Tigers stifle West Indies again

The Bangladesh bowlers once again managed to suffocate the West Indies batsmen early on as they managed 59-3 in 20 overs in the third and final One-Day International of the three-match series in Guyana on Saturday.

Despite being suffocated, West Indies had a comparatively better start than the previous matches as they went past 50 losing only three wickets and at a run rate of around three.

It was Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal who won the toss and opted to bowl again for the second time in a row. And despite him talking about bench strength in the third match, Bangladesh brought in just one change as left-arm spinner Taijul Islam replaced pacer Shoriful Islam.

Only one change meant Bangladesh lost a golden opportunity to test their irregular players. Tamim had even offered to drop himself to give Anamul Haque, who broke the domestic record for most runs in a season, a chance.

“If I need to miss one match to give a chance to the benchwarmers, I will do it. In the next match, you will see many of the cricketers who haven’t played yet,” Tamim had said after the second ODI.

But that did not happen as head coach Russell Domingo on Friday insisted that giving opportunities to benchwarmers was not possible due to tactical reasons.

“It’s tricky (to test our bench strength) because I’d love to play Bijoy but he’s right-handed. It’s tactical. I’d like to have as many as possible left-handers, so it’s unlikely we’ll tinker with that. Considering the West Indies bowling attack, it’s unlikely to make too many changes and Bijoy hasn’t played a One-day here.

“The pitch condition is just shouting out to play an extra spinner, so we can’t give all the fast bowlers a go. Before giving anyone a chance, we have to think about the balance of the team that is suitable to play under these conditions. It was on top of my head, but it might not be possible in tomorrow’s game,” the Bangladesh head coach said.

So, that is what happened as the Tigers sacrificed a pacer to field a spinner, and Anamul’s ODI series ended without a match. Domingo’s call though, seemingly worked as Taijul picked up a wicket with his first delivery in ODIs after more than two years.

He bowled a peach which pitched and spun sharply to beat Brandon King’s (8) outside edge and rattle the stumps.

Taijul struck again to dismiss Shai Hope (2), who was beaten by the turn and a sharp stumping from Nurul Hasan Sohan saw him go back to the pavilion.

Mustafizur Rahman picked up the third wicket with a brilliant inswinger, which beat Shamarh Brooks’ (4) inside edge and thumped his pads. The umpire said out, Brooks reviewed, and the replays showed that the ball would be clipping the stumps.

From there, West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran and Keacy Carty put together 43 runs for the fourth wicket to take them to 59-3.

Pooran was unbeaten on 23 off 37 deliveries, while Carty scored 19 from 49 deliveries.