Dhaka, Oct 29 (V7N) – Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam admitted Thursday that the batters failed to capitalise on a strong position against the West Indies in the opening Test, saying the hosts should have built a much bigger first-innings total.

Bangladesh began the day at 213-3 but lost their remaining seven wickets for just 59 runs to be bowled out for 272, squandering an opportunity to put the visitors under pressure at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Shadman, who scored a century in the innings, said the early dismissals on the second morning proved costly, particularly after he and Liton Das had established a promising partnership. "If I could have stayed at the crease a little longer or made my innings bigger, perhaps the scenario would have been different. Maybe that was where we made a mistake," he told reporters after the day's play.

The opener also admitted that Bangladesh's top-order batters needed to convert their starts into substantial scores. According to him, bigger individual contributions could have helped the team reach 450 or even 500. "We should have done better. If our top-order batters could have made 150, 170 or 200, perhaps the team total would have reached 450 or 500," he said.

Shadman, however, refused to blame the Mirpur pitch for the collapse, saying the West Indies bowlers deserved credit while Bangladesh also made mistakes. He said his own approach was to play each delivery on its merit rather than worry excessively about the pitch or the conditions. "The ball comes, and I try to play it. That has always been my plan," he said, adding that batters often face difficulties early in the morning and late in the day in Mirpur.

The century was particularly significant for Shadman, coming after a prolonged period in which he had repeatedly failed to convert promising starts into three-figure scores. He admitted that his conversion rate had been a concern and said he had worked on his fitness and batting technique in recent weeks, consulting former Bangladesh batter Mohammad Ashraful and coach Mohammad Salahuddin. "I was always thinking about why I was getting out after reaching a certain stage. I have worked a lot on this recently," he said.

After bowling out Bangladesh cheaply, West Indies made a fluent start and appeared set to control things. However, experienced spinner Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz stalled their progress, taking three wickets in quick succession as West Indies reached 134-4 at stumps, leaving the game in the balance.

Shadman praised Taijul and Miraz for their bowling, saying they were consistently delivering the ball in the right areas. "They bowled really well to get us back into the game," he said.

Shadman said the team would look to dismiss the remaining West Indies batters quickly on the following morning, stressing that restricting their lead would be crucial. "Whatever lead we can restrict them to, the better it will be for us. If we can understand the conditions early and bowl well tomorrow morning, we will try to bowl them out quickly," he said.

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