Bangladesh need 369 to level the series after West Indies declare in Sylhet

West Indies declared on 398 for 6 on the final morning in Sylhet and set Bangladesh 369 to win, a target larger than any the hosts have chased down in a Test

Kavem Hodge, unbeaten on 140 overnight, added two runs before falling in the second over of the day, and West Indies batted on for a little over eight more overs before closing their second innings at 398 for 6.

That left Bangladesh, already 1-0 down in the two-match series, needing 369 on the fifth day to level it. Their highest successful chase in Test cricket is 215, made against these same opponents in 2009.

By the 30th over of the reply the hosts were 95 for 2 from 29.5 overs, with Towhid Hridoy and Mushfiqur Rahim together and 274 still required.

Hodge falls and the declaration follows

Nayeem Hasan ended Hodge's innings on 142, made from 194 balls with 17 fours and a six, with a short ball down the leg side that the batter could not keep down. Hasan Mahmud held the catch at fine leg.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz then trapped Justin Greaves lbw for 9 to leave West Indies 369 for 5, and Shamar Joseph was caught by Tanzid Hasan for 1 to give Nayeem his second wicket of the morning.

The visitors added 53 runs in 10 overs before the declaration came. With their first innings of 356 against Bangladesh's 386, it put them 368 ahead.

Hodge's hundred, his third in Tests, was the innings that pushed the match away from Bangladesh, and Kevin Wickham supported it with 78 on debut, a second half-century in his first Test.

A target beyond anything Bangladesh have chased

Bangladesh have never chased more than 200 to win a Test other than that 215 in 2009, and this fourth innings is being played on a surface now in its fifth day.

The pitch has not misbehaved so far. Bangladesh batted 111.5 overs on it in the first innings, and West Indies 93 overs in the second.

"Look, it will depend on how we start. The wicket still looks good to us," said Hridoy, whose unbeaten 242 in the first innings is a Bangladesh Test record.

Tanzid and Shanto fall before lunch

Tanzid Hasan made 21 from 32 balls with four fours before he was caught by Joshua Da Silva off Jomel Warrican in the eighth over.

Najmul Hossain Shanto followed for 14, and Bangladesh went to lunch on 49 for 2, still 320 short of the target.

Hridoy and Mushfiqur came through the interval without further damage and carried the chase past 90 in the afternoon.

Simmons asks for the first hour

Head coach Phil Simmons said before play that Bangladesh would judge their approach on how the opening hour went rather than commit to the chase at the start.

"It's a Test match, you don't try to lose Test matches. You try to save them [first]," he said.

Saving it would still cost Bangladesh the series, because there is no third Test to come.

Warrican and a sweep in sight

Warrican took 4 for 104 in Bangladesh's first innings and has 16 wickets across the two Tests, and he is the bowler the hosts must survive longest on a fifth-day pitch.

West Indies won the opening match in Mirpur by eight wickets and are playing for a 2-0 result.

Bangladesh's route back into this one came through Hasan Mahmud's 6 for 90 in the first innings and Hridoy's double hundred, both of which turned a first-innings deficit into a lead of 30.

Scorecard: West Indies 356 and 398 for 6 declared (Kavem Hodge 142, Kevin Wickham 78); Bangladesh 386 (Towhid Hridoy 242 not out) and 95 for 2, needing 274 more to win at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.