Bangladesh had a fruitful outing with the bat in hand after winning the toss. Soumya Sarkar had a fabulous outing as he scored 91 runs in 86 balls and hit 7 fours and 4 sixes. Soumya Sarkar, along with Saif Hassan, did the bulk of the scoring. Bangladesh posted a formidable score of 296-8, West Indies though clawed their way back in the match at the second half way of the match.
Soumya Sarkar & Saif Hassan take Bangladesh to a flyer
The first few overs were dominated by the Bangladesh openers, Saif Hassan and Soumya Sarkar, who took advantage of the restrictions on field placements in the powerplay to give the innings a solid start. By the end of the first 10 overs, they had reached 74 without the loss of a wicket, and it was clear they were intent on scoring as many runs as possible on a pitch that was offering some friendly assistance to spin, but with sufficient run scoring avenues available.
The worthiness of the start could be recognized in the openers’ nature to rotate the strike and punish the wayward deliveries from the West Indies bowlers who had not managed to contain the runs scored in the early phase of the innings. The West Indies bowling attack, specifically Alick Athanaze and Akeal Hosein, both spinners, bowled with patience but still allowed too many runs, without being as penetrating in the first phase.
Soumya Sarkar & Saif Hassan continue batting brilliance
During the middle overs, Bangladesh continued to construct their innings with two half-century partnerships. Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hassan both reached fifties, consolidating the innings after their initial blitz. They kept the run-rate at around 5-6 runs per over, with the batsmen concentrating on rotation of strike and only punishing the loose balls.
The Windies bowlers exerted more pressure with their disciplined lines and lengths, especially through their spin trio, reducing boundaries and dot ball pressure. At the half way mark, Bangladesh was in a dominant position as their score was 176-0 as Said Hassan was on 80 runs in 70 balls whereas Soumya Sarkar’s score was 91 runs in 80 balls
Fightback from West Indies
The latter middle overs became a battleground highlighted by more intense spin bowling from the West Indies, who made a drastic comeback in the match & made Bangladesh’s batsmen found scoring difficult during this phase on the turning pitch.
Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy played cautiously, but with some notable boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking. The batsmen faced persistent dot balls and tight bowling, restricting Bangladesh’s scoring rate to under 6 runs per over. Towhid Hridoy was dimissed on 28 runs in 44 balls as all of his hard work went in vain. At the end of 40 overs, Bangladesh’s score was 231-3
West Indies pull the things back
In the last 10 overs of their innings, Bangladesh attempted to get some valuable runs to slightly add to the total and look to push past 280 runs, hoping to set a challenging target. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and some of the lower order hitters provided key contributions for the innings and played under urgency and intent.
The captain Mehidy Hasan had positive intent with his 17 runs off 17 balls to share in the action and kept Bangladesh moving. Nurul Hasan’s 16 runs innings was a key contribution with his intent to push Bangladesh’s total in death overs.
Although the West Indies bowlers, especially Akeal Hosein and Justin Greaves, bowled tight lines and took wickets to apply pressure, Bangladesh still reached a formidable total of 296/8 from 50 overs. The total was still considered to be competitive given the pitch conditions that were continuing to offer assistance to spin and also based on the elevations during the series.
Who’s winning, Bangladesh or West Indies
For the first time in this series, 296 runs have been scored. Now it remains to be seen whether the West Indies team will be able to chase the mountain of 297 runs or not. Bangladesh looks red hot favorite to win the match as West Indies’ batting is quite centric to Shai Hope as he not only has to play a match winning knock but hold the innings fully. Bangladesh win is on cards we can say unless West Indies play out of skin.
Also Read: BAN vs WI: 3 Reasons For Bangladesh’s Heart-Breaking Defeat In 2nd ODI