Horrors of 2018 haunt Tigers in Antigua

Bangladesh suffered yet another batting collapse as the Tigers lose six of their batters inside 15 overs on the first morning of their first Test against West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua today.

At lunch, Bangladesh were 76 for six with skipper Shakib Al Hasan, unbeaten on 26 off 34, and the last recognised batter Mehedi Hasan Miraz, not out on 2 off 20.  Both Shakib and Miraz have somewhat brought stability in the middle, stitching together a 31-run stand -- the highest partnership for the Tigers on the day. 

Following a disastrous start, Shakib tried to shift the momentum back towards the Tigers as he played aggressively from the beginning. The left-hander miscued a few shots and lived a bit dangerously in the beginning but did manage to achieve what he intended as he dispatched a Kyle Mayers delivery over long-off for a massive six.  

Earlier, Windies pacers Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and fast-bowling all-rounder Kyle Mayers ripped through the Tigers' fragile top-order almost with ease, reducing the visitors to 45 for six. The scoreline could bring back some horrible memories for Bangladesh from 2018 when they were bundled out for just 43 -- their lowest-ever total in an innings in a Test to date -- against the Windies at this very ground in Antigua. 

Today, however, Bangladesh managed to cross the 43-run mark but would not be entirely happy with how they got past it. A total of four Bangladesh batters -- Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Nurul Hasan Sohan -- went back to the pavilion without even troubling the scorers. 

Tamim, against the run of play, was the only one who looked to be getting into the groove as he played some beautiful strokes all around the ground. The left-hander also became the second Bangladeshi after Mushfiqur Rahim to reach 5000 Test runs today. 

However, his innings -- a 29-run knock off 43 deliveries -- also came to an end, and that too in a disappointing manner as the left-hander unnecessarily chased a ball down the leg side to edge it back to the keeper off an Alzarri Joseph delivery.