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Jaker, Taijul and Rana script Bangladesh’s first win in West Indies since 2009
Bangladesh posted their first Test win in the West Indies in 15 years when they beat the hosts by 101 runs in Jamaica. It was a remarkable comeback by the visitors after their big defeat in the first Test in Antigua, with the series finishing 1-1. It was cathartic for a side that lost their last five Tests so emphatically, as the likes of Taijul Islam, Jaker Ali and Nahid Rana scripted their third away win in 2024 – their most in a calendar year.
Left-arm spinner Taijul took 5 for 50 in the fourth innings to help bowl out West Indies for 185. It was his 15th five-wicket haul, fourth abroad and a first in the Caribbean after 10 years. Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Rana took the other five wickets.
Rana took his maiden Test five-wicket haul in the second innings, helping bowl West Indies out for 146.
Bangladesh had made only 164 in their first innings, but their revival in the second innings was a notable one too. This was courtesy Jaker, who cracked five sixes and eight fours in a counter-attacking 91. Jaker scored 62 out of Bangladesh’s 75 runs in the morning session of the fourth day.
West Indies will feel they gave away a great start in the Test match when Jayden Seales returned remarkable figures of 5 for 4 from 15.5 overs. A fired up Seales however leaked runs in the third innings as Bangladesh shifted the momentum in a feisty third afternoon.
On the fourth morning, Jaker held Bangladesh’s key to grow their lead from 211. It didn’t start well for him, as Alzarri Joseph pinged him on the top of his helmet. The Bangladesh physio Bayezid Islam Khan took a bit of time to clear Jaker, with the BCB wary of his history of concussions.
The situation compounded when Bangladesh lost back to back wickets.
Taijul edged a short ball on 14, after he and Jaker added 34 runs for the sixth wicket. Mominul Haque completed his second Test pair when he fell off his fourth ball. He looked visibly ill as he walked off, with Bangladesh’s tail now exposed.
With his back to the wall, Jaker went after the West Indies attack. He hooked Kemar Roach over wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva for a boundary. Jaker then timed a pull shot off Alzarri for his first six, which took him to his third consecutive fifty in his first three Tests. He is only the second Bangladesh player with the feat after Zakir Hasan.
Jaker got on a roll in the next two balls. He flayed at a short ball to get a four over the slips, and then followed it up with a hooked six. Jaker smashed Roach over wide long-on in the next over, but he fought back with two more wickets. Roach removed Mahmud and Taskin in consecutive overs.
Jaker however had one more burst of boundaries in him. He smashed Shamar Joseph for two fours in an over, both pull shots, before launching Roach for his fourth six, straight down the ground. His fifth six was off Shamar, hoicked over midwicket, before falling to a catch in the deep later in the over.
Taijul got to work as early as the fifth over when he had Mikyle Louis in a tangle. Attempting to drive the ball, Louis edged the ball on to his front foot, with Shahadat Hossain claiming a diving catch at forward short leg.
Sensing the need to grab the momentum, Brathwaite went after the Bangladesh bowling. He had already picked up a boundary with a square-cut, but after the lunch break, he drove Mahmud through the covers. He launched Taijul over wide long-on for a six, but Keacy Carty couldn’t quite get the bowlers away at the other end.
Taskin had Carty caught behind for 14, after a build-up of dot balls, before Taijul accounted for the big one of Brathwaite. He troubled the West Indies captain a few times, before getting one to turn and pop on the shoulder of Brathwaite’s bat. Mahmudul Hasan Joy ran to his right from slip, to complete a tumbling catch. Taijul then got one to pitch on a rough patch and spin back through Alick Athanaze’s huge gap between bat and pad. Athanaze, who went for an expansive drive, looked confused about his approach in his six-ball stay.
All this time, Hodge kept his shape, looking sharp as he picked up regular boundaries. He slapped Rana and cut Taskin in consecutive overs. He struck Mehidy for two fours in an over, before going inside out against Taijul before tea.
West Indies started the third session on a happy note. Hodge got to his fifty off the first ball after the interval, but he fell shortly afterwards too. Hodge played back to a Taijul delivery that kept very low, trapping him lbw. Keshav Maharaj and Shoaib Bashir have also got him out in similar fashion before.
Taskin then cleaned up Justin Greaves with one that kept a little low too, but the batter didn’t make an effort to get low enough to meet the ball. Joshua Da Silva’s miserable series ended when Taijul had him lbw, again another West Indies batter falling lbw to a ball that they could have played off the front foot.
When Mehidy brought around Mahmud for a second spell, he made an instant impact. He removed Alzarri and Roach to bring Bangladesh to the brink. Then came the big moment when Rana, who changed the momentum of the game with his first-innings five-for, removed Shamar with a yorker to seal the hard-fought win.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 164 (Shadman Islam 64, Jayden Seales 4-5, Shamar Joseph 3-49) and 268 (Jaker Ali 91, Shadman Islam 46, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 42; Kemar Roach 3-36, Alzarri Joseph 3-77) beat West Indies 146 (Keacy Carty 40, Kraigg Brathwaite 39; Nahid Rana 5-61, Hasan Mahmud 2-19) and 185 (Kavem Hodge 55, Kraigg Brathwaite 43, Taijul Islam 5-50, Hasan Mahmud 2-20) by 101 runs
[Cricinfo]
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Death toll rises to 607, missing persons reduce to 214 at 1800hrs today (5)
The situation report issued by the Disaster Management Centre at 1800hrs today (5th December) confirms that 607 persons have died due to the adverse weather conditions while the number of missing persons has reduced to 214.
The number of persons affected topped the 2 million mark (2,082,195).

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Sri Lanka Navy takes delivery of Ex-USCGC DECISIVE
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) formally took delivery of the EX- United States Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC DECISIVE, provided by the United States to SLN, at a ceremony held at the United
States Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore on 02 Dec 25. The event was also attended by the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda.
The ship formally joined the SLN fleet on 02 December under the pennant number P 628 and the main mast of the ship will fly the National Flag effective from that date.
Aiming to strengthen and develop partnerships to overcome common challenges in the maritime domain, the U.S. Coast Guard has previously provided 03 ships to SLN and they are currently patrolling island waters under the names of ‘Samudura’ (P 621), ‘Gajabahu’(P 626), and ‘Vijayabahu’ (P 627).
As an extension of partnership ties that bring value to each other’s services, Ex-USCGC DECISIVE was transferred as the fourth ship to be handed to SLN.
Ex-USCGC DECISIVE, a ‘B-Type Reliance Class 210-foot Cutter’, measures 64m in length, and having endurance of 6000 NM at cruising speed. Further, she has been designed for a
crew of 100 and is equipped with weapons and machinery.
The ship which was used by the U.S. Coast Guard has rendered exceptional service during her tenure by curbing illegal activities, including smuggling of narcotics in U.S. waters.
Sri Lanka inherits an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that is seven times larger than the landmass. In such a backdrop, the Navy is determined to deploy this vessel in wide-ranging
operations that include the conservation of marine resources in the region and the search and rescue of naval and fishing communities in distress. Thereby, the Navy will be able to utilize
this vessel efficiently in the future to achieve the national aspiration, while ensuring safe and secure seas for all economic affairs.
The formal handing over – taking over ceremony was also distinguished by the presence of the Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer and Director of Domain & Integration Services U.S. Coast
Guard, James L. Knight, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for South and Southeast Asia, Dr. Andrew Byers, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Commanding Officer designate of P 628, Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya as well as a group of officials from the Embassy of Sri Lanka in United States and the State Department
of the United State
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Hope holds firm as West Indies drag New Zealand into fifth-day battle
A depleted New Zealand attack – effectively reduced to just two-and-a-half frontline bowlers – was made to toil as a defiant West Indies rearguard stretched the contest into a fifth day on an increasingly docile Hagley Oval surface.
Forced off the field on day three by an eye infection, Shai Hope returned with sunglasses under his helmet to compile an unbeaten 116. It followed his first-innings 56 and marked his second century in three innings, a seamless extension of the defiance he showed while stonewalling India for long periods in New Delhi in October.
If Hope was the fulcrum, Justin Greaves was the anchor beside him. He reined in his instincts to play a composed, almost uncharacteristically restrained hand to finish 55 not out off 143 balls. His unbroken fifth-wicket partnership with Hope was worth 140 as New Zealand’s attack toiled under the blazing Christchurch sun.
Nathan Smith did not come out to bat and spent the entire innings off the field with a side strain. When Matt Henry left the field after the 35th over – later heading to hospital next door for scans – with West Indies 92 for 4, New Zealand may have hoped to finish off the game quickly.
But with his bowling resources rapidly thinning, Tom Latham – already standing in with the gloves due to Tom Blundell’s torn hamstring that ruled him out of not just this Test but the next – was left to lean heavily on Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell’s part-time spin around pacer Jacob Duffy. On a surface that only got easier to bat on against the old ball, Hope and Greaves settled in and applied themselves admirably.
Having begun with positive intent, Hope was tested periodically with the short ball, Duffy setting a square leg halfway to the rope along with a short leg and fine leg for the pull. Hope mostly swayed and ducked out of harm’s way, and on the rare occasions he was tempted into the shot, he did well to keep it down. He brought up his fourth Test century off 139 deliveries.
Duffy employed a similar plan to Greaves, whose natural game is far more instinctive. But to his credit, Greaves appeared to take a cue from Hope, choosing restraint instead. He played only when the ball was at his body, using his height to ride the bounce and fend safely. While he was a lot more enterprising against spin, the fundamental of his knock was crease occupation.
Hope and Greaves laid down the template for those who perished prior to their arrival. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and John Campbell were put through a stern new ball test by Foulkes and Henry as they repeatedly tested both their edges in an engaging first spell. Chanderpaul’s propensity to shuffle across got him into trouble more often than not, and was out to a short ball that he inside-edged to the keeper for 6 off 45 balls.
Campbell – out an over earlier – was taken out by Foulkes as he jabbed at an away-swinger with no feet movement as Bracewell took a superb low catch at second slip. In the overs prior to his dismissal, Campbell wore a blow on his boot as he smashed one back off an inside-edge, making him groan in discomfort. This may have eventually had a hand in his dismissal.
Alick Athanaze never got going, and the frustration of being unable to score had him attempt a pull, only to be rushed into the stroke by Bracewell. He only managed to toe-end a pull to mid-on. And when Roston Chase fell in eerily similar fashion to his dismissal in the first innings – nibbling at a Henry away-swinger while being rooted to the crease – West Indies were collapsing swiftly and were 72 for 4.
A four-day defeat loomed until Greaves and Hope dug in to give West Indies some hope even as New Zealand’s tired attack wheeled away in the hope of a mistake. That wasn’t to come, as West Indies took the fight into the final day even though hopes of scaling down the 531-run target they were set seem just a pipe dream for now.
Earlier in the morning, New Zealand surprised many by choosing to bat on. Perhaps this was to give their bowlers more rest on a placid surface, considering the slew of injuries. Kemar Roach picked up three of the four wickets to fall, finishing with figures of 5 for 78 to take his wickets tally to 290.
Brief scores:
West Indies 167 and 212 for 4 (Shai Hope 116*, Justin Greaves 55*; Jacob Duffy 2-60) trail New Zealand 231 and 466 for 8 dec (Rachin Ravindra 176, Tom Latham 145; Kemar Roach 5-78) by 319 runs
(Cricinfo)
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