Unbeaten double century by Mayers in Windies win test debut

CRICKET

DHAKA: Kyle Mayers made an unbeaten double hundred on his test debut to help West Indies snatch an extraordinary threewicket victory over Bangladesh in the first test yesterday.

Host Bangladesh declared its second innings on 223 for eight, setting West Indies a daunting target of 395 in Chattogram, and the touring side completed the fifthhighest successful run chase in test history.

Mayers added 216 runs with Nkrumah Bonner (86) to turn the match on its head and took a single off spinner Nayeem Hasan to seal a fairytale victory for a secondstring West Indies side led by Kraigg Brathwaite.

Mayers, a 28yearold lefthanded batsman from Barbados, remained unbeaten on 210 and became only the sixth player to score a double hundred in the fourth innings of a test.

Aiden Markram hit a century and narrowed South Africa's target to 151 runs on the last day of the second test against Pakistan.

Markram was unbeaten on 100 off 221 balls and Temba Bavuma was on 44 as the Proteas reached 219 for three at lunch.

South Africa, in pursuit of 370, had a minimum of 65 overs to level the twomatch series.

Markram had batted for more than five hours, and raised his first test hundred outside South Africa on the last ball before lunch, when he pushed Fawad Alam to wide midon for a single.

England bowled out India for 337 but spared it the followon as the tourists went into lunch on the penultimate day of the opening test with a 242run lead yesterday.

England, which posted 578 in its first innings, then lost opener Rory Burns to the very first ball from Ravichandran Ashwin and was one for one at the break.

Earlier, Washington Sundar smashed 85 not out, adding 80 runs with Ashwin in a spirited seventhwicket stand at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to take India past 300.

After the hosts had resumed on 257 for six, Sundar picked up regular boundaries while Ashwin gamely hung on at the other end.

Jack Leach finally tasted success when he dismissed Ashwin for 31 and Shahbaz Nadeem for a duck.

James Anderson claimed the last two Indian wickets, leaving England to play two overs before the lunch break. — Reuters