North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda: Shannon Gabriel completed his third five-wicket haul in five innings as the West Indies completed a crushing victory over Bangladesh by an innings and 219 runs just before lunch on the third day of the first Test in Antigua yesterday.
Wicketless in the demolition of the tourists for their lowest Test innings score, 43, on the opening morning, Gabriel started the wrecking job in the second innings with four wickets on the second evening.
He then bowled Kamrul Islam when play resumed to finish with five for 77 as the Bangladeshis were dismissed for 144 to hand the home side their largest innings victory ever in a Test in the Caribbean.
However the morning’s honours at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium went to Nurul Islam.
The Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman blazed his way to 64, a maiden Test half-century in just his second match, and holding up the West Indies in the push for a victory that looked likely to be completed in a matter of minutes from the start of play.
Nurul reached his fifty off just 36 balls, the fastest-ever by a Bangladesh player in a Test away from home, and actually belted the otherwise dangerous Gabriel out of the attack by taking 16 runs off the fast bowler’s 12th over.
It took Miguel Cummins to end the innings and the match with the lunch interval approaching as he had Nurul caught and bowled before scattering the stumps of Rubel Hossain in the next over to finally complete the triumph that looked a mere formality at the start of the day.