BAN vs WI

And that brings the curtain down on a Test series nobody saw coming. Two matches, one unlikely winner, and a reminder that cricket rarely reads the script handed to it.

Bangladesh head to South Africa next, where an entirely different set of questions awaits a batting order already found wanting here. West Indies go home with belief, a trophy, and the sense that something is being rebuilt.

From Pradeep and Dwijesh Reddy, and on behalf of the entire Sportskeeda crew who've brought you every ball across these two Tests, thank you for your wonderful company. Do stay with Sportskeeda for all the reactions and analysis from Sylhet. Goodbye for now, folks, and take care!

Roston Chase collects the winner’s trophy, and what a moment this is for West Indies cricket! Straight over to his teammates he goes, handing it into the arms of the squad, and the celebrations erupt. Arms around shoulders, grins all round, cameras clicking away — a team nobody gave a chance to, soaking in a series triumph in conditions that were supposed to defeat them. Magnificent scenes in Sylhet.

Roston Chase (West Indies captain): [On winning the series] "We came here with the ambition of winning both Test matches, and although we didn't manage that, I'm still happy that we won the series 1-0. Kudos to the guys for their efforts." [On the timing of the declaration and the final day's play] "I thought we had given ourselves enough time, but the two batters today stood up and played really well. They made things look quite easy. We expected the pitch to deteriorate a bit more after using the heavy roller this morning, but that didn't happen as much as we anticipated. I still felt we had enough time. Perhaps we let the lead get away from us a little when we were batting in the latter stages of the previous innings. Had we built a bigger lead, we wouldn't have needed to bat for so long." [On the team's progress over the year] "I thought we had a good year. We had our meetings, put our plans in place and always believed that the first year would be challenging. But we expected to dominate in the second year, and that's what we managed to do. We played three series, didn't lose any, and won two of them. We also won against Pakistan. I think that's a fantastic achievement for the team, and we're moving in the right direction." [On Kevin Wickham's impressive Test debut] "He's an exciting player. I first had the privilege of watching him play for the club in 2024, and I immediately identified him as an outstanding talent. This year, I played alongside him during the first-class season and saw him score three consecutive hundreds. So it's not as though he performed well in just one season; he backed it up again. He's had a good year, and it's great to see him finally get his opportunity and grab it with both hands. When someone misses out through illness, it's always encouraging to see another player step up and deliver. That's the kind of depth and honesty I want in this team as captain." [On Jomel Warrican's Player of the Series performance] "He's had a brilliant series, and congratulations to him. I thought he led the bowling attack exceptionally well. We know these conditions are more spin-friendly, and we asked him to lead from the front. He bowled some marathon spells and never seemed to want to put the ball down, which says a lot about his fitness and commitment. "I also want to congratulate him because he didn't get many opportunities last year when we played in conditions that favoured pace bowling. For him to finally get his chance, remain hungry and show the fight he has throughout these last three series has been outstanding. Well done to him." [On the long break before the next Test assignment] "We don't have any more Test matches for the next six or seven months, so it's a bit sad that we have to wait so long to get back to cricket. I'm sure you guys will miss it too, but this break will give us some time to work on the injuries we've been carrying. Hopefully, when we return, we can maintain the same momentum."

Jomel Warrican is the Player of the Series (16 wickets)! Here's what he has to say: [On reaching 100 Test wickets] "I'm a strong believer that reaching 100 Test wickets as a spinner is a significant achievement, especially when opportunities for West Indies spinners are limited. I initially targeted Shane Shillingford's tally of 77 wickets, then Suleman Benn's 87. To now have 100 Test wickets to my name is one of the biggest achievements of my career."[On bowling in Indian conditions] "I believe that when conditions are in your favour, you should look to dominate. Whenever I come here, the conditions suit me as a spinner, so I try to make the most of them. I really enjoy bowling in these conditions." [On the key to his success] "It's about consistency in your approach, being patient throughout your spells, watching the batters and assessing the conditions. You have to understand what you're trying to achieve and keep backing yourself to execute it consistently." [On mentoring fellow Barbadian spinner Joshua Bishop] "It's about making the most of the conditions and understanding how to bowl to batters who like to cut or play off the back foot. You need to bring them forward, back your ability, have attacking fields with men in front, and above all, remain patient." [On receiving the Player of the Series award] "Thank you very much. I really appreciate it."

Towhid Hridoy is the Player of the Match for his brilliant knock (242*, 82)! Here's what he has to say: [On learning from his first-innings knock] "Whenever I make a mistake, I try to learn from it. If you look at my first two hours, I was batting in a similar manner. So, I kept thinking about what I needed to change and tried to execute those adjustments." [On his partnership and relationship with Mushfiqur Rahim] "To be very honest, I have followed Mushfiqur from my childhood. He is my idol, and getting the opportunity to bat alongside him was obviously a privilege. I always try to learn from him, and whenever I feel something needs to be discussed in the middle, I ask him for his input." [On adapting to red-ball and white-ball cricket] "I just want to watch the ball and play according to what it demands, whether it's white-ball or red-ball cricket." [On missing out on another century in the second innings] "I just tried my best. Hopefully, it will happen again, thank the almighty."

Najmul Hossain Shanto (Bangladesh captain): "To be honest, given the way we prepared, we should have won this Test match. But we didn't bat well in the first innings, apart from Towhid Hridoy, and I think that cost us the game. 

Overall, it's been a very disappointing series. We've played some good cricket over the last few years, but in this series, we failed to execute our plans across all three departments. Even our energy in the field wasn't good enough. Our batting has also lacked consistency. A few individuals have scored big runs, but we haven't put together big totals as a team. 

We know how we want to play in home conditions and have been planning for that over the last few months. Unfortunately, our spinners didn't execute their plans well. They've been outstanding for Bangladesh over the last 15 to 20 years, but they weren't at their best in this series. The positive was our fast bowling. I'm really impressed with how the pacers performed in these conditions. 

[On Towhid Hridoy's performance] He was outstanding. We know how good he is in white-ball cricket, and the way he bounced back after the first Test was really impressive. We've been looking for someone at No. 5 or 6 who can play these kinds of innings, so I'm happy with his performance and hope he continues in the same way. 

[On the scheduled Test series against SA, starting this Sunday] It is difficult, especially with such little time to prepare. But as professional cricketers, we have to adapt to different conditions. Some of our players have experience playing there, and I hope they can adjust quickly. 

I'm really grateful to our fans. If you look back 10 or 15 years, Test cricket wasn't as strong in Bangladesh, but we've made progress in recent years. The supporters have been outstanding, coming to the ground and backing us even when we're losing. I hope they continue to support us, and I can assure them that this team will keep improving."

3:58 PM local time (3:28 PM IST): MATCH IS DRAWN AND WEST INDIES WIN THE SERIES, 1-0!

2nd Innings: Bangladesh 184/4 (59 overs) | West Indies 398/6d

1st Innings: Bangladesh 386 all out (111.5 Overs) | West Indies 356 all out

Match ends in a draw!

Session Summary:

Overs: 11 | Runs: 22 | Wickets: 2 | Session Run Rate: 2

West Indies win 1-0 — and nobody saw this coming

The match ends in a draw at Sylhet, but the series belongs to West Indies, and few results in recent Test cricket have been more unexpected. A side that arrived in Bangladesh with modest expectations leaves having won in Dhaka by eight wickets and held firm here to seal a 1-0 series win on subcontinental soil. For a team that has endured years of difficulty in this format, this is a genuinely significant moment.

The groundwork was laid in the first Test in Dhaka, where West Indies' discipline with the ball and composure under pressure gave them a comfortable eight-wicket victory. They carried that confidence into Sylhet, and it showed from the first morning. Having won the toss and batted, they slumped to 27 for 3 before Amir Jangoo produced a counter-attacking century — unbeaten on 111 at stumps on day one — rescued alongside debutant Kevin Wickham, who announced himself with a composed half-century in his first Test innings. That partnership was the difference between a collapse and a competitive 356.

Bangladesh's reply was where the story turned, and it turned entirely on one man. Hasan Mahmud had done his bit with the ball — a superb 6 for 90, his fifth five-wicket haul and the most by any Bangladesh fast bowler — but the batting crumbled around him. At 181 for 7, the hosts were staring at the follow-on. What followed was one of the great individual rescue acts: Towhid Hridoy, unbeaten on 242, dragged Bangladesh to 374 and a 26-run lead in an innings where nobody else passed fifty. He farmed the strike, protected the tail, and refused to surrender. It was batting of enormous character.

West Indies, though, simply would not be shaken. They batted again, built a position of strength, and set Bangladesh 369 on a fifth-day Sylhet track that was turning sharply. Jomel Warrican was the chief tormentor throughout the series, and he struck early this morning to remove Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto. Realistically, the chase was never on. But Hridoy stood tall once more — a belligerent 82 before being bowled around his legs — and Mushfiqur Rahim batted with real resolve until a ripper from Shamar Joseph ended him. With the light fading, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Litton Das saw off the remaining overs before the umpires called it off.

So where does this leave Bangladesh? Deeply disappointed, and with plenty to think about. Hridoy has been the revelation of this series and Hasan Mahmud was excellent with the ball, but the top order failed repeatedly and the spinners — in home conditions, on surfaces made for them — were comprehensively outbowled by Warrican and Roston Chase. The decision to play three spinners while lacking a third specialist quick was exposed more than once. Shadman Islam's ankle injury didn't help, but it doesn't explain away a batting unit that kept leaving one man to do the work of six.

And the road ahead gets no easier. South Africa await, and Test cricket in those conditions is an entirely different examination — pace, bounce, and an attack that will test every technical flaw this series exposed. Bangladesh will need their top order to find some backbone, their quicks to sustain pressure across long spells, and somebody to take the weight off Hridoy's shoulders. For West Indies, meanwhile, this is a result to build on. Jangoo, Wickham, Warrican, Shamar Joseph — there is the core of something here. They came to Bangladesh as underdogs and leave with a series win. That tells its own story.

3:56 PM local time (3:26 PM IST): The two umpires are back in the middle for the inspection. Umpires take the readings from both the ends. Seems like, that's it, the umpires walk towards the West Indies dug out and they all shake hands. 2nd Test ends in a Draw!

3:42 PM local time (3:12 PM IST): The umpires have conferred and decided to take the players off the field due to the fading light. Play has been halted for now, but the umpires are yet to call stumps.

The light is not going to get any better, the umpire almost every two deliveries it looking to see if it's safe to play. With spinners operating from both ends, this game is already going through the motion.

58.3 Roston Chase to Litton Das, a full ball bowled on middle and off, from around the wicket, Litton nudges it square of the wicket but for no runs