The ‘Bangla Tigers’ won their first T20I in West Indies in 15 years as Mahedi Hasan’s 4-fer triggered a dramatic batting collapse of West Indies in the run chase. The tourists took the first T20I at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, by seven runs despite an aggressive 60 from Rovman Powell off 35 balls going in vain. Mahedi Hasan created a new record with the best bowling figures by a visiting spinner against the West Indies, overtaking Pakistan’s Shadab Khan four years ago in Port of Spain, who had taken 4/14 from seven years back.
In a nail biting contest, Bangladesh won by seven runs against the West Indies in the first T20I in St. Vincent. Mahedi Hasan picked up four wickets for 13 as he tore through the West Indies top-order before Rovman Powell led from the front with a fighting 60 off 35 balls which went in vain, after the hosts were tottering at 61 for 7 at one stage.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : Batters often find it difficult to play their free-flowing strokes at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent. While fast bowlers can make early inroads with the new ball, spinners tend to dictate terms in the middle overs of the innings. It is imperative for the batting team to anchor through the difficult phase before going berserk at the death. The average first innings total at the venue in the last five matches has amounted to just 129. The captain winning the toss will likely opt to bat first considering the overall track record.
Toss : West Indies skipper Rovman Powell won the toss and chose to field with 6 batters , 1 all rounder, 2 left arm spinners and fast bowlers to their playing XI. Bangladesh skipper Litton Das batting first also included 3 seamers, 2 spinners and 5 batters in their combination of playing XI.
Soumya Sarkar’s 43 runs and late cameos by Mahedi Hasan , Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain propels Bangladesh to 147 for 6 .
Earlier on, despite Bangladesh beginning their innings with a boundary, Akeal troubled the Bangladesh openers, particularly Tanzid Hasan. The bowler won the mini-battle after Tanzid was castled after missing a pull shot, off a ball not short enough to pull. Skipper Litton followed as he chipped one back to the bowler first ball before a couple of quiet overs ensued.
Electing to bowl first, early pressure saw Akeal Hossein dismissing Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das off consecutive deliveries in the third over. By the end of the powerplay, Roston Chase bowled Afif Hossain out in the sixth over, leaving Bangladesh at 32/3.
The visitors were 32 for 3 after the PowerPlay as Afif Hossain reverse swept Chase straight to third-man. Bangladesh did a fine recovery job with a steely 57-run partnership between Soumya Sarkar and Jaker Ali. They targeted the West Indies’ fifth and sixth bowlers as they notched up 37 runs between the eighth and 11th over.
West Indies too had a great powerplay with the ball when Akeal Hossein struck on consecutive balls. By cleaning up Tanzid Hasan for an 11-ball 6, Hossein became West Indies’ highest wicket-taker during powerplays in home T20Is. He went past Samuel Badree’s 16 wickets in that phase of the innings and also continues to be the leading wicket-taker among spinners in powerplays since his T20I debut in July 2021.
Next ball, Hossein continued Litton Das’ run of poor form from the ODIs, taking his simple return catch. It was Litton’s second duck in a row on this tour after scoring 4 and 2 in the first two ODIs.
Momentum to the visitors was provided when Jaker Ali hit the first six of the innings in the eighth over. Soumya Sarkar accelerated in the 11th over, smashing Gudakesh Motie for two consecutive sixes.
Bangladesh’s batting recovery came via sixes. They struck nine in the innings, the most they have struck against West Indies in T20Is. The sixes, however, started coming from the eighth over. Jaker Ali lofted Chase down the ground before Soumya Sarkar smashed Shepherd over covers. He pasted Gudakesh Motie for two more sixes in the 11th over, followed by Jaker mowing Shepherd over square leg. When Obed McCoy removed Soumya for his 50th T20I wicket, Bangladesh were losing their way with five overs remaining.
Shamim Hossain, playing his first T20I in 12 months, got into the act next. He top edged Alzarri Joseph for his first six, before going straight against McCoy for the same result. Shamim got one more against Joseph in the 18th over, before Mahedi blasted McCoy for a six over extra cover in the final over to nearly take them to 150.
Bangladesh lost Jaker Ali in the 13th over to Romario Shepherd for 27 runs from 27 balls. Soumya Sarkar was dismissed by Obed McCoy in the 15th over for a 32-ball 43, which contained two fours and three sixes. However, Shamim Hossain’s aggressive 27 off just 13 balls, containing three sixes, gave Bangladesh a great boost in the slog overs. He was dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings by McCoy. Mahedi Hasan stayed unbeaten on 26 from 24 balls, and Bangladesh posted 147/6 after their 20 overs.
Jaker then fell to a stunning overhead catch by Powell on the boundary ropes while new batter Mahedi Hasan had a lucky break as Chase dropped a skier off his own bowling. Obed McCoy deceived Sarkar with a slower ball for 43 but it was Shamim Hossain who made the difference for the visitors. He muscled three sixes and carved a boundary in his 13-ball 27 while Mahedi Hasan found the boundary ropes twice himself as Bangladesh ended on 147 for 6.
Mahedi Hasan’s 4-fer stars in Bangladesh victory as Rovman Powell’s fiery fifty goes in vain for the hosts
The hosts got off to the worst possible start in their chase of 148. Taskin Ahmed and Mahedi struck with the first ball of their respective overs, scalping Brandon King and the big-wicket of Nicholas Pooran respectively. Johnson Charles smashed two sixes and a four in a 25-run fourth over as the hosts began to claw their way back into the game.
But Mahedi Hasan dismissed the threatening Charles before the bowler picked up back-to-back wickets in his third over to put the visitors in cruise control. Andre Fletcher nicked behind trying to play a drive away from his body while Roston Chase gloved a reverse sweep to Litton Das. Things got worse as Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hossein too were dismissed cheaply as the hosts tottered at 61 for 7 in 12 overs.
Bangladesh started spectacularly with the ball when Taskin had Brandon King caught at mid-off with his first ball. Six balls later, Mahedi enticed Nicholas Pooran into a charge, and beat him with a straight delivery to have him stumped for 1. Mahedi then had Johnson Charles caught at mid-off after he had struck Tanzim for two sixes in a 25-run over.
Mahedi Hasan struck twice in the seventh over when he had Andre Fletcher, a last-minute replacement in the squad, caught behind before Roston Chase fell inside-edging a reverse sweep. By the time Mahedi Hasan finished his quota of four overs for 4 for 13, Bangladesh were in control of the game until Powell cut loose.
The pendulum slowly began to swing once again, however, as Romario Shepherd and Powell stitched a 67-run stand to bring West Indies back into the game. They scored 50 runs between the 14th and the 16th over as the hosts only needed 20 runs in the last three overs. Another twist in the tale followed as Shepherd holed out to deep mid-wicket. Alzarri Joseph then found a crucial boundary to bring the equation down to 10 off the last over but Hasan Mahmud held his nerve in the last over to clinch a superb win.
It was all going pear-shaped for Bangladesh for about four overs, though. West Indies were 61 for 7 in the 12th over when the captain Powell, who had until then struck a four and a six, was joined by Romario Shepherd to resurrect his side.
The pair combined to take 15 off Rishad Hossain in the 14th over, before Powell launched Taskin Ahmed for three sixes in a 23-run over to reduce the asking rate from over 11 an over to eight an over in the space of 12 balls. Powell carved the first six against Taskin over extra cover, the next one high over point, before finishing the over with a beautiful straight hit.
Tanzim Hasan then went for 12 runs in the 16th over with Powell hitting him for two fours, one of them bringing up his half-century off just 28 balls, to bring the equation to 28 to win from 24 balls. There was no let up from the other end too, as Shepherd slammed Rishad for his first six although he fell in the next over when Taskin had him caught at deep midwicket, for 22 off 17 balls.
West Indies needed just 10 off the last over when pressure came down on Hasan Mahmud, as he composed himself and took the wicket of Powell and Alzarri Joseph to get West Indies all out on 140 with just one ball remaining.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Litton Das the winning Bangladesh skipper said : We have played here before, but I thought it was a good batting wicket. Just backed my bowlers to defend the total. I want my players to play aggressive cricket. They are playing really good cricket at the moment. It has been a long tour, winning today’s game was a boost for everyone. We need to win one more game and we need to play well in order to win it.
Rovman Powell the losing West Indies skipper said : It’s just a matter of assessing a bit earlier. We lost wickets, and lost wickets in clusters today. I am getting consistency, trying to lead from the front. It’s always a struggle for us, we need to keep improving with our death bowling.
Our batters let us down today. Wanted a left-right combination against the leg-spinner. Hopefully Shepherd will get more opportunity with the bat. We will sit down and have honest conversations. We have lost our way in T20 cricket a little bit.
Mahedi Hasan Player of the Match for his all round performances said : We tried to stick to the process. Have bowled in the powerplay before. Enjoyed the wickets. Shamim played a good knock. I tried my best to build a partnership with him.
Bangladesh thwarted Rovman Powell’s stunning effort to power West Indies to an improbable win, after Hasan Mahmud defended nine runs in a heroic last over to seal a seven-run victory in the first T20I at the Arnos Vale Ground.
The capacity crowd were presented with a thrilling contest in West Indies’ first international match in St Vincent in 10 years. While defending 147, Mahedi Hasan’s four-wicket haul reduced West Indies to 38 for 5 before Powell struck four sixes and five fours in his 35-ball 60, but he couldn’t quite get them through to the end after falling in the last over.
After losing three consecutive ODIs, Bangladesh have finally managed to get back to winning ways. They have won the first T20I by 7 runs to go 1-0 up in the series. Rovman Powell played a spectacular knock during the run chase, but Mahedi Hasan had done the damage within the powerplay itself.
As a result of that spell by Mahedi Hasan, West Indies were put in huge trouble and the hosts always had a mountain to climb from that situation. Powell and Shepherd gave them hope, but the Bangladesh pacers held on to their nerves in the closing stages. Hasan Mahmud bowled a fine 20th over as he took a couple of wickets and sealed the fate of the match. Was an entertaining game as the West Indies fans got to finish their weekend on a high.
Mahmud removed Powell and Alzarri Joseph in the final over which started with West Indies needing ten runs to win. Mahmud had Powell caught behind giving the Bangladesh captain Litton Das his fifth dismissal of the game. With eight to win off the final two, Mahmud bowled Joseph for Bangladesh’s first T20I win against West Indies in six years; back home in Bangladesh it was a good way to start the country’s Victory Day too.