Sylhet, Nov 8 (IANS) Kavem Hodge struck an unbeaten 140, his third Test hundred, as the West Indies reached 345/3 at stumps and extended their lead to 315 runs on day four of the second and final Test against Bangladesh here on Sunday.

Debutant Kevin Wickham made 78, his second half-century of the match, and opener Brandon King scored 61, as the visitors lost only three wickets in the day before bad light forced an early close of the day’s play.

Having won the opening Test in Mirpur, West Indies are now firmly placed to complete a 2-0 series sweep, leaving Bangladesh with a massive task to achieve on day five. Resuming from 7/0, West Indies wiped off the deficit as King and Joshua Da Silva put on a stand of 85 runs for the opening wicket.

But Taijul Islam broke the partnership by trapping Da Silva lbw for 36. King reached his half-century off 62 balls and earned a reprieve on 56, when Towhid Hridoy put him down. King made 61 off 84 balls with 11 boundaries, including a six, before Mehidy Hasan Miraz found his outside edge, and Najmul Hossain Shanto took a sharp catch at slip.

Hodge showed his intent early on by hitting Taijul for a six, and along with Wickham shared an association of 131 runs. Bangladesh’s spinners couldn’t trouble them and to add more to their misery, the sloppy fielding also let them down.

Wickham soon brought up his second fifty of the match and he became the first West Indies batter in 48 years to score a half-century in each innings of his Test debut.

Hodge, who went past 1,000 Test runs during his knock, completed his century after the tea break. But Wickham’s stay ended on 78 when he offered a leading edge and Taijul completed the catch in his follow-through to end the third-wicket stand of 165 runs.

Amir Jangoo, who scored a century in the first innings, gave Hodge steady support by adding 61 runs in an unbroken stand. The umpires checked the light meter and took the players off, following which stumps were called on day four.

West Indies will look to get a win on the final day, while Bangladesh will need a strong fightback to keep their hopes alive of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final, to be played at The Oval in June 2027.

Brief scores: West Indies 356 & 345/3 in 83 overs (Kavem Hodge 140 not out, Kevin Wickham 78; Taijul Islam 2-118, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 1-58) lead Bangladesh 386 in 111.5 overs by 315 runs

--IANS

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