Litton Das caught at cover in consecutive overs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was hustled down the leg side when Justin Greaves ran across from slip to catch his paddle sweep. When Warrican removed Hasan Mahmud for 1, Bangladesh seemed out of the contest at 184 for 7. But Hridoy, alongside Taijul and Taskin, then completely turned the match around.