West Indies 256 for 6 (Hope 146*, Rubel 2-57) beat Bangladesh 255 for 7 (Shakib 65, Mushfiqur 62, Thomas 3-54) by four wickets
ESPNcricinfo– Shai Hope starred with an unbeaten 146 off 144 balls to help West Indies register their first win on the tour of Bangladesh and also draw level in the three-match ODI series. He was ably supported by Keemo Paul, who came in with West Indies precariously placed at 185 for 6 in the 39th over. The duo added 71, taking the visitors home in the final over. Hope’s maiden century in a winning cause contained 12 fours and three sixes, and it was his timely attack towards the end that flattened the home side.
Needing 22 runs off the last two overs, Hope struck Mustafizur Rahman for three fours, past point, long-off and the final one dinked over the wicketkeeper, before Paul calmly took the winning runs with two balls to spare in the last over. Paul was unbeaten on 18 off 31 balls, providing much-needed support to West Indies’ batting hero.
Hope’s knock was replete with singles that came through delicate dabs and dinks, and fittingly he reached his third ODI hundred with a single off Mashrafe Mortaza in the 41st over. But he found the boundary at will, generally through pulls, inside-out hits over cover and slog sweeps, whenever the situation demanded.
He ensured that West Indies remained in the hunt, before launching into Rubel Hossain in the 48th over, hitting him for a straight six and taking 10 off the over after Bangladesh had strung together some tight overs.
Opening the innings, Hope was the one constant for West Indies. His partner Chandrapaul Hemraj fell in the second over for 3, trapped lbw by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, but Hope then shared a 65-run stand with Darren Bravo to pull West Indies out of the rut rut.
Hope’s first shot of intent was a driven six off Mustafizur in the ninth over, before he struck Mashrafe slightly straighter, for his second six. In the same over, Bravo clubbed his first six as the pair looked set to take the game away. However, two overs later Rubel broke through when he bowled Bravo behind his legs, for 27 off 43 balls.
But West Indies did not capitulate. Hope and Marlon Samuels then added 62 runs for the third wicket, bossing the middle overs, before Samuels was caught behind off Mashrafe. Imrul Kayes then dropped Shimron Hetmyer, so far West Indies’ best batsman on tour, when he had not even opened his account.
But Rubel, who had suffered the dropped catch, made amends in his next over. Hetmyer was caught at deep square leg, Nazmul Islam taking the catch after he had come in as substitute for Imrul, who walked off after the dropped catch holding his chest.
Rovman Powel and Roston Chase fell cheaply thereafter, both caught at mid-on. But it threw opened the doors for a Hope-and-Paul special in the last 40 minutes.
With the ball too, West Indies had to make several mini-comebacks. Fast bowler Oshane Thomas took three wickets as West Indies halted Bangladesh’s progress on at least two occasions. First, they got rid of both Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim in the space of 3.1 overs after the pair added 111 for the second wicket. On 50, with four fours and a six, Tamim slogged Devendra Bishoo to midwicket where Kemar Roach completed the catch. Mushfiqur was caught behind off Thomas’ wide delivery, having made 62 off 80 balls, with five fours.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah then added 61 runs for the fourth wicket, a fine recovery which could have led them to a 280-plus total. But just when Bangladesh entered the last 10 overs, they lost Mahmudullah, caught slogging Powell in the 41st over.
Shakib struck four boundaries and a six during this period, taking 16 off the 45th over in which he was also caught at midwicket off a Thomas no-ball. But he fell with exactly three overs remaining, leaving the slogging duty to Mehidy and Mashrafe, who managed to eke out only a further 16 runs.
An unproductive final ten overs that yielded just 64 proved costly in the end, given the slim margin of defeat with just two balls remaining.
