Record stand puts hosts in party mode for milestone Test
Windies openers set tone in Test 500
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500th Test celebration: 10 epic West Indies v Australia Tests
Debutant Leon Johnson and Kraigg Brathwaite got the West Indies' 500th Test match off to the perfect start, a record opening partnership against Bangladesh setting them up for a strong position on the opening day of the second and final Test in St Lucia.
With Chris Gayle out, Johnson - who was presented with his cap by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd - hit a composed 66 and Brathwaite contributed 63 in a stand of 143 as the West Indies reached 3-246 by sumps at the Beausejour Stadium.
The opening stand eclipsed the previous record established by Gayle and fellow-Jamaican Wavell Hinds in Dhaka in 2002.
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Darren Bravo (44 not out) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (34 not out) were the unbeaten batsmen who took the Windies to stumps.
Bravo and Kirk Edwards had to rebuild for the hosts after both openers fell in quick succession and Bangladeshis were unlucky not to have added a third just before the tea interval when Taijul Islam floored a diving effort at backward-point off Shafiul Islam.
It was Shafiul who had made the breakthrough as Brathwaite essayed a shot that was completely out of character, chasing a very wide delivery and succeeding only in slicing a catch to Taijul in the same position of backward point.
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Taijul then struck almost immediately with Johnson being judged leg-before as he prodded half-forward.
The 27-year-old left-hander deliberated too long before requesting a television review of the decision and was left to regret his tardiness with replays suggesting that the delivery would have spun past leg stump.
Johnson had displayed a much more positive intent in the afternoon period following a nervy first morning of Test cricket.
Brathwaite, fresh from a patient double-century in the first Test in St Vincent a week earlier, also stepped up the pace.
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After crawling to 61 in the first two hours of the day, the pair accelerated without taking too many risks immediately after lunch with the inexperience and general ineffectiveness of the Bangladeshi bowling exposed once again.
Given first use of a pitch offering considerably more assistance to the faster bowlers than was evident at any stage of the first Test, Bangladesh's trio Al-Amin Hossain, Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam wasted the opportunity to make early inroads in a relatively inexperienced batting line-up.
All three sprayed deliveries repeatedly down the leg side and hardly beat the bat.