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Spinner Gudakesh Motie produced his best ever One Day International showing today in front of his home ground in Guyana, but it did not disguise another miserable showing by the West Indies in the 50 overs format—as they lost by four wickets to Bangladesh.
Inserted to bat, the Maroon Men made their best knock of the three match series as they were all out for 178 runs. Bangladesh, led by a half-century from Litton Das and an unbeaten 32 by wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan, overhauled the score with nine balls to spare.
(via CWI Media)
It is the third time that the West Indies have been swept in an ODI series this year—after similar mismatches away to Pakistan and India. And captain Nicholas Pooran and his troops host India next at the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday 22 July 2022.
The signs are not encouraging. Were it not for a 3-0 win away to the Netherlands, the West Indies would be on a 11-match losing streak—a run that started with successive defeats against Ireland in Jamaica, as the unheralded visitors left the Caribbean in January with a 2-1 win.
Today, there was only pride at stake for Pooran and his men as they tried to stave off a humiliating whitewash on home turf against one of international cricket’s lesser lights. Yet, Bangladesh were rarely rattled today.
West Indies lost their three top order batsmen with just 16 runs on the board, when Pooran strode to the crease to join Keacy Carty in the sixth over. The pair put on 67 for the fourth wicket from 128 deliveries before Carty was caught by Tamim Iqbal off Nasum Ahmed for 33.
(Copyright BCCI)
Pooran went on to score 73 from 109 deliveries, before he was bowled by spinner Taijul Islam. And West Indies fans must have enjoyed his two 6s and a 4 off Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the 40th over.
But the fact that it took 34 overs for West Indies to put 100 runs on the board—at a run rate of 2.94—told its own story about which team had the upper hand. Islam, the eventual man of the match, finished with the superb figures of 5/28.
“There was no additional pressure on me,” said Islam. “I just tried to stick on to my basics, bowl according to the wicket and that clicked for me.”
In their turn at the crease, Bangladesh lost opener Najmul Hossain Shanto for one run but dusted off the early setback—as Iqbal and Dass combined for a second wicket partnership of 50 runs off 10 overs that set the platform for the batting team.
Motie removed Iqbal in the 17th over and then dismissed Das and Afif Hossain within three balls of each other in the 25th over, which was a double wicket maiden. There was much to appreciate too in Motie’s athleticism, as he had Das out caught and bowled for 50 runs (off 65 balls).
But, with Motie’s compatriot Keemo Paul, unable to bowl due to injury, Pooran lacked the resources to peg back Bangladesh. And it was comfortable enough in the end for the visitors.
“It wasn’t the easiest condition you know, though we had the better spinners probably—but the bowlers utilised it extremely well,” said Iqbal, who was the eventual man of the series. “Definitely we are missing three players from our top 5, so this was a great opportunity for these guys and I think they have stepped up…”
For Pooran, things are likely to get even more difficult soon, although he will hope for some solace in Port of Spain.
(Match Summary)
Toss: Bangladesh
West Indies: 178 all out (48.4 overs) (Nicholas Pooran 73, Keacy Carty 33; Taijul Islam 5/28, Mustafizur Rahman 2/24, Nasum Ahmed 2/39)
Bangladesh: 197/6 (48.3 overs) (Litton Das 50, Tamim Iqbal 34, Nurul Hasan 32*; Gudakesh Motie 4/23)
Result: Bangladesh win by four wickets
Bangladesh win the three match series 3-0.
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