Photo: Collected
Bangladesh's bowlers delivered a stellar performance, successfully defending a modest total of 129 for 7 to bowl the West Indies out for 102, securing a 27-run victory in the second T20I and claiming their first-ever T20I series win in the West Indies.
Taskin Ahmed set the tone with a double strike in his opening over, while Mahedi Hasan took key wickets with the new ball, putting the West Indies in trouble during the Powerplay.
The remaining pacers contributed significantly, with Rishad Hossain claiming two wickets in the 17th over to push Bangladesh to the brink of victory. Taskin sealed the win by dismissing Akeal Hosein for 32, as Bangladesh celebrated a historic series triumph. In 2018, Bangladesh defeated the West Indies 2-1 in the series.
Opting to bat first after losing the toss, Bangladesh struggled to adopt a T20 mindset today as well. After an early setback, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Soumya Sarkar steadied the innings with a small partnership, while Shamim Hossain Patwari's explosive batting in the latter stages, which earned him the Player of the Match title, took Bangladesh to 129/7. In reply, the West Indies faltered against Bangladesh's relentless bowling. Despite efforts by Chase and Akeal to steer the hosts towards victory, they were ultimately bowled out for 102 in 18.3 overs.
Chasing a modest target, West Indies openers Brandon King and Johnson Charles got off to an aggressive start, adding 19 runs in two overs. However, Taskin Ahmed disrupted their momentum with an exceptional first over, dismissing both King and Andre Fletcher. The right-arm pacer could have claimed another wicket in a maiden over, but a misfield by Hasan Mahmud resulted in a boundary.
King scored 8 runs off 5 balls with one boundary, while Fletcher was dismissed without scoring. In the next over, Sheikh Mehidy Hasan, the star of the previous match, made his mark by dismissing Charles, who was trapped LBW after scoring 14 off 12 balls, including two fours and a six. Charles reviewed the decision, but it was upheld.
Taskin conceded just three runs in his second over before Mehidy Hasan struck again, removing Nicholas Pooran with a superb delivery. The West Indies managed 32 runs for the loss of four wickets in the Powerplay. In the seventh over, Bangladesh missed another opportunity when Rovman Powell edged a ball off Tanzim Hasan Sakib, but Soumya Sarkar dropped the catch at slip.
This mistake was rectified in the following over, thanks to the combined efforts of Hasan Mahmud and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Rovman failed to connect a flick off Hasan's delivery, and the ball deflected toward backward point, where Miraz took a spectacular diving catch. Another breakthrough came in the eighth over when Sakib trapped Romario Shepherd LBW, though a review saved Shepherd momentarily.
Sakib, however, didn't allow Shepherd to settle and dismissed him with a bouncer in the same over. By the ninth over, West Indies were struggling at 42/6. Roston Chase and Akeal Hosein then focused on stabilizing the innings, but the gap between runs and balls widened. They managed to score 8 runs in the 12th over bowled by Miraz but couldn't maintain the momentum in the following overs. With 36 balls remaining, the West Indies needed 69 runs.
Chase and Akeal continued to battle but couldn't score at the required rate. The game turned in the 16th over when Chase hit Hasan Mahmud for two consecutive sixes, yielding 16 runs in the over. Akeal hit a six off Rishad Hossain in the next over, but the leg-spinner quickly turned the tide, dismissing both Chase and Gudakesh Motie on consecutive deliveries. Chase, who fought hard, scored 32 runs off 34 balls with a four and two sixes.
Motie and Alzarri Joseph were soon sent back to the pavilion. Akeal fought until the 19th over before becoming Taskin's third victim. The left-handed spinner scored 31 runs off 31 balls with two sixes. Taskin led the bowling effort with 3 wickets for 16 runs in 3.3 overs. Sheikh Mehidy took 2 wickets for 20 runs, including a maiden over, in his 4 overs. Tanzim Sakib also claimed 2 wickets for 22 runs with one maiden. Rishad picked up 2 wickets for just 2 runs in 3 overs. Hasan Mahmud took 1 wicket for 23 runs, including a maiden, in 3 overs, while Miraz went wicketless, conceding 8 runs in his only over.
Earlier, Bangladesh made a change to their opening partnership, with Soumya Sarkar replacing Tanzid Hasan Tamim alongside Liton Kumar Das. However, Liton, who has been in poor form across all formats, failed to deliver once again. Struggling against Windies spinner Akeal Hosein from the start, Liton was stumped after attempting an aggressive shot in the third over. He scored 3 runs off 10 balls.
Bangladesh's troubles increased three runs later when Tanzid was clean-bowled by Chase, leaving them reeling at 11/2. Struggling to score against the Caribbean spinners, Bangladesh's run rate slowed even further after the two early dismissals.
Though Soumya and Mehidy tried to stabilize the innings, they couldn't accelerate the scoring. Bangladesh managed just 29 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in the Powerplay, thanks largely to Miraz's efforts. Akeal Hosein, who had troubled Bangladesh in the previous match, was exceptional again, finishing his spell within the first seven overs. The left-arm spinner gave away just 16 runs and claimed 1 wicket in 4 overs.
Despite Miraz hitting a four and a six off him in one over, the duo couldn't keep the momentum going. Soumya was run out for 11 runs off 18 balls in the ninth over, and Bangladesh found themselves under pressure again when Miraz was caught at the boundary off Alzarri Joseph in the next over. Before his dismissal, Miraz scored 26 runs off 25 balls with 3 fours and a six. Their third-wicket partnership added 28 runs off 31 balls.
Bangladesh managed just 45 runs in 10 overs, losing another wicket in the 11th over as Rishad Hossain departed for 5 runs. The onus fell on Zakir Ali Anik and Sheikh Mehidy Hasan to rebuild the innings. However, rain interrupted play in the 12th over, causing a 25-minute delay. After the restart, Zakir and Mehidy struggled to score at a T20 pace.
Their 20-run stand ended in the 15th over when Mehidy was bowled by Gudakesh Motie for 11 runs. Zakir followed in the 17th over, skying a shot off Obed McCoy to Rovman Powell. He scored 21 runs off 20 balls, including a four and a six. Shamim Hossain Patwari and Tanzim Hasan Sakib then carried Bangladesh forward.
While most batters struggled, Shamim delivered a brilliant late onslaught, scoring an unbeaten 35 off 17 balls with two fours and two sixes—the highest score in Bangladesh's innings. Tanzim supported with 9 not out off 11 balls. Their partnership of 41 runs off 23 balls was the team's best of the innings. Motie was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies, taking 2 wickets for 25 runs in 4 overs. Chase, Alzarri, and McCoy picked up a wicket each.
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