BAN vs WI, 2nd Test — Day 4 Stumps: West Indies 356 & 345/3, Lead by 315, as Kavem Hodge's 140* Answers Hridoy's 242

Big innings tend to arrive in pairs on good pitches, and Sylhet has now had its second. On Saturday Towhid Hridoy's 242 not out gave Bangladesh a lead and a story. On Sunday Kavem Hodge, out for 1 in the first innings, batted from the middle of the morning to the close for a career-best 140 not out, and the story belongs to West Indies again.

West Indies began the day 23 behind with all ten wickets in hand. They finished it 315 ahead with seven still standing. A draw is enough for them to win the series, and after 338 runs in 79 overs on the fourth day, they now have the runs and the time to choose how to use the fifth.

Brandon King and Joshua Da Silva took the 23 runs off without fuss and kept going. They hit boundaries off Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Nayeem Hasan, and at drinks West Indies were 66 for 0. King reached his fifty off 62 balls. Taijul Islam broke the stand at 85 in the 22nd over, trapping Da Silva lbw for 36, the sixth time he has dismissed him in Tests. King was dropped by Hridoy on 56 and fell soon after for 61, caught by Najmul Hossain Shanto off Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Lunch came at 128 for 2, with Hodge already on 30.

Wickham opened the second session with a straight six and two fours in a Mehidy over, and the pair kept trading boundaries. Hodge passed 1,000 Test runs in his 19th match, and West Indies passed 200 just after the drinks break. Hodge survived two lbw decisions on review during the day, at 28.5 and 68.2 overs. By tea they were 259 for 2, Hodge 93 and Wickham 63, and Bangladesh had gone two full sessions with only those two morning wickets.

Wickham began the last session with another six, off Taijul, and Hodge reached his hundred in Taijul's next over, off 142 balls. Taijul finally ended the 165-run stand by taking a return catch from Wickham for 78. Hodge kept punishing anything short or overpitched, going past his previous best Test score with a cut off Hasan Mahmud. He and Amir Jangoo added 61 unbroken before the light closed in just before the scheduled 4.30pm finish, with West Indies 345 for 3.

For West Indies this was close to a perfect day. Every one of the top five made a start, the openers took the sting out of the morning, and Wickham, on debut, became the first West Indies batter in 48 years to make two fifties in his first Test. The only question now is the declaration: how many more to bat on, and how many overs to leave themselves to bowl.

For Bangladesh the day was hard in every way. Shanto hurt his knee chasing a ball to fine leg and later took a blow on the fingers; Mehidy and Litton Das also needed the physio after knocks in the field. The frustration showed in four overthrows and a boundary off byes. Taijul bowled 29 overs for his two wickets, but none of the seamers took one, and the lead of 23 they started the day with was gone before the first drinks break.

After spin took five of six wickets on Day 3, the fourth day's surface gave the bowlers very little. All three wickets fell to Taijul and Mehidy, but they came at a cost of 176 runs between them, and the seamers went at more than four and a half an over. As on every day so far, bad light ended play early.

140 not out off 189 balls, 17 fours and a six, and his highest Test score. In the first innings he was bowled by Hasan Mahmud for 1, leaving a ball that hit the top of middle. Here he left well, cut hard and punished length that was even slightly off. He came in at 85 for 1 and was still there at 345 for 3. If West Indies save this Test and take the series, this is the innings that did it.

Our Day 3 report said Bangladesh needed early wickets, from Taskin and Hasan Mahmud against King and Da Silva in the first hour, and then from the spinners. The spinners did take all three wickets, but the first did not come until the 22nd over, and the seamers went wicketless. We also wrote that time was now as much West Indies' weapon as runs. They used both.

West Indies will decide how long to bat on before giving their bowlers a go at Bangladesh, with a series win already secured by a draw. Bangladesh, needing a win to level the series, would have to chase more than 315 or bat out the day, and with Shadman unable to bat in the first innings and three senior players carrying knocks, the fitness news in the morning matters. Watch Warrican, who bowled 41 overs for four wickets in the first innings, on a fifth-day pitch.