Bangladesh Suffer its 100 Test Defeats

Bangladesh couldn’t avoid the whitewash against West Indies, losing the BAN vs WI Test series 2022 at 2-0. The West Indian team won the second match by 10 wickets on Monday (June 27) at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia. The loss in the second match was Bangladesh’s 100th defeat in the Test format and also the fastest to do so. On the other hand, the West Indies have added some important points to their ICC Test Championship points table with two back-to-back victories. The report of the second match in BAN vs WI Test series 2022 and the record of 100 Test defeats of different countries are discussed in this article.

Bangladesh vs West Indies Second Test: Match Report

In response to Bangladesh’s 234 runs, West Indies managed to score 408 runs in their first innings and took a 174-run lead. The middle-order batter, Kyle Mayers, played a marvelous knock of 146 and made a couple of solid partnerships with Jermaine Blackwood and Joshua Da Silva in the middle, which helped the Caribbean side to score big in their innings.

Fast bowler Khaled Ahmed, who was not a favourite choice of the Bangladesh fans, once again proved everyone wrong by picking up his first five-wicket haul in an innings. Khaled finished his spell with a 5/106, his career best figure. At least in overseas conditions, where pacers usually get extra support from the surface, it seems Khaled Ahmed is right now the best pacer in Test cricket for Bangladesh. Since returning to the Bangladesh Test set up against Pakistan in December last year, Khaled Ahmed has picked up 19 wickets with an average of 36.63, the best by any Bangladeshi fast bowler.

Bangladesh’s chances of winning the match perished after West Indies’ big lead in the first innings. The Tigers campaign was hoping that their batters would display solidarity in their approach and try to play long innings. However, Bangladesh’s batters failed to meet expectations for the fourth time in the Test series. They were bowled out for 186 runs in their second innings after giving the hosts only a 13-run target to clinch the match. The Caribbean side reached the target in 2.5 overs without losing a wicket.

Najmul Hossain Shanto played a 42-run knock in the second innings for Bangladesh. But it was Nurul Hasan Sohan’s quick-fire unbeaten 60* off 50 balls that helped Bangladesh to avoid an innings defeat. Kyle Mayers won the player of the match award for the second Test. He was also awarded the best player of the series trophy for scoring 153 runs and picking up six wickets in the series.

Number of games played by each nation in their 100th Test defeat

Bangladesh became the fastest to concede a 100th Test defeat after losing the second match against the Caribbean team. This stat is certainly demoralizing and unexpected for Bangladesh cricket. Before that, New Zealand held the record for fastest to concede 100 defeats in the longer-version format. However, New Zealand played 241 matches when they lost their 100 matches in Test cricket. On the other hand, Bangladesh had to play only 134 matches to surpass New Zealand’s record.

Each nation’s Test matches and victories at the time of their 100th Test defeat

Bottom Line

Bangladesh’s performance in the Test format in recent times has been below par. They have conceded 11 defeats out of the 15 Test matches they have played since 2021. Bangladesh’s performances against their closest rivals, Sri Lanka and West Indies, have been upsetting since last year. The Tiger’s Test team has lost six matches out of eight they have played against Sri Lanka and West Indies, respectively. These stats suggest that the BCB needs to take massive actions in order to raise the level of Test performance.

Source: United News of Bangladesh