(Cricket news) Having already lost two out of two Super 12 games against South Africa and England, the Windies knew that they could not have another slip-up if they are to keep their dream of retaining the title alive. The defending champions scored 142/7 in 20 overs and managed to defend the lead as Bangladesh could only muster 139/5, despite Liton Das scoring 44 runs off 43 balls.

The win can be particularly attributed to two West Indies players, Andre Russell bowled magnificently in the final over, denying Bangladesh the 13 runs they needed to win the match as well as Nicholas Pooran, who scored 40 runs off 22 balls to ensure his side reached a score of 142 runs. Another honourable mention is T20 debutant Roston Chase, whose dependable performance of 39 runs off 46 balls showed great maturity.

For the West Indies, Evin Lewis was the first to be dismissed for just 6 runs off 9 balls from a Mustafizur Rahman delivery that was caught by Mushfiqur Rahim. To make matters worse, Chris Gayle was bowled by Mahedi Hasan, scoring just 4 runs in 10 balls as the score read 28-2 at the end of the powerplay. The spinner also took the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer (9 runs off 7) as things quickly went from bad to worse for the reigning champions.

Having already received one lifeline from Mahedi Hasan, Roston Chase was spared again at the score of 27 runs when Mahedi fumbled a simple catch off the ball from Shakib, resulting in a crucial partnership between Chase and Nicholas Pooran. With the runs flowing slowly for Windies throughout their innings, the left-hander hit successive sixes in Shakib’s over and did the same to Mahedi in the 18th over to bring up a 50 run partnership in 33 deliveries. 

However, Shoriful Islam dismissed both the batters in successive deliveries as Pooran was caught at deep cover by Mohammad Naim and Chase was cleanly bowled. Pollard, who had retired for just 8 runs because of illness returned after the dismissal of Dwayne Bravo and watched Jason Holder (15* runs off 5) hit consecutive sixes before scoring one of his own in the last ball of the innings. West Indies scored 58 runs in the last five overs which included seven sixes compared to a meagre 84 runs in the first 15 overs with no sixes.

For Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan was dismissed for just nine runs after being caught by Jason Holder from an Andre Russell delivery while Mohammad Naim was bowled for 17 runs off 19 balls. Soumya Sarkar’s (17 runs off 13) partnership with Liton Das ensured Bangladesh kept up with the required run rate but was eventually dismissed by a diving catch from Chris Gayle off an Akeal Hosein delivery. Mushfiqur Rahim also went cheaply for just 8 runs off 7 balls as the chase became increasingly difficult for Bangladesh.

The partnership of Liton Das (44 runs off 43) and Mahmudullah (31* runs off 24 balls) gave some hope to The Tigers with some timely boundaries and a six off Bravo. With just 13 runs needed from seven balls, Liton Das was caught by Jason Holder off Andre Russell’s delivery, playing a crucial factor in Bangladesh failing to get over the finishing line.

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