Sadman Islam brought up his third Test century with the second ball of the second day at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, then watched from the pavilion as Bangladesh lost their remaining seven wickets for 59 runs and were bowled out for 272 against West Indies. The left-handed opener, who resumed on 99 not out, said afterwards that the batting effort had cost the side a chance at a far bigger total, according to দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা.
Bangladesh had closed the first day on 213 for 3, with seven wickets in hand and a substantial first-innings score in view. The second morning undid that position quickly.
Why it matters
The first Test of the series was set up for Bangladesh to bat West Indies out of the game. Instead the hosts handed the initiative back inside a single session, and their captaincy group will now have to manage a match from behind. For Sadman personally, the milestone settles a run of starts that never turned into big scores — but he was more concerned with the team's position than his own.
A hundred, then a stumble
Sadman fell for 105, made from 234 balls with 11 fours, trapped leg-before by debutant spinner Joshua Bishop. His dismissal opened the slide. Towhid Hridoy, who had retired hurt on 42 the previous day, returned to the crease but could not add to his score. At 221 for 5 Bangladesh were under pressure, and they did not recover.
Speaking at the close of play, Sadman said the top order needed to convert their starts into larger contributions. He argued that had the leading batters pushed on to 150, 170 or 200, the team total might have reached 450 or 500. দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা reports that he described the outcome as a mistake by the side.
He also took his share of the blame, saying that had he and Litton Das been able to bat longer together, the shape of the innings might have been different. In his view, that partnership was the point where the game slipped.
No excuses offered for the surface or the schedule
Questions were raised about the pitch, particularly the sharp turn some of West Indies' spinners found during the morning session. Sadman declined to blame the surface. He credited the opposition bowling and acknowledged that Bangladesh had made their own errors, repeating that a substantial partnership at the top would have changed the course of the day.
He was equally unwilling to pin the collapse on the early finish to the first day, when bad light cut play short. He said he did not believe the interruption had disturbed the batters' rhythm, noting that the side had batted well after the break without losing a wicket in that period.
The century itself followed a stretch in which Sadman had repeatedly been dismissed after getting set. He said he had spent time analysing why he was falling short of three figures and had worked on his fitness as well as his batting, taking advice from former captain Mohammad Ashrafull and coach Mohammad Salahuddin. The work paid off in part on Thursday, though he said a hundred alone is not the measure in Test cricket — carrying on to a larger innings is what counts, and Bangladesh paid for the failure to do so in their first innings at Mirpur.
West Indies closed the second day on 134 for 4, still 138 runs behind.
