Bangladesh claimed the ODI series against Windies 2-1 after a consummate batting and bowling performance saw them win the third ODI between the sides by 18 runs.
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Both prior games in this series having been won by the team which batted first, it was no surprise that Mashrafe Mortaza chose to bat upon winning the toss. However, the Windies had the best of the early exchanges, tying down Bangladesh early on. Anamul Haque in particular struggled for fluency, and his eventual dismissal, caught at mid-on off the bowling off Windies captain Jason Holder for a 31-ball 10, felt almost merciful.
From 37/1, Bangladesh recovered through Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, the pair adding 81 for the second wicket, their third 50-plus stand of the series. However, though their association was important in laying a platform, they also struggled to score freely.
Frustration eventually got the better of Shakib, who top-edged a slog sweep to deep square leg 13 short of a third half-century of the series, but though Tamim fell to the same stroke, well caught by a diving Kieron Powell at square leg, his dismissal only came after he’d made an excellent century, his second of a series which has seen him tally up 287 runs at an average of 143.50.
Since the Cricket World Cup 2015, the Bangladeshi opener has been in exceptional form, scoring 2,180 runs and seven centuries and crossing fifty in more than half of his visits to the crease. His average in that period of 62.28 is behind only Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, and Joe Root for players with over 20 innings. He can justifiably claim to be one of the leading ODI batsmen in the world, and its not a stretch to suggest much of Bangladesh’s hopes at next year’s Cricket World Cup rest on his shoulders.
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His innings in this game and throughout the series, have been remarkable for their unremarkableness. He hasn’t looked a batsman in rare form, smashing the ball to all parts irrespective of the quality of the delivery, but he has found a way to score consistently at a decent enough pace on pitches which haven’t been conducive to that, a rare skill in itself.
His knock today set Bangladesh up excellently, but there was still work to do to get them to an imposing total. Mahmudullah took up the mantle, smashing 67 from 49 balls including three sixes. He received able support from Mashrafe Mortaza, who made 36 from 25 balls, as Bangladesh finished on 301/6, their highest ever ODI score against Windies. Keemo Paul in particular received harsh treatment, conceding 77 from his nine overs, and seems far from the finished product. He is young, raw, and sure to improve. Whether he does in time for the next Cricket World Cup is another matter.
Windies were run fairly ragged at the end of the innings, but there was reason for cheer in their bowling performance. Ashley Nurse’s off-spin may look innocuous, but there remains virtue in consistency and subtle variation of pace, and he claimed two wickets to peg Bangladesh back in the middle of the innings while only conceding four boundaries in his spell. Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo was even more miserly, conceding a solitary four and six in amongst 42 runs from his 10 overs.In a series in which scores of 271 and 279 have proved match-winning, Bangladesh’s score felt comfortably above par. But, despite some tight bowling from spin pair Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who conceded just 90 from their combined 20 overs, Bangladesh were made to sweat by a trio of contrasting half-centuries from Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, and Rovman Powell.
The former scorched 73 from 66 balls, saving his legs and swinging for the fences, smashing six fours and five sixes. He dominated the early scoring as Evin Lewis and Hope dropped anchor, and by the time he fell, caught at long on attempting a sixth maximum, he had all but 32 of Windies’ runs to his name.Hope remained, and ended with 64, but his innings is a trickier one to evaluate. It could be argued that as Tamim had, he’d laid a platform. But with his knock consuming 94 deliveries, it also heaped pressure on the other batsmen and in the end left them too much ground to make up. Not that Powell showed it, even though he entered with 123 needed and the rate above 10 an over. The big-hitting batsman blasted his way to a 27-ball half-century and dragged the Windies back into contention.
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With Powell in prime hitting form, the game didn’t even feel decided at the start of the final over, when 28 were needed, and that feeling only increased as he smashed Mustafizur Rahman over long on’s head from the first ball. But he kept his cool, getting Powell off strike next ball and conceding just three from the last five balls of the over, sealing victory by 18 runs, and the series by a 2-1 margin.
