A purposeful, undefeated fifth Test hundred from Chris Gayle helped bring some respectability back to the West Indies batting on the third day of the opening cricket Test against Bangladesh on Sunday.
The left-hander smote 14 boundaries in an unbeaten 110 from 246 balls in just over six hours to be the cornerstone of the West Indies' 262 for five, replying to Bangladesh's first innings total of 416, when bad light stopped play 13 overs early.
Gayle rode a wave of fortune on the way to his landmark, being dropped on 24, 28 and 47 to underline the poor catching of the visitors.
Bangladesh dropped six catches all told and missed a golden opportunity to tighten the noose around the necks of the West Indies.
Gayle batted circumspectly through his side's innings and shared in three half-century partnerships with vice captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, captain Brian Lara and right-hander Dwayne Smith.
Mohammad Rafique with two wickets for 81 runs from 30 overs was the most successful Bangladesh bowler.
Gayle and Sarwan helped West Indies recover from the early setback of losing left-handed opener Devon Smith run out for zero backing up too far in the second over of the innings.
After Smith failed to beat Faisal Hossain's throw, Gayle and Sarwan batted with aplomb to take West Indies to 68 for one at lunch.
RSS