A complete turnaround - of fortune, form and result - was completed when Bangladesh beat West Indies by 19 runs to clinch the T20I series, to go along with their ODI series win. They reached the 2-1 margin when umpires called off play after a second rain interruption late on Sunday evening in front of a large Bangladeshi expat crowd in Florida's Lauderhill. Liton Das' rapid 32-ball 61 set up Bangladesh's highest score of the series before Mustafizur Rahman took three key wickets, including that of rampaging Andre Russell, to seal the game.
Russell was Bangladesh's only headache, and it arrived when West Indies needed a further 108 runs in 8.3 overs. His first five scoring shots constituted of four sixes and a four. Three of those were struck over midwicket and the fourth one a very high hit over long-on. He struck Abu Hider for two sixes on either side of Carlos Brathwaite's dismissal in the 17th over but refused Ashley Nurse a single off the final ball to keep the strike.
The tactic backfired when Russell holed out to Ariful Haque, who was inches away from the boundary foam at long off. He had struck six sixes and a four in his 21-ball 47 before the umpires took the players off with rain getting heavier, eventually calling off play 25 minutes later.
Tamim Iqbal's half-century and Shakib Al Hasan's all-round performance highlighted Bangladesh's series-levelling effort at Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday (August 4) as they secured a 12-run victory in the second T20I. A 90-run partnership for the fourth wicket off 50 deliveries between Tamim and Shakib set up Bangladesh's total of 171 for 5. In reply, Windies were restricted to 159 for 9, with Mustafizur Rahman and Nazmul Islam bagging three wickets apiece, while Shakib got two.
Windies suffered an early setback in the chase as Evin Lewis was trapped in front by Mustafizur in the second over and cost his team a review in the process. Having earlier had an expensive outing with the ball, Andre Russell tried to make amends with his positive batting while Andre Fletcher also found the boundaries regularly. Russell struck Mustafizur for a six and a four in the fourth over before top-edging a pull to depart for 17. Marlon Samuels hit the straps straightaway, ending Mustafizur's successful over with a four and a six. However, a casual flick resulted in his downfall, giving Shakib a wicket in his first over.
More trouble was in store for Windies as Denesh Ramdin became the next to depart, out leg-before to Rubel Hossain with Bangladesh using the DRS to good effect. While Windies managed 52 in the powerplay, there was a drought of boundaries for more than five overs before Fletcher sent a short delivery from Nazmul Islam over the long-on fence. Meanwhile, Rovman Powell's first four was off an inside edge off Abu Hider, who had replaced Mehidy Hasan for this game, and his next came off an under edge. But he hung around with Fletcher as the fifth wicket pair went about repairing the innings with a positive half-century stand.
West Indies will go into the second T20I in Fort Lauderdale armed with the confidence that their big hitters and aggressive bowlers are firing in tandem, presenting a challenge even greater for a Bangladesh side that hasn't been able to sustain its success for any measurable period through this tour.
As always, much of Bangladesh's hopes would fall on their four senior batsmen, but there's a lot more that the likes of Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Ariful Haque can bring to the table. Soumya, despite being thrown multiple lifelines, has failed to find a way out his wretched form, while Liton needs to capitalise on impressive starts and push on to producing something more substantial. Ariful is still young at the international level, but expectations from newcomers have never been higher in the Bangladesh set-up.
The bowling load will be shared between Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman, who both are usually required to bowl at critical phases in T20s, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan providing support. Nazmul Islam, who debuted earlier this year, needs to adapt quickly if he is to survive in this spin attack.
91 in 11 overs was a stiff target, a bit unfair on the hosts after they had managed to restrict Bangladesh to 143. But with rain and DLS expected to play a part, cricket has never been party to everyone's merry. However, as Windies went about their business in the chase, overhauling the target in only 9.1 overs, it was a testimony to their brilliance in the shortest format. The veteran duo of Marlon Samuels and Andre Russell backed up the good work of the young pacer Kesrick Williams, who was their star with the ball, to help the hosts to a seven-wicket win and a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at Warner Park.
Put into bat, Bangladesh continued to display their recklessness - ill-timed aggression, a feature that refuses to fade from their game, being their nemesis yet again. And it started from the first ball itself when Tamim Iqbal decided to give a pre-meditated charge to Ashley Nurse only to be undone by his fast delivery. The batsman missed, the 'keeper stumped and paved way for an early collapse. Soumya Sarkar too was bowled in the opening over and gave Windies the perfect platform to start off the series.
ST JOHN’S, ANTIGUA – WINDIES will now turn its attention to the three T20Is remaining on the Bangladesh tour of the region with one match in St Kitts and the other two in Florida, starting tomorrow at 8pm.
The Selection Panel has assembled a 13-man squad to face the visitors. The squad reads:
Carlos Brathwaite – Captain Samuel Badree Sheldon Cottrell Andre Fletcher Evin Lewis Ashley Nurse Keemo Paul Rovman Powell Denesh Ramdin Andre Russell Marlon Samuels Chadwick Walton Kesrick Williams
Chairman of Selectors, Courtney Browne, says “we have rested Chris Gayle and have added left-arm pacer, Sheldon Cottrell for variety to the bowling attack. The team reflects the last squad that performed well in the charity match in the UK.”
Going forward, the panel thinks the talent pool for the T20 version is widening and acknowledges “the strong performances of the young players in the WINDIES B team during the T20 series in the Canada's Global T20 League and this augurs well for our T20 game.”
Head Coach, Stuart Law has not hidden his disappointment in the 1-2 loss in the ODI but is “optimistic that the players are beginning to understand the direction they need to go. The players are gradually working harder and we expect the results to turn in our favor.”
