Chase says 'We came here to win the series' as West Indies beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets in Dhaka

Dhaka: West Indies beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the Dhaka Test to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Speaking after the win, captain Roston Chase stressed process over celebration and made it clear his side had not come merely to compete but to win the series. "We came here to win the series," Chase said. "This is only the first leg — the job is only half done." That message matters because the Dhaka victory was built not on a batting masterclass but on Bangladesh's second-innings collapse, in which four early wickets fell, and on a below-par first-innings total. The home side finished well short of what it had itself expected. The defining factor was the pitch. Grass was shaved off the Dhaka surface on the first morning, tilting the contest towards spin. West Indies coach Phil Simmons later acknowledged openly that there were no "devils" in the track, but that it carried a degree of bounce he had never previously seen in Dhaka. Simmons described the removal of grass as shocking. That last-minute change reshaped both teams' bowling composition. West Indies left out seamer Kemar Roach for spinner Joshua Bishop, and the call paid off immediately. The hosts, by contrast, could not execute their spin-led plan. The decisive phase was Bangladesh's second innings, where four wickets fell quickly. Simmons said the combined new-ball and seam-spin burst broke the home side's backbone. West Indies were set roughly 170 in the fourth innings, a target Simmons described as "more than manageable" on what he called a good wicket. Chasing it, West Indies deliberately batted "with intent". On a wearing Dhaka surface, sitting back against spin is usually self-defeating; West Indies instead backed their scoring shots rather than simply surviving. It is a template that can be repeated in Sylhet. On the other side, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto took responsibility for the defeat. He said his side could have made 370 instead of 270 in the first innings, and that this difference decided the match. Shanto also admitted the team failed to pick the length and that the bowling was "a bit scattered". Crucially, Shanto did not blame conditions. He said clearly that he knows these conditions well and that the team did not make too many mistakes reading them. The defeat, then, was not an excuse but a genuine performance gap. The one positive in Bangladesh's batting was Nayeem's half-century, which Simmons also acknowledged. That lower-order resistance could matter if the top order fails again. The hosts' biggest concern is the finger injury to Mushfiqur Rahim, sustained during preparations. The absence of a senior middle-order batter directly weakens Bangladesh's batting depth against spin — a squad-structure problem rather than a form issue. The wider context is the ICC World Test Championship 2026-25 cycle. After this defeat, Bangladesh now need four wins and a draw from their remaining five Tests — against West Indies, South Africa and England away. That target is mathematically extremely steep, and their final qualification is effectively considered over. West Indies, by contrast, are focused on closing the cycle strongly. For Chase's side the series carries lower stakes and higher confidence-building value. Simmons was generous in his praise of his pace attack, calling it the decisive factor. Attention now turns to the Sylhet Test, starting on November 5. Moving from Dhaka to Sylhet is not merely a change of venue — the pitch may behave differently, and with it the direction of the series. A grassy or bouncy Sylhet surface would widen West Indies' pace advantage; a traditional turning track could restore Bangladesh's spin fortress. That is why the Sylhet pitch report is the single most valuable pre-match signal right now. West Indies' biggest unresolved question is their batting, whose real test against spin is still pending — a manageable chase in Dhaka does not prove that this line-up is strong against spin. For Bangladesh, the relief is that their bowling problem is technical, not mental. Shanto himself said the bowlers could not hold a length and the bowling was scattered — a fault that can be fixed with practice and a clear plan. The series currently looks finely balanced. Dhaka has given West Indies a marginal edge, but writing off a Bangladesh side with home spin strength on the basis of one defeat would be premature.