Towhid Hridoy hit an unbeaten 242 on day three of the second Test in Sylhet, giving Bangladesh a 30-run first-innings lead over West Indies.
Bangladesh were 184 for 7 before lunch and faced a first-innings deficit of more than 150. Hridoy then added 202 runs for the last two wickets with Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed. Bangladesh finished on 386, even though opener Shadman Islam could not bat after injuring his left ankle on the first morning.
Hridoy became the fourth Bangladeshi to score a Test double-century, after Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. His 242* is the highest Test score by a Bangladeshi, passing Mushfiqur's 219* against Zimbabwe in 2018.
He also hit 11 sixes and one short of the world record shared by Wasim Akram and Yashasvi Jaiswal. That broke Tamim's record for the most sixes in a Bangladesh innings. His 213 runs on day three also beat Shakib's national record of 212 set in Wellington in 2017.
The turning point came in the second session. Hridoy reached 100 and then attacked while batting with the lower order. He farmed the strike and refused several singles to protect his partners. He hit Roston Chase for three sixes in two overs. When West Indies took the second new ball, Taijul hit boundaries off Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph and Hridoy added a four and a six off Seales. He reached 150 with a flick off Joseph.
At 172, Hridoy passed Mahmudul Hasan Joy's 171 against Ireland last year to post the highest Test score at the Sylhet venue. His 117-run eighth-wicket stand with Taijul ended when Warrican stumped Taijul for 22. Taijul's biggest contribution was surviving 56 balls.
After tea, Hridoy reached 200 with a single off Warrican. He then hit Bishop for his eighth six, then struck Warrican for fours in three straight overs. Sixes ten and eleven came off Chase. Taskin supported him well but top-edged Seales to fine leg to end the innings.
The morning belonged to West Indies. Warrican had Mushfiqur and Litton Das caught at cover in consecutive overs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was caught at slip by Justin Greaves off a paddle sweep. Warrican then dismissed Hasan Mahmud for 1, leaving Bangladesh at 184 for 7 and seemingly out of the contest.
Hridoy with Taijul and Taskin, turned the match around. Bangladesh now hold the lead with West Indies to bat again.
Scorecard: West Indies 356 and 7 for 0 (King 5*, Da Silva 2*) trail Bangladesh 386 (Hridoy 242*, Mushfiqur 34, Warrican 4-104, Seales 2-58) by 23 runs.
