Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan produced a brilliant all-round performance to help his side keep the three-match T20I series alive as they beat West Indies by 36 runs after posting a record total on the board at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla national stadium on Thursday.
Bangladesh, who lost the first match of the series in Sylhet after a meek performance, posted 211/4, the highest team total in any T20I match on Bangladesh soil, before bundling out the opponents for 175 in 19.2 overs.
Shakib, one of the finest all-rounders in modern cricket returned with his career best figures of 5/21, in the format after playing a crucial unbeaten 42-run knock and was adjudged man-of-the-match. As a result he became the first ever cricketer to score 40+ runs and take a five-for in T20I history.
West Indies started their innings brightly despite losing opener Evin Lewis for one run as the top order led by in-form Shai Hope seemed to be on course of reaching the target. Windies were cruising with a score of 59 for 1 after just 4.2 overs at one stage. But Shakib took the wicket of Nicholas Pooran (14 off 6) in fifth over and later Mehedi Hasan Miraz took the important wicket of Hope (36 off 19 balls) to halt the onslaught of the current World Champions.
The visitors lost their momentum after losing two quick wickets in last two overs of the powerplay and started to lose wickets at regular intervals while attempting to score quick runs. After taking the wicket of Pooran, Shakib took four more wickets - Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite and Fabian Allen - to achieve his five wicket haul in T20I’s and resist the opponents from reaching the target.
Middle-order batsman Rovman Powell (50 off 34 balls) and Keemo Paul (29 off 16 balls) scored some quick runs in the end, but that was not enough to match the asking rate.
Apart from Shakib’s five-for, Mustafizur Rahman took two wickets, but the paceman proved expensive as he leaked 50 runs in fours overs with 24-runs in his very first over.
Earlier, West Indies captain Brathwaite won the toss and elected to field first. Both teams fielded the same playing eleven that played in first T20I at Sylhet.
The hosts’ first wicket fell in the first ball of fifth over as Tamim Iqbal lost his wicket to spinner Fabien Allen after scoring 15 off 16 balls. But other opener Liton Das was aggressive from the beginning and played strokes all over the park to give Bangladesh a flying start. Liton, who mesmerized the Dhaka crowd with his majestic touch and range of shots, formed a partnership of 58 runs in the second wicket with Souma Sarkar and picked up a whirlwind fifty. Soumya, another stylish batsman in the Bangladesh ranks, showcased an aesthetic batting performance before getting out for 32 off 22 balls with three boundaries and one six.
Bangladesh lost both of them in the first and last ball of the 12th over as Soumya was dismissed by an acrobatic catch of Brathwaite off a Sheldon Cottrell delivery before Liton was bowled by the same bowler for 60 off 34.
Mushfiqur Rahim was dismissed in the next over and it seemed like Bangladesh might lose their way after a sparkling start as they were reduced to 120-4 in 13 over.
But the two experienced campaigners Shakib and Mahmudullah was unfazed with the mini collapse and they continued the progress with even more intensity as they added 91 runs in the next seven overs to set a formidable target for the opponents.
Mahmudullah stuck three consecutive boundaries in his first three deliveries and scored a useful 43-run innings off 21 balls with seven fours while Shakib struck five fours and a six in his innings that was crucial for the hosts to get past 200-run mark.
Cottrell picked two wickets while Oshane Thomas and Fabian Allen took one wicket a piece for visitors.
In the end Bangladesh fell just four short of their highest ever T20 total as they made 215 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in March this year. However, this is the highest score in any Bangladeshi ground as the previous highest was Sri Lanaka’s 210 that they made against the hosts in Sylhet in February. The previous highest in any T20I at the SNBS was 204-5, made by New Zealand back in 2011.
The final and third T20I of the series will be played on Saturday at the same venue.
2ND T20I
BANGLADESH INNINGS R B
Tamim c Cottrell b Allen 15 16
Liton b Cottrell 60 34
Soumya c Brathwaite b Cottrell 32 22
Shakib not out 42 26
Mushfiq c Allen b Thomas 1 3
Mahmudullah not out 43 21
Extras (lb 4, nb 2, w 12) 18
Total (20 Overs) 211/4
Fall Of Wickets
1-42 (Tamim), 2-110 (Soumya), 3-113 (Liton), 4-120 (Mushfiq)
Bowling
Cottrell 4-0-38-2, Thomas 4-0-43-1, Brathwaite 4-0-43-0, Allen 4-0-29-1, Paul 4-0-54-0
WEST INDIES INNINGS R B
Lewis c Liton b Haider 1 6
Hope c Liton b Miraz 36 19
Pooran c Tamim b Shakib 14 6
Hetmyer c Saifuddin b Shakib 19 17
Powell c Tamim b Mustafizur 50 34
Bravo c Mustafizur b Shakib 2 3
Brathwaite st Mushfiq b Shakib 8 3
Allen b Shakib 0 3
Paul c Ariful b Mustafizur 29 16
Cottrell not out 3 7
Thomas b Mahmudullah 0 2
Extras (lb 5, w 8) 13
Total (19.2 Overs) 175 all out
Fall Of Wickets
1-18 (Lewis), 2-59 (Pooran), 3-62 (Hope), 4-98 (Hetmyer), 5-101 (Bravo), 6-118 (Brathwaite), 7-138 (Allen), 8-150 (Powell), 9-173 (Paul), 10-175 (Thomas)
Bowling
Haider 4-0-33-1, Saifuddin 4-0-42-0, Mustafizur 4-0-50-2, Shakib 4-0-21-5, Miraz 3-0-23-1, Mahmudullah 0.2-0-1-1
Bangladesh won by 36 runs, level three-match series 1-1
MoM: Shakib al Hasan
