Tuesday 18 October 2011

West Indies in Bangladesh, 2011 (Full Coverage)

 Bangladesh get a morale boost;
The Bangladesh fans have been unflinching in support for their Cricket team. The team itself is one that is still finding its feet and the expectations are no doubt a tad too high. It is performances like these that keep the hopes alive. The series was lost in the first two games and this was just a matter of pride.

Bangladesh, in recent times, have done enough to be reckoned as more than pushovers at home. Thus the series loss hurt their pride badly.

West Indies on the other hand, came into this game on the back of three wins(two ODIs and a T20). They also saw the dead rubber as an opportunity to give some more chances to the youngsters. They made three changes and chose to rest their top players - Simmons, Bishoo and Rampaul . It was the right move but Darren Sammy would not have expected such a dismal performance from his batsmen.

The wicket was under the covers for a while before the game started because of the rain and Mushfiqur Rahim mentioned that it influenced his decision to bowl first. The seamers started well and the new opening combo was under pressure from the start. They crawled along until Danza Hyatt was put out of his misery by Nazmul Hossain. Marlon Samuels continued in the same vein as Hyatt and together with Powell, the duo aimed to provide some stability to the WI innings. A rush of blood cost Samuels' his wicket and that opened the floodgates.

The spinners have been the strength of Bangladesh and Shakib led the way once again today. The collapse started courtesy Nasir Hossain who celebrated his first wicket in ODIs with another one off the very next ball. The departure of the well set Powell and the dangerous Pollard in quick succession broke West Indies' back. Shafiul Islam contributed too by snapping up Darren Bravo and that set the stage for Shakib to take over.

The pressure applied by the two left arm spinners, Shakib and Shuvo, was relentless. The former Bangladesh skipper picked up four of the last five wickets to fall conceding just 16 runs and West Indies had a taste of their own medicine.

Earlier in the year West Indies had humiliated Bangladesh in the World Cup game by skittling them out for just 58. Only two batsmen had reached double figures then and their scores were 25 and 11. In an eerie similarity, West Indies' had two batsmen getting to double figures and their scores were 25 and 11!

Bangladesh were expected to win the game in a canter after this but the pitch was a difficult one. Tamim Iqbal curbed down his natural instincts and put his head down to play a mature innings to help Bangladesh pick up a consolation win.

West Indies were guilty of being complacent in the last game and it showed in their performance.

For a team looking to move forward, what they lacked was the killer instinct. A 3-0 win would have shattered the Bangladeshis' spirits before the Tests. They have allowed them to regain confidence after this comprehensive defeat. No doubt, that such thoughts will already be on their minds too and to learn from this defeat to improve as a team.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, were desperate for a win and got it. The pitch could come under some flak but a little more application from the players would have made the game a better one.

The first of the two Tests will be played on the same ground and Bangladesh will be eager to carry this momentum forward. West Indies will look to erase memories of this game quickly and get back their intensity before the first Test.
West Indies in Bangladesh, 2011  (Full Coverage)     

No comments:

Post a Comment