Towhid Hridoy struck an unbeaten double century in only his third Test appearance in Bangladesh's remarkable fightback against the West Indies. The young batter rescued the hosts from a difficult position on Day 3 of the second and final Test in Sylhet on Saturday and kept them in contention.

Bangladesh resumed the third day under pressure after finishing Day 2 at 88/3, still trailing by 268 runs. Shamar Joseph and Jayden Seales had troubled the top order with the new ball. The hosts faced another challenge with opener Shadman Islam unavailable after suffering an injury while fielding.

Towhid Hridoy Hits Maiden Test Double Century to Script History Against West Indies

Towhid Hridoy reached his maiden Test double century off 304 balls on the first delivery of the 100th over. He pushed a full delivery from Jomel Warrican towards long-on for a single, with Taskin Ahmed at the other end.

The 24-year-old removed his helmet and roared in celebration as the Bangladesh dressing room applauded his achievement.

Hridoy became only the fourth Bangladesh batter to score a Test double century, joining Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. Mushfiqur has achieved the feat three times, while Tamim and Shakib have one double century each.

He also became the 46th player in Test cricket to convert his maiden Test hundred into a double century. His score is the highest by a Bangladesh batter against the West Indies and at the Sylhet venue, surpassing Mahmudul Hasan's previous record of 171.

As he breached the 219-run mark, he became the highest individual run-scorer for Bangladesh in the history of Test cricket.

Towhid Hridoy and Taijul Islam Stitch 117-Run Stand to Rescue Bangladesh

Bangladesh were struggling at 184/7, effectively eight wickets down because of Shadman's absence, before Taijul Islam joined Towhid Hridoy at the crease. The pair added 117 runs for the eighth wicket, Bangladesh's second-highest partnership for that wicket in Tests.

Their stand took the hosts to 318/8 at tea, reducing the first-innings deficit to 38 runs. Bangladesh scored 113 runs for the loss of just one wicket in the second session, despite the West Indies taking the second new ball.

Taijul held one end for nearly two hours and 20 minutes, scoring 22 off 56 deliveries. Warrican eventually ended the partnership by stumping him after he failed to get his foot back behind the crease. Bangladesh were 301/8 at that stage.

Earlier, Hridoy had resumed the day on 29 and brought up his maiden Test fifty with a boundary off Bishop. He then attacked Roston Chase, hitting a six and two fours to move into the nineties.

A boundary off Seales took Hridoy to 99 before he completed his maiden Test hundred with a single off Chase just before lunch. He scored 71 runs off 91 balls in the morning session. Hridoy later reached 150 with a four off Shamar Joseph.

Jomel Warrican Claims Three Wickets as Bangladesh Lose Four in Morning Session

On the third day, Warrican dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das to put Bangladesh under pressure. Mushfiqur, who resumed on 19, struck boundaries against Warrican and Shamar Joseph before falling for 34.

Litton also started positively, hitting boundaries off Bishop and Warrican. However, he departed for eight after chipping a delivery from Warrican straight to King at cover. Mehidy Hasan Miraz then added 41 runs with Hridoy before falling for 16.

Warrican claimed his third wicket when Hasan Mahmud was trapped leg-before for one following a successful DRS review. Bangladesh had added 117 runs at a scoring rate of more than four an over during the morning session but lost four wickets.

The hosts had also lost Naeem Hasan for five, while Tanzid Hasan Tamim and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 16 and 18, respectively, on the second day. Naeem had opened in place of the injured Shadman, while Kevin Wickham took a good catch to dismiss Tanzid.