Shakib stars as Bangladesh chase 331 down with 9 overs to spare
Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das guided Bangladesh to their highest ever chase in ODIs. The key was spacing the chase well and avoiding unnecessary risks while accelerating.
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Skipper Mortaza won the toss and elected to field. West Indies lost Gayle to a 13 ball duck. Evin Lewis struck form and built a good partnership with Shai Hope. Once Lewis and Pooran fell, Shimron Hetmyer looked impressive as he smashed a 25-ball half century. Mustafizur Rahman got Hetmyer and the dangerous Andre Russell in one over, his cutters doing the trick. Jason Holder and Darren Bravo’s meaty blows lifted the Windies to 331 but it seemed not enough on the Taunton track. West Indies would need early wickets to make up for their slow start and the extra 25–30 runs.
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Bangladesh looked comfortable throughout the chase, with an opening fifty run stand. They were unflustered by short balls. The lack of pace in the Taunton pitch made pulling easier for the Bangladesh batsmen. The experienced Shakib and Tamim Iqbal anchored the chase with ease as the West Indies did not rectify their lines. West Indies went into the game without a single specialist spinner and this cost them dearly. Liton Das stayed till the end with the spectacular Shakib. He hammered Shannon Gabriel for 3 consecutive sixes and enabled Shakib to play his natural game. Shakib’s 124 was his second century of this campaign.
Bangladesh and West indies match Analysis:-
Bangladesh restricted the flow of runs in the middle overs with smart bowling changes. They got wickets at regular intervals and choked the momentum. Mustafizur was outstanding at the death, changing his pace effectively.
Shakib Al Hasan’s promotion to #3 has worked wonders for Bangladesh. He has averaged 64 since moving to the top of the order. It has allowed him the luxury of taking his time and anchoring the innings. He confessed in the post match that he was working towards his batting and wanted himself to be promoted up the order, giving the top order much needed experience and it has worked out significantly well for him. This can be said it is mid way through the tournament and Shakib is already the highest run scorer with the likes of Aaron Finch, Rohit Sharma, David Warner and Joe Root to follow. The no 1 ODI all-rounder contributed with the ball as well with his two crucial wickets.
The reason for Bangladesh’s successful chase and also the second most successful World Cup chase of all time, was staying calm and picking the right moments to accelerate in Bangladesh and West indies match. The dark horses are slowly building a giant-killing reputation. They finally have the right combination, team balance and the most impressive things from their campaign so far is the use of Shakib’s talent, fielding and their ability to stay calm in pressure situations. They will look to upset Australia on the 20th. West Indies will look to get their team balance right when they face New Zealand on the 22nd.
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Originally published at Sporcial.
