Tamim Iqbal-led Tigers made a flying start to the Bangabandhu Bangladesh vs West Indies Cricket Series, winning the first ODI on Thursday comfortably.
The Tigers are now eying to clinch the series on Friday with one match in hand.
The second game is also set to take place at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The match will kick off at 11:30am, and will be telecast live on BTV, T Sports and Nagorik TV.
In the first match, Bangladesh beat the touring Caribbean side by six wickets while chasing a below-par target of 123 runs.
The Tigers had won the toss and sent the West Indies to bat first, but they failed to have a good start as Mustafizur Rahman broke the first wicket stand in the second over. The Caribbean team failed to come up with effective partnerships when they needed it most.
Four Caribbean batsmen had reached two-digit score, but they failed to carry on. Kyle Mayers was the best batsman for them scoring 40 runs while Rovman Powell scored 28.
Mustafizur took first two wickets while Shakib took next three before debutant Hasan bagged two off two consecutive deliveries. Shakib took four wickets for only eight runs in 7.2 overs, which earned him the man of the match award.
In reply, Bangladesh lost four wickets before reaching the target. Tamim posted 44 – highest individual score for the Tigers in the game.
Before taking on the Caribbean side in the second game, Bangladesh’s bowling coach Otis Gibson applauded Tigers’ bowling attack.
“I think it was a good team performance. The conditions were not ideal. We had all the bases covered with the team we had. I thought Fizz (Mustafizur) and Rubel bowled well up front. And then Hasan had a fantastic debut. It was not an ideal performance but it was a good way to start, with a victory,” Gibson told the media.
Hasan surprised all in the first game taking three wickets. But Gibson said it was not surprising for him as the bowler has been working hard for a long time and what he did was his reward.
“He did not surprise me at all. That is why we picked him. We have seen the progress that he has made. He has been with us now probably for the last 12 months since the Pakistan tour last year. We have seen him develop nicely. So it was good that he got his opportunity. Three wickets in his debut is a good reward for the hard work that he has been putting in,” Gibson.
While Bangladesh are looking forward to sealing the series on Friday, the West Indies are upbeat to bounce back in the second game.
“Everyone is aware of what is at stake. Everyone is pumped up to give a better showing in the second ODI. This game is even more important than the last one. If we lose this game, it is the series. Everyone knows exactly what they need to do,” Alzarri Joseph, the pace-bowler of the Caribbean side, told the media on Thursday.
The Tigers will take on the West Indies in the third ODI of the series on January 25 in Chattogram. After the ODI series, both teams will lock horns in a two-match Test series.
The first Test will be played from February 3 in Chattogram and the second one in Dhaka from February 11.
