DHAKA: A second-string West Indies team under stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite completed a 2-0 series sweep against Bangladesh with a dramatic 17-run win in the second test on Sunday.
Chasing 231 for victory, Bangladesh came close before being bowled out for 213 with the spin trio of Rahkeem Cornwall (4-105), Brathwaite (3-25) and Jomel Warrican (3-47) claiming all 10 wickets.
Opener Tamim Iqbal top-scored for the hosts with a breezy 50 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz made 31 down the order but Bangladesh fell short at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
West Indies had pulled off the fifth-highest successful run chase in test history with their three-wicket win in the series opener in Chattogram.
Brathwaite led a weakened squad to Bangladesh after several players, including test captain Jason Holder, opted out of the tour citing COVID-19 concerns. “Coming here without some players, with the protocols and so on — very thankful to God for opportunity to captain West Indies,” Brathwaite said.
“Boys stuck to their plans, they were very disciplined. “Cricket means everything to us. People will be proud. People wrote us off but we kept it simple, enjoyed it, and we proved them wrong.”
Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque rued the absence of injured all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
“When the openers were batting, we thought we can chase it, but the middle order collapsed,” he said.
“Shakib is a two-in-one player, so when we lose him, it s difficult as captain to get a combination that can balance the team.”
Cornwall, who bowled nearly half of West Indies 61-odd overs and finished with a match haul of nine wickets, was adjudged man-of-the-match.
Nkrumah Bonner took the player-of-the-series award for his 231 runs.