Nahid Rana's first test five-wicket haul nudged Bangladesh ahead of the West Indies before the tourists' usually suspect batting line-up displayed a measure of resilience to claim the upper hand on the third day of the second and final test at Sabina Park.
Rana led the rout of the home side's first innings for 146 on Monday with impressive figures of five for 61, giving the visitors a lead of 18 runs.
Buoyed by that effort, the Bangladesh top-order batting then displayed the sort of shot-making confidence previously unseen in this brief series to reach stumps at 193 for five in the second innings, a lead of 211 with five wickets in hand.
Given that the highest successful run-chase in a test match at Sabina Park is just 211, achieved by the West Indies against Sri Lanka in 2003, history would appear to be on the side of the tourists forcing a series-levelling victory over the final two days.
Starting the day at 70 for one, West Indies were swiftly undermined by the 22-year-old Rana, who added four more victims to the dismissal of Mikyle Louis the previous evening.
Nahid Rana's Fiery Spell! 🌟🔥
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) December 2, 2024
Bangladesh's pacer Nahid Rana lit up the game with a sensational five-wicket haul, claiming his maiden five-for in style! 🎯🏏 His sharp pace and bounce left the Caribbean batters in disarray.#BCB #Cricket #Bangladesh #WIvBAN #WTC25 pic.twitter.com/yJLKvFttvA
Rana was well supported by fellow seamer Hasan Mahmud (2 for 19).
Keacy Carty top-scored with 40 while captain Kraigg Brathwaite, the first wicket of the day when he was caught in the gully off Rana, contributed 39.
"We knew it was coming at some stage," said Bangladesh bowling coach Andre Adams. "When you bowl 150 k's (km/h) you are going to take wickets eventually.
"We've got to look after him. That's why he didn't play in the first test match. Luckily he has guys out there like Taskin (Ahmed) and Hasan as fellow seamers to keep him focused on the field."
Bangladesh rallied from the early loss of Mahmudul Hasan Joy at the start of the second innings with 46 from Shadman Islam and a 39-ball 42 from captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who promoted himself to No 4 in the order, taking the initiative from a West Indies team which lost the plot in the final session when they insisted on ultra-aggression and paid the price with a succession of boundaries.
WEST INDIES: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Mikyle Louis, Keacy Carty, Kavem Hodge, Alick Athanaze, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (wkt), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales.
BANGLADESH: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Mominul Haque, Litton Das (wkt), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana.