Dowrich believes under 200 is a win

WEST INDIES wicketkeeper, Shane Dowrich, backs his bowlers to give them a shot at victory following an inspirational comeback on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong. With a first innings lead of 78, Bangladesh were pegged back to 55 for five at the close of play with Jomel Warrican (two for 22) and Roston Chase (two for 16) doing the damage. Dowrich believes they’re well on their way to restricting the hosts to under 200, which will give them a sight at victory.

“We will be going hard at them. We have the bowlers to keep them under 200,” Dowrich said to ESPN, noting the Bangladeshis do have an overall lead of 133 with five wickets in hand. Mushfiqur Rahim (11 not out), and Mehidy Hasan will be their remaining opposition before Mahmudullah, the last recognised batsman, comes in at number eight. In the first innings, Shannon Gabriel and Warrican got four apiece and Dowrich says he thinks they can repeat under pressure.

“The pitch is taking well to pace and we have Kemar Roach as well, but our spinners like (Devendra) Bishoo can also exploit it, so we will be coming out very aggressively... I would say anything under (a lead of) 200 is possible. Anything over 200 might be difficult. I think the game is pretty even right now. Bangladesh already have a lead, and a lead on the board is always a challenge. But I think once we go hard in the morning and get those wickets as early as possible and bat well in the second innings, we could also come out winning,” he said.

Dowrich knows how tough the batting conditions are as he cracked an unbeaten 63, along with Shimron Hetmyer (63) to take the Windies from 88 for five to 180, as they eventually made 246 in response to Bangladesh’s 324 on the opening day. Their 92-run partnership saved the innings with Hetmyer proving very attacking, making his 63 off just 47 deliveries.

“I think we complement each other. Obviously, he is a very aggressive player, I told him to be selective and play his shots and that allowed me to just rotate the strike and get him on. And once I got in it was easier for me to score. I think everyone has their style of playing on different wickets but it worked for us today,” Dowrich concluded.