West Indies Seizes Control Against Bangladesh After Day 3 in Mirpur Test

West Indies capitalized on a destructive spell of spin bowling to leave Bangladesh reeling at 79 for six at stumps on the third day of the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday. Holding a slim 106-run lead, the hosts found themselves under intense pressure after losing their top order before bad light and drizzle brought an early end to the day's play.

Bangladesh began the day by securing a narrow 27-run first-innings lead. Off-spinner Nayeem Hasan spearheaded the bowling attack, claiming four wickets for 33 runs in 10.5 overs to help dismiss the West Indies for 245. During this spell, Nayeem achieved a significant milestone by claiming his 50th Test wicket, becoming the fastest Bangladeshi spinner to reach the mark in terms of deliveries bowled.

Resuming their first innings at 134 for four, the visitors relied on a resilient fifth-wicket partnership between Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Justin Greaves. Chanderpaul top-scored with 56 runs off 184 balls, notching his third Test half-century, while Greaves contributed 46 runs. The pair added 65 valuable runs to frustrate the Bangladesh bowling attack before Shoriful Islam broke the stand by having Chanderpaul caught at second slip by captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Nayeem then intervened before lunch, trapping Greaves leg-before-wicket. Following the lunch break, Nayeem quickly cleaned up the tail by removing Shamar Joseph and Jomel Warrican in the same over, before securing his fourth wicket by dismissing Jayden Seales. West Indies captain Roston Chase remained unbeaten on 43 as the visitors were bowled out just short of Bangladesh's first-innings total of 272.

The momentum shifted dramatically when Bangladesh began their second innings. Fast bowler Shamar Joseph struck early in the second over, removing opener Tanzid Hasan for a duck. Although first-innings centurion Shadman Islam and captain Shanto attempted to stabilize the innings, West Indies captain Roston Chase unleashed a devastating spell of off-spin.

Chase dismantled the batting lineup by removing Shadman for 13, bowling Towhid Hridoy for a duck, and trapping Shanto leg-before-wicket to reduce Bangladesh to 33 for four. After a brief rain interruption, left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican compounded the trouble by trapping Litton Das lbw for four and bowling Mehidy Hasan Miraz, plunging the hosts further into trouble at 60 for six.

Concussion substitute Jaker Ali and Nayeem Hasan managed to mount a brief resistance, remaining unbeaten on 18 runs each when bad light forced an early stoppage. Jaker entered the match after Mominul Haque suffered a head blow while attempting a catch at short leg earlier in the day.

With the match hanging in the balance, play is set to resume on the fourth day, with Bangladesh desperately needing their lower order to extend their 106-run lead and West Indies pushing for a commanding position.