West Indies 355 (Kirk Edwards 121, Powell 72, Shakib 5-63) and 383 for 5 dec (Bravo 195, Kirk Edwards 86) beat Bangladesh 231 (Shakib 73, Fidel Edwards 5-63) and 278 (Tamim 83, Mushfiqur 69, Bishoo 5-90) by 229 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Devendra Bishoo spearheaded West Indies' victory march on the final day in Mirpur with his maiden five-for, to deliver a confidence-boosting series success ahead of a tougher assignment in India. Mushfiqur Rahim was Bangladesh's big hope, calmly guiding his team in his first Test series as captain, but was let down by his experienced partners, who succumbed to their attacking instincts instead of controlling them. When Mushfiqur fell shortly before lunch, done in by a ripper of a legbreak from Bishoo, a West Indies win became a formality, and they wrapped it up quickly after the break.
The recklessness of Bangladesh's top-order batsmen will continue to raise questions about their ability to bat for long durations. Their performances were characterised by bursts of attractive strokeplay, which brought quick runs but also betrayed a lack of responsibility and an inadequate grasp of the situation. Tamim had batted with caution on the fourth day after surviving two close calls and being reprimanded by Raqibul Hasan. In the third over on the fifth day, however, Tamim stepped out to Bishoo, who was turning the ball in from the rough, and tried to drive over extra cover; instead, he edged to slip. With a hundred there for the taking on a largely unthreatening track, and the prospect of a draw still alive, he threw away his wicket.
In contrast, Mushfiqur seemed unshakeable at the other end. He worked the ball around, used his wrists, was committed to playing along the ground and was prompt in dispatching the bad deliveries. He reached forward to ease Fidel Edwards through the covers to bring up his half-century and drove a full ball from Bishoo elegantly past mid-off. But, in the dying moments of the morning session, Mushfiqur was bamboozled by Bishoo's quicker legbreak, which was fired in and spat away to beat his defence and take off stump.
West Indies bowled their fair share of tripe, and Shakib's first three boundaries were all off long hops. But there was also risk in his approach. Too often Shakib tried to sweep from the rough outside off stump, almost holed out while trying to clear mid-off, and while he reached his half-century with a pull off Fidel Edwards, West Indies sensed an opportunity throughout his stay at the crease. It wasn't too big a surprise then, when an attempt to paddle Darren Sammy produced a top edge and another wicket.
Bishoo was expected to play a prominent role on the final day but the turn and bounce was by no means alarming. He managed to derive more turn and bite from the track than any of the other spinners in this game, and his variations in length and pace, together with the googly, proved too much for the lower order. Attacking with four close-in catchers after lunch, he trapped Nasir Hossain lbw with a wrong 'un, Naeem Islam with a straighter one, and had Suhrawadi Shuvo caught at slip to complete his five-for. Kemar Roach then slipped one past Rubel Hossain's defences to give West Indies their first away series win since 2003.
The win was set up by some significant individual achievements - Kirk Edwards' century and 86 in this game, Darren Bravo's maiden hundred, Bishoo's first five-for and an incisive spell from Fidel Edwards in the first innings. Bangladesh, meanwhile, were left to rue the lack of discipline in their batting, that cost them a Test and a series they could have saved.
