West Indies turned a tight Test into a one-sided finish on Saturday, beating Bangladesh by eight wickets in Mirpur after Brandon King stayed unbeaten on 81. The chase ended at 172-2 in 35.1 overs, giving West Indies a 1-0 lead in the two-match series and leaving the opening Test shaped by one calm, decisive innings.
King did not just finish the job. He made it look controlled, reaching a career-best 81 not out from 115 deliveries with 10 fours and one six. For West Indies, that mattered because the target was only 170, but pressure still lingered after Bangladesh had threatened to control the match earlier. Once King settled, the chase stopped looking like a contest and started looking like a clean finish.
The result was built as much by the ball as by the bat. Jomel Warrican finished with 4-63 in Bangladesh’s second innings and ended the match with nine wickets after his five-wicket haul in the first innings, while Roston Chase took 5-36 for his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Together, they dismantled a Bangladesh side that resumed Saturday at 79-6 with a lead of 106 and still could not turn that position into safety.
That collapse explains why the scoreline shifted so sharply. Jaker Ali made 22 from 34 deliveries before edging Warrican to slip, Nayeem Hasan reached his maiden Test half-century from 87 deliveries and finished with 52 from 91 balls, and Shoriful Islam was left unbeaten on seven when Bangladesh were dismissed for 142 in 48.4 overs. From there, West Indies did not need heroics, only discipline. King and the rest of the chase removed the remaining risk and closed out the match before the day could turn against them.
Roston Chase said the side kept believing even after a poor start in the first innings, and that they lost the lead but stayed determined to fight back and win. The scorecard backs that up. West Indies recovered from a position that had looked uncertain, turned Bangladesh’s second-innings wobble into a decisive collapse and walked away with the opening Test and the early grip on the series. Warrican, who was named Player of the Match, now stands as the bowler most responsible for the swing in momentum, while King’s unbeaten 81 gives the chase its most memorable finish.
The second Test is next, and West Indies will take far more than a 1-0 lead into it. They now know they can win a Test even when the match has not been straightforward, while Bangladesh are left with the sharper question of how a 106-run lead and a 79-6 start still ended in defeat.
