Sherfane Rutherford belted an explosive 113 off 80 balls, getting West Indies back into this thrilling chase of 294 in a game where they managed to break an 11-match losing streak against Bangladesh in One Day Internationals. The win presented the hosts with an early advantage in the three-match series. The West Indians recovered from a slow start with maiden ODI century Sherfane Rutherford’s and steady 86 by Shai Hope to successfully complete the highest successful chase at Warner Park in St Kitts.
Sherfane Rutherford’s 113 came from just 80 balls as he hammered seven fours and eight sixes. As per ESPNCricinfo, Sherfane Rutherford has batted eight times in ODIs and breached the 50-run mark in six of them. This was his maiden hundred. Overall, he has raced to 443 runs in the format at a sensational average of 73.83. His strike rate of 111.31 is also mighty impressive.
Sherfane Rutherford was the start of the show, smashing 113 runs in 80 balls as West Indies secured a five-wicket win over Bangladesh with 14 balls remaining. Sherfane Rutherford struck eight sixes and seven boundaries at Basseterre’s Warner Park before he was caught by Nahid Rana off Soumya Sarkar in the 47th over with only seven more runs needed. West Indies finished on 295-5.
Pitch and Toss Report
Pitch Report : The boundary dimensions are quite small. 69m straight down the ground and 67m and 70m square boundaries. It looks a good surface. It’s a nice covering of grass, one or two barren patches are there. It’s very hard, it will bounce a bit, even contest between bat and ball, reckons Samuel Badree and Curtly Ambrose.
Toss : Bangladesh skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz have won the toss and have opted to bat with three fast bowlers and two spinners in the playing XI. West Indies skipper Shai Hope who also wanted to bowl first played with four fast bowlers and one spinner in the playing XI.
Bangladesh’s strong start overshadowed by late surge powered them to 294 for 6 in 50 overs
Earlier, Bangladesh had won the toss and chose to bat first, posting a respectable 294-6 in 50 overs with captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz top scoring with 74 runs in 101 balls. Opener Tanzid Hasan hit a run-a-ball 60 which featured three sixes and six fours.
Bangladesh will have hoped to have made it more difficult given where they were placed at the three-quarter mark of this game. Having opted to bat, they were able to pile on a substantial total, one that was achieved thanks to a strong start from Tanzid Hasan (60 off 60).
Bangladesh’s innings had also revolved around three significant partnerships. They got off to a quick start before Soumya Sarkar fell in the fifth over. Soumya, fresh from becoming the GSL’s Player of the Tournament, struck Alzarri Joseph for consecutive fours before falling caught behind later in the same over. Litton Das followed him shortly afterwards, getting caught behind to Romario Shepherd.
Tanzid Hasan, however had already struck a straight six and three fours. He added 79 runs for the third wicket captain Mehidy, who survived two chances, with Carty dropping him on 1 and 31. Mehidy rode his luck, top scoring with 74. Tanzid looked by far the more confident of the two, hitting two more sixes over long-off and finding boundaries all around the wicket.
Tanzid, however, fell against the run of play in the 24th over when Alzarri Joseph had him caught at point. He made a run-a-ball 60, walking off disappointed at missing out on a bigger score. Mehidy meanwhile continued to rotate the strike with the returning Afif Hossain. The fourth-wicket pair added 54 before Shepherd got Afif caught on the leg-side boundary.
Mehidy eventually made 74 off 101 balls, hitting six fours and a superb whipped six over fine-leg off Jayden Seales. He fell to the same bowler in the 38th over, skying to extra cover where Rutherford took the catch. Mehidy had laid the perfect foundation for Jaker Ali and Mahmudullah, who added 96 runs for the sixth wicket, 84 of which came in the last ten overs. Mahmudullah smashed three sixes on the leg side, and as many fours, in his unbeaten 50 off 44 balls.
Jaker also struck three sixes, one of them off Joseph landing outside the stadium’s premises. He made 48 off 40 balls, falling off the penultimate ball of the innings to Shepherd, who finished with three wickets. Jaker and Mahmudullah struck all their six sixes in the last 6.3 overs of Bangladesh’s innings.
Miraz’s dismissal in the 38th over made Bangladesh look in the backfoot, but experienced Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali led a brilliant late surge. The duo accumulated 96 runs in just 12.3 overs, including six sixes between them. Mahmudullah finished unbeaten on 50 from 44 balls, while Jaker fell for 48 off the penultimate delivery. Despite their efforts, Bangladesh’s total fell short as West Indies clinched a comfortable win with 14 balls to spare.
Mahmudullah was 50 not out off 44 deliveries, and Jaker Ali hit a 40-ball 48, with both hitting three sixes each. Ali was out to fast-medium Romario Shepherd (3-51 in 10 overs) off the penultimate ball of the innings.
Sherfane Rutherford’s Explosive 113 Crushes Bangladesh As West Indies pull off an epic win to go 1-0
West Indies were in trouble for much of the first half of their chase. They lost both Brandon King and Evin Lewis in the first powerplay and couldn’t get going against Bangladesh’s fast-bowling trio. Tanzim Hasan Sakib trapped King lbw for 9 off 17 when he tried to pull one that wasn’t short enough, and Nahid Rana struck Lewis’ back pad in front of the stumps with a 148.9 kph delivery in the next over It was then up to Hope and Keacy Carty to consolidate.
Bangladesh had carried forward the momentum from their strong finish to the first innings with the ball as Tanzim Hasan Sakib trapped Brandon King LBW. Evin Lewis too was pinged on the pads by a pacy delivery from Nahid Rana. Hope was dragged out at 27 for 2 in the ninth over with the chase needing to be re-railed.
Hope shared a 67-run partnership with Keacy Carty in 13.3 overs for the third wicket. But the in-form Carty hit a short ball from Rishad Hossain straight to short mid-wicket to compound West Indies’ woes just when they seemed to have been suspended. They added 67 runs in the following 13.3 overs for the third wicket, with Carty scoring a cautious 21 off 37 balls. Rishad Hossain’s short ball had him caught at short midwicket in a disappointing dismissal for the in-form West Indies batter.
The home side slowed down significantly during this third-wicket partnership, and the required rate reached eight an over with 21 overs remaining in the chase. That’s when Hope slammed his opposite number Mehidy Hasan Miraz down the ground for six. It broke a spell of 28 balls without a boundary.
West Indies appeared to have dug themselves into something of a hole in the chase as they crawled to 130 for 3 after 30 overs, leaving themselves needing 164 off 120. Sherfane Rutherford. While Hope had typically dropped anchor to keep the innings together with a steady half-century, Sherfane Rutherford started slow and was on 19 off 29 at one point with the asking rate climbing.
The asking rate touched the eight-runs-per-over mark even as the West Indies captain helped himself to his 26th ODI fifty. But the go-slow approach couldn’t have been extended any further than the 28 balls it took through those middle overs between two boundaries.
The floodgates opened once Hope launched Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a six. Sherfane Rutherford broke loose in the 32nd over as he launched Miraz over the bowler’s head for a four and a six. Another boundary came in the Taskin Ahmed over that followed and another six and a four off Nahid Rana took Rutherford to a 48-ball half-century.
That hit opened the floodgates as Sherfane Rutherford struck Mehidy for a four and a six in the 32nd over, before driving Taskin for a boundary in the 33rd. Hope hammered Rishad down the ground for sixes in consecutive overs, and Sherfane Rutherford, bothered by the short ball until this point, pulled Rana for a six in between. He reached his fifty in the 36th over.
Mehidy then gave Bangladesh a lifeline when he had Hope caught at deep midwicket, but the 99-run fourth wicket stand had already given West Indies much-needed impetus. Greaves then hit three fours in as many overs, and ensured he kept the momentum going.
Sherfane Rutherford then upped the ante when he pulled Tanzim for his third six, following it up with his fourth in the following over off Mehidy. Sherfane Rutherford reached his highest ODI score in the 43rd over, with twin sixes off Taskin. When Greaves carved Tanzim through the covers in the following over, West Indies’ required rate came down to a run a ball, with just 37 needed.
Sherfane Rutherford, who was struck twice on his helmet during his innings, reached his century when Bangladesh conceded six runs via overthrows in the 47th over. He celebrated the milestone with consecutive sixes off Soumya Sarkar, over long-off and midwicket. Then he squeezed one to short third man where Nahid Rana completed a catch, but by then West Indies only needed seven more.
Sherfane Rutherford struck seven fours and eight sixes as he went from 19 off 29 balls in the 32nd over to score a further 94 runs in 51 balls. He now has five consecutive 50-plus scores in ODIs, becoming the fourth West Indian after Gordon Greenidge, Chris Gayle and Shai Hope, who have six in a row each, to achieve this feat.
Sherfane Rutherford added 99 runs for the fourth wicket with captain Hope who contributed an 88-ball 86 after coming in at 27 for 2. Then Sherfane Rutherford and Justin Greaves blasted 95 runs off just 57 balls for the fifth wicket. Greaves scored the winning runs and finished on an unbeaten 41 off 31 balls with five fours.
The chase revitalized by this deluge of boundaries didn’t slow down thereafter, even when West Indies lost Hope for an 88-ball 86. New batter Justin Greaves hit his first ball for a boundary to keep the momentum going even as Sherfane Rutherford went up the gears at the other end. He needed just 29 balls for his second fifty, this gallop featuring a brace of sixes against Taskin.
The maiden century was achieved in the 47th over following an overthrow that cost Bangladesh six runs. Rutherford marked the moment by hitting Soumya Sarkar for two more sixes – for a total of eight – before eventually being dismissed off the following delivery. West Indies though needed only six runs to get in 3.2 overs, which they achieved with 14 balls to spare with Greaves unbeaten on 41.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Shai Hope the winning skipper said : We wanted to turn that 11 match losing streak. The consistency showed with the bat and the ball. Easy paced surface. Little slow at times. We have the luxury of Justin Greaves now in our team. Rutherford is leading from the front with his batting.
Has has put in a lot of hard work. I am more disappointed that I didn’t win it for my team. There should be a habit of finishing games. The 100 is a by-product of that. The top four batters will have to raise their hands and perform. We need to be consistent.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz the losing skipper said : We were satisfied with 294 for this kind of wicket. Credit to them. They got a partnership in the middle overs. We had a tough day as a bowling side. Tanzim and Nahid bowled well. We didn’t get wickets in the middle overs. Credit to them. We learnt so many things. We will look to get better in the games. We have a good chance in the games to come.
Sherfane Rutherford Player of the Match for his blistering 113 runs said : The key is working hard. I have been working hard on my game. Just be disciplined and give myself the best chance to do well. I tried to hit the gaps and run hard. I always knew I could make up in the end. It’s part of the game to get a hit. Took a few blows for the team. Always good batting with Hope. We were batting in small partnerships. I am looking to be consistent.
Rutherford’s 113 off 80 balls has ensured Windies have won it easily. It is the highest successful run chase in ODIs at this venue. Hope played his part and so did Justin Greaves. But Rutherford mesmerized all of us with some fine stroke making. He initially struggled a little with the short ball and was hit on the helmet a couple of times.
But he found his feet after taking his time and never looked back ever since. He just kept finding the fours and sixes at will. Bangladesh started well with the ball and had kept the rate at check till almost the 25 over mark. But once Rutherford had his eyes set, he went berserk to make it 1-0 for the Windies team. Huge win indeed as the chase was never going to be easy on a slightly slowish wicket.
Sherfane Rutherford’s maiden ODI century helped West Indies break their 11-match losing streak against Bangladesh with a five-wicket win in St Kitts. The home side hunted down a target of 295 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with Rutherford’s 80-ball 113 comprehensively overturning a slow start to the chase. West Indies, who had at one point needed 161 off 114 balls, reached their target with 14 balls remaining.
Windies have managed to take the early lead. It is vital in a 3-match series as it becomes very difficult for the team which is trailing. Bangladesh have a fine white ball record against the Windies and they will surely look to bounce back. Sherfane Rutherford magic did take the visitors by surprise but I am sure they will have more ways out to counter him.
Even though Bangladesh was off to a flying start with the bat, West Indies were just too aggressive in their chase, courtesy Sherfane Rutherford and Hope, which Bangladesh could not withstand in the end, despite Mahmudullah and Jaker’s late fight. Visitors were not able to defend the total, and West Indies went on to take a one-match lead in the series.
The second of three ODIs and the potentially decisive third are at the same venue on Tuesday and Thursday. Bangladesh went into the ODI match having won a test in the Caribbean for the first time in 15 years.