West Indies batsman Kyle Mayers had a dream Test debut as he created history by playing a record-shattering knock of unbeaten 210 on Day 4 of the first Test to guide his team to record a 3-wicket win over Bangladesh in Chattogram on Sunday (February 7).
The 28-year-old became an overnight hero by hitting a double century on his Test debut, as his record 210 – the highest fourth-innings score in Asia, and his record 216-run partnership with Nkrumah Bonner helped West Indies to chase down the fifth-highest total in the history of Test cricket – 395 to win the first Test by 3 wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series in Bangladesh.
With his record knock, Mayers became the first player to score a double ton on the fourth innings of a Test match on debut. Following his innings being one of the greatest batting performances ever on Test debut, the left-hander said he will try to learn as much from his Chattogram knock.
However, the Barbados-born cricketer has insisted that he “don’t want to be a one-hit-wonder” as he determined to be successful and consistent for the entire duration of his career.
Mayers said: “I will try to learn as much from this innings and take it to the next game where I start from zero. I don’t want to be a one-hit-wonder. I want to be successful and consistent for the duration of my career.”
He also revealed a very strong letter sent by the former captain Clive Lloyd.
Mayers further added, “He just let us know that representing West Indies is a lot. He said don’t go to Bangladesh thinking you are a second-string team. Give your all, put up a fight, and make sure you represent yourself and your family. It was a very strong letter.”
He also said the West Indies were confident to chase the huge target against Bangladesh. He added, “To be honest, the spirit in the dressing room was always positive from the day we came out to bowl in the second innings after Shannon Gabriel gave us that inspirational spell.”
Mayers signed off by saying, “After we got back inside the dressing room after taking a couple of wickets in the evening, the coach and captain said that the game is wide open and up for grabs. We always had the belief that we could do well.”
(With AFP Inputs)
