Close West Indies 400 for 5 (Sarwan 119, Samuels 91, Hinds 75, Gayle 51) lead Bangladesh 139 by 261 runs
Scorecard

After 28 Tests, 31 months and 49 innings, Ramnaresh Sarwan finally made his first Test hundred on another day of West Indian dominance in the first Test at Dhaka. Sarwan made 119 and Marlon Samuels 91, and at the close West Indies were 400 for 5, a lead of 261. Bangladesh are starting at their eighth innings defeat in nine here.

For all the raw elegance of his talent, Sarwan was in danger of becoming one of cricket's nearly men. He had made 14 fifties - only two short of the Test record for those without a century, held by India's Chetan Chauhan – but seven days ago he made his first international century, in the second one-dayer on this ground, and now he has his first Test hundred. After all the waiting, however, it's a bit of anticlimax that he broke his duck against the best average-masseurs in the business.

Absurd as it sounds given the match situation, this wasn't an especially bad day for Bangladesh, who restricted West Indies to 282 for 5 in 90 overs, a process aided by them picking up three wickets in the first hour.

Resuming on 118 for 0, West Indies first lost Chris Gayle for 51, caught behind flashing at a wide half-volley from Tapash Baisya (131 for 1). Then, four balls later, Wavell Hinds flicked Baisya straight to midwicket (132 for 2). He made 75, but having batted so fluently yesterday, he will feel this was a missed opportunity.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been in fine form, with four Test centuries this year, but someone has to fail against Bangladesh – just ask Ashwell Prince – and he lasted only eight balls before scraping Enamul Haque's arm ball through to Khaled Masud (150 for 3).

From there it was the Sarwan and Samuels show. First they were cautious, nursing West Indies out of their mini-slump, then entirely dominant in a fourth-wicket partnership of 176 in 56 overs. With Sarwan intent on nailing a three-figure score, Samuels was the more enterprising of the two.

He struck 15 fours in a fluent 91 before falling lbw to the 16-year-old Talha Jubair. Samuels was a little unlucky, with the ball jagging back sharply from outside off and keeping a little low (326 for 4).

Then, after a nervy waft at Jubair on 99, Sarwan opened the face to Enamul Haque and scampered through to his century, off 195 balls and with 16 fours. There was an air of anti-climax after that, with Sarwan tiring and Daren Ganga (34 not out) realising he'll never get a better chance to improve on a Test average in the low 20s. Then, just before the close, Sarwan slashed at Jubair and was taken by Naimur Rahman at third man (381 for 5).

For Bangladesh, the left-arm spinner Haque was the pick of the bowlers, toiling hard from the Pavilion End in a marathon effort of 38–7–95–1. With sweat dripping from his receding forehead and handkerchief bobbing up behind his trouser like a white tail, Haque kept the West Indian batsmen relatively quiet, bowling so effectively that the second new ball was not taken until the 115th over. But Haque's impressive economy rate was earned from a negative line outside leg after lunch, indicating Bangladesh's surrender. It is a matter of when they lose this match, not if.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd