West Indies went 2–0 up in the T20I series in Bangladesh with a gritty 14-run win in Chattogram, defending a sub-par 149/9 to close out Bangladesh at 135/8. That follows the 16-run win in the opener, so the series is already sealed with one to play.
The platform came from twin fifties by Alick Athanaze and skipper Shai Hope, who surged to milestones inside 11 overs before a Mustafizur Rahman burst (three wickets in the final over) kept the total in check. Even so, 149 proved enough on the night.
In the chase, Tanzid Hasan’s 46 kept Bangladesh in touch but the Windies’ death bowling held its nerve: Romario Shepherd (3/29) and Jason Holder (2/20) squeezed the penultimate overs, and Akeal Hosein (3/22) closed it out. Final line: WI 149/9 beat BAN 135/8.
It needs to be said that catching was ragged. West Indies put down at least three chances during the chase. It didn’t cost them today, but that catching -- and the batting -- must improve fast if they want clean sweeps and, more importantly, momentum heading into bigger assignments.
