Bangladesh and the West Indies will begin their bilateral series with a two-match Test series on Thursday, June 16. The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua will host the first match of the Bangladesh vs West Indies Series 2022. Both sides will be without some important players due to injury and personal reasons, requiring other key members to shoulder more responsibility during the Test series. Bangladesh's problem has become even worse since Yasir Ali was forced to withdraw due to injury. The first match preview of BAN vs WI Series 2022 is discussed in this article.

First Match Preview of the West Indies vs Bangladesh Test Series 2022

Bangladesh’s second-most success in the Test format has come against the West Indies side. Bangladesh have a record of winning both home and away series against the West Indies. There is a lot of anticipation in this two-match series to see whether the team Tigers can beat the Caribbean side in a bilateral contest for the second time away from home. The first match will start at 8 p.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time) on Thursday.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s main problem at the moment is batting. For personal reasons, Mushfiqur Rahim is not part of the series. Yasir Ali was supposed to replace Mushfiqur for the number 4 spot, but he got injured while playing the warm-up match. Two important batters in the middle order won’t play in the series.

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The team management has to find the best possible option from the squad to replace Yasir Ali. Nurul Hasan Sohan could be the best replacement for Yasir. Nurul had a relatively good outing in the practice match and he is currently the best wicket-keeper in the country. Bangladesh need Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das to take extra responsibility in batting.

In bowling, Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam will have to shoulder the bulk of the responsibilities. The West Indian batting line-ups will be under a lot of strain if both of them find their rhythm during the BAN vs WI Series 2022. Besides, if the pace bowling unit finds good assistance from the Caribbean wickets, that will aid Bangladesh to put pressure on the West Indies side.

Predicted playing XI

Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Nurul Hasan Sohan (Wicket-Keeper), Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed.

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West Indies

West Indies Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and wicket-keeper batter Joshua da Silva had brilliant outings in the England series. They will be their main players in the batting line-up as the other batters struggled in the last series. The middle-orders need to show their true potential against Bangladesh's bowling line-up.

In bowling, Kemar Roach’s participation in the first Test is subject to his fitness, while Jason Holder will miss the entire Bangladesh series. So, the other bowlers need to step up and, thankfully, some of them had fantastic performances against England. Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, and Alzarri Joseph can all be devastating against Bangladesh batting line-ups.

Predicted Playing XI 

Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), John Campbell, Nkruma Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Joshua Da Silva (Wicket-Keeper), Devon Thomas, Raymon Reifer, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales.

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Pitch Report and Weather Forecast

The first Test may be cloudy for most of the days, but there is no chance of rain in Antigua in the next five days, according to the forecast. The wicket may aid fast bowlers, but the toss-winning captain should bat first to put up a huge first-inning total on this pitch.

Bottom Line

The opening Test match of the BAN vs WI series 2022 is vital in determining the contest's final outcome. The winner of the first match in the series will have an advantage going into the second match. Therefore, both teams will need a flawless game plan and execution on the field. Bangladesh's main challenge will be to form partnerships in the middle, and for that, senior members will need to be more cautious in their approach. On the other hand, the Caribbean team is full of confidence after recently winning a series against England at home.

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