Bangladesh vs West Indies – 1st Test Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Bangladesh vs West Indies taking place? Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021 – 03:30 (UK)
Where is Bangladesh vs West Indies taking place? Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram
What is the expected weather for Bangladesh vs West Indies? 24-26c with sunshine forecast across all five days
What channel is Bangladesh vs West Indies on? The match will not be televised live in the UK
Where can I stream Bangladesh vs West Indies? The match will not be streamed live in the UK
LAST MEETING
Bangladesh beat West Indies by an innings and 184 runs
THE TEAM NEWS
BANGLADESH
- Bangladesh come into this Test series against the West Indies having comfortably beaten them in the one-day series 3-0 and having beaten them 2-0 the last time they met them in a Test series on home turf back in 2018.
- Many of the squad that played in that series still form a core part of this current Bangladeshi team and they will be confident of beating them once again with spin duo Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan expected to wreak havoc yet again.
- Veterans such as Monimul Haque, Liton Das, Tamim Iqbal Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman are all tipped to line-up for them here and they come into this opening Test in Chattogram with plenty of confidence.
WEST INDIES
- West Indies will field virtually an entirely different team in this Test match compared to that which featured in the ODIs and they will be hoping to be much more competitive after their one-day struggles.
- There were some positives to take from their warm-up match against a BCB XI with Rahkeem Cornwall bowling well while Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell and Kraigg Brathwaite all doing well with the bat.
- They will face a major challenge here however in dealing with the spin-friendly track in Chattogram and if Cornwall is enjoying the conditions, the likelihood is that the Bangladeshi spinners will be a major threat and pose plenty of problems for the tourists’ batsmen.
THE PREDICTION
After whitewashing the West Indies in the one-day series, hosts Bangladesh will be confident coming into this Test series of yet more success. The real challenge for the Windies will be how they deal with the spin attack that they are going to face from ball one so it is going to be a real trial for their batsmen. They failed to cope last time they met back in 2018 and while the likes of Campbell and Brathwaite have more experience now, their batting remains somewhat fragile. While they may compete for spells, Bangladesh will grind them down eventually to claim a comprehensive first Test win.
