The Chattogram Tale
The twists & thrills of a page-turner
The chatter at the Chattogram grew louder by each passing second as the day progressed on the 7th of February. The Caribbean tourists had felt the heat since the day they stepped onto the Bangladeshi land. Coming from a 0-3 defeat in the one-dayers, the test matches were never going to be a relief. Rubbing salt to the injury, some of the well-known names were missing from the test squad. Only a miracle was going to save the Windies.
The initial four days of the test match looked simple to the few who were following the game. Bangladesh was back with their favorite weapon, a rank-turner. The tourists seemed to have no clue of what they were facing. The West Indian batsman had looked clueless against the enigma of spin bowling. The hosts ensured the guests were kept guessing as they confidently declared their second innings, setting a humongous target of 395.
After losing the plot constantly for four straight days, Windies had a little over four sessions to come up with an answer to their problems. The end of day 5 seemed like an oasis in the desert and the target like an insurmountable mountain. The shaky Caribbean batsmen were rattled early in their chase. Hope was their only best friend going into the final day. 285 in 3 sessions for West Indies. 7 wickets in 3 sessions for Bangladesh. Ooh!
Somehow, the Gods of Cricket have recently taken a liking to brew final day thrillers.
The match received almost no attention until Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner decided to wake the entire cricketing fraternity with their positive intent and self-belief. The cautious partners played the balls on merit and were lucky to survive the first session. Luck seems to get better for the persistent ones anyway. The pair kept going even in the 2nd session. Once they got their eyes in, they cut loose in their own ways. Runs had started to flow & wickets had dried up. Was it concern forming the lines on the Bangladeshi foreheads?
The pair kept the steady run flow but never forgot to respect the good deliveries. The outside off-stump deliveries were being left alone while the full ones were being driven everywhere around the park. Soon, the ball would start taking flight as well. Suddenly, there were a lot of nervous heads virtually witnessing the drama unfold in Chattogram. The two debutants were not just stitching a partnership together, they stitched a beautiful story. They went onto add 216 runs from 442 balls, only the 2nd time in Cricket history had a debut pair added more than 200 runs together. The Islanders were sensing the Bangla tigers taking a step back, not to hunt this time.
The final session saw the confident side of the West Indians come out for the first time on this tour. Bonner soon got out but Mayers kept going. Statisticians were kept busy throughout the final day by the Windies, especially by Mayers who approached 150. After a couple of wickets, Joshua Da Silva ensured Mayers continued his carnage at the other end. Kyle Mayers was hitting everything out of the park and got to become one of the select few to score a double century on debut. Windies were on the offensive for the first time in five days. The mountain peak was vividly clear now and it was captured graciously. West Indies had done the unthinkable, they had won a memorable test match. Test cricket in 2021 has decided to give its viewers an adrenaline shot. The Gabba heist by the Indians followed by the silent Chattogram stickup by the Windies. The longer format is definitely here to stay.
The moment of glory that came was glorified even more when the legendary voice of Ian Bishop on-air went, "New heroes have emerged from the ashes of a team decimated by absenteeism!". The Chattogram tale was etched in the history books forever.
Great achievements are often the result of great expectations. Believe, always.
Ya well written
Very well written article, keep the good work continuous one.. Hoping to read England and India test story...