History was made in Chittagong. Recent history in Test Cricket held true.

Bangladesh won their first ever Test against West Indies on home soil, on the back of a strong first innings effort, where they took a crucial lead not far off the margin of the result. The toss proved critical, and Mirpur will likely prove the same, with both sides struggling in recent times to compete in matches where they lose the toss.

Can Bangladesh pick up their first Test series win since 2014, or will the Windies bounce back to level the series?

The Chittagong pitch suited Bangladesh perfectly. Their spin attack proved too much for the Windies batsmen, who were victim of nerves against spin, which saw top order collapses in both innings. The return of Shakib Al Hasan was a significant boost, combining beautifully with Taijul Islam and the two off spinners to make life difficult for the Windies’ batsmen. Will Bangladesh stave off their own regular batting collapses on the way to a 2-0 series win?

West Indies had never lost a Test in Bangladesh before in Chittagong, and will rue loose bowling in the first half of day one. Bangladesh plundered their way through the first half thanks to Mominul Haque’s fine century, and through Shannon Gabriel, who won’t be available for this Test, the Windies fought back. It proved too little, too late, so the Windies have to cut down the number of poor moments throughout the Test in their quest to avoid becoming the first ever side other than Zimbabwe to lose a Test series in Bangladesh.

Four of Bangladesh’s top five reached at least 20 in the first innings at Chittagong, with Mominul Haque scoring his sixth century in eight Tests at the venue. Bangladesh’s start on day one was a welcome change from their regular top order collapses in recent times, but the challenge will be to maintain this consistently in Test cricket. Bangladesh, albeit on a difficult track, gave the Windies a sniff via a first innings collapse and second innings effort that contained questionable shot selections. Can Mominul fire again, this time with more input from the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim (if selected, as he is in doubt with a finger problem)?

However, it is with the ball where Bangladesh’s best chance lies. Bangladesh’s four specialist spinners shared all 20 wickets in Chittagong, with Taijul Islam and Nayeem Hasan enjoying five wicket hauls. Against a Windies batting line up comprehensively outplayed in their last three Tests across India and Bangladesh, an opportunity awaits for the Bangladesh bowlers to keep the pressure on.

No Jason Holder and no Shannon Gabriel in this Test represents a huge challenge for the West Indies. The absence of these two places significant onus on the top six, who were largely blown away in Chittagong, which included being reduced to 11/4 in the second dig. Of utmost importance to the tourists is not getting out to straight balls, which was the case at times in the 1st Test, thanks to a fear of the sharply turning ball. Kraigg Brathwaite’s lack of runs needs to be addressed, to help hold the innings together for his side, to pave the way for the likes of Shemron Hetmyer, Sunil Ambris and Shane Dowrich to continue on from their promising 1st Test efforts.

But, the batting doesn’t represent the only challenge for the Windies in Mirpur. The absence of two key bowlers leaves a huge hole that needs to be filled by disciplined, patient bowling. The Bangladeshis are known to display a lack of patience at times, and it is up to the Windies bowlers to test it. Devendra Bishoo and Jomel Worrican grew into the game at Chittagong, and will be critical to whether the Windies level the series. Also, what impact can Kemar Roach have after an expensive outing last week?

Mirpur tracks have taken significant turn in Tests in the last couple of years, so expect Bangladesh to go in with just the one seamer again. Imrul Kayes is out with injury, which leaves Bangladesh in a bit of a tricky situation. Soumya Sarkar needs to step up after twin failures in Chittagong, and is set to be partnered by 23-year old Shadman Islam, who does have a fine FC record. Also, Mushfiqur Rahim has picked up a finger injury in the lead up to the test, and is in doubt. Liton Das is on standby.

Bangladesh: 1. Shadman Islam, 2. Soumya Sarkar, 3. Mominul Haque, 4. Mohammad Mithun, 5. Shakib Al Hasan (c), 6. Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7. Mahmudullah, 8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9. Nayeem Islam, 10. Taijul Islam, 11. Mustafizur Rahman

For the Windies, Shannon Gabriel is out after picking up a suspension for making contact with Imrul Kayes. Shermon Lewis or Keemo Paul could replace him.

West Indies: 1. Kraigg Brathwaite (c), 2. Kieran Powell, 3. Shai Hope, 4. Sunil Ambris, 5. Roston Chase, 6. Shimron Hetmyer, 7. Shane Dowrich (wk), 8. Jomel Worrican, 9. Keemo Paul/Shermon Lewis, 10. Kemar Roach, 11. Devendra Bishoo

Spin to win. Below is my updated Dream11 team with a few pointers.

• Shadman Islam has a fine first class record of 3,023 runs at 46.50. His strike rate of 45 suggests he is a patient player, too.

• Shimron Hetmyer, despite throwing his second innings wicket away badly, is a threat to Bangladesh. Mominul Haque has two centuries in his last two Tests.

• All four Bangladesh spinners make my side, with the in-form Taijul (25 wickets in his last three games) my captain.

• Both specialist West Indies spinners make my side. Plenty of turn expected!

• Bangladesh’s win at Chittagong was their first ever Test win against West Indies at home.

• Taijul Islam needs six wickets to become the third Bangladeshi to take 100 Test wickets.

• Shakib Al Hasan became the first Bangladeshi to take 200 Test wickets. Only one other bowler, Mohammad Rafique, has reached 100. In the process, he became the quickest to the 3000 runs-200 wickets double in Tests.

• West Indies have lost their last three Tests.

• Mushfiqur needs eight runs to become the second Bangladeshi after Tamim Iqbal to reach 4,000 runs.

• Mominul Haque has scored as many centuries as Virat Kohli in 2018 (4). No other player has three.

• Nayeem Hasan became the youngest ever Test cricketer to take a five-wicket haul.

Again, the toss will prove crucial to the result.

Like the first Test, my prediction will be based on which side is likelier to do well if they need to bat second. Bangladesh at home look too good for West Indies, and it could prove to be the case again.

Bangladesh to win the series 2-0.

Thanks for reading!