Pooran, Holder help West Indies win virtual eliminator against Bangladesh
West Indies 142 for 7 (Pooran 40, Chase 39, Shoriful 2/20) beat Bangladesh 139 for 5 (Liton 44, Mahmudullah 31*, Holder 1/22) by three runs
After two back-to-back losses in the Super 12 round of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, West Indies faced Bangladesh at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah won the toss and opted to bowl.
West Indies lose openers early
Caribbean opener Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis went back to the pavilion, early in the innings. Lewis edged and got caught behind the wicket off an angled delivery of left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman.
Spinner Mahedi Hasan bowled Gayle on just 4 in the fifth over of the innings. Also, middle-order batter Shimron Hetmyer got out on just 9. As wickets continued to tumble at the other end, all-rounder Roston Chase stuck to the pitch for the major part of the innings. He made 39 runs off 46 balls with the help of two boundaries.
Nicholas Pooran lashes out in final overs to help WI to 142
Explosive all-rounder Andre Russell got run out without playing any delivery as a straight stroke by Roston Chase hit the stumps at non-striker end, after brushing past the bowler on the way.
Wicketkeeper batter Nicholas Pooran then came to the rescue of West Indies at 62/4. He took his time and started timing the ball well in the last five overs of the innings. He smashed two back-to-back sixes to left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan in the 16th over. Also, he smashed two sixes in the 18th over bowled by Mahedi Hasan. However, Pooran and Roston Chase got out on consecutive deliveries in the next over.
All-rounder Dwayne Bravo got out on the first ball of the last over of the innings, although next batter Kieron Pollard, skipper of West Indies, clobbered three elephantine sixes to provide a blazing finish to the West Indies innings. West Indies made 142 runs in 20 overs after losing seven wickets.
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Rusty start from Bangladesh
Surprisingly, middle-order batter Shakib Al Hasan opened the innings along with Mohmmad Naim for Bangladesh. However, he got out early as Jason Holder caught him at mid-off. Naim got an inside edge and the ball smashed the stumps off a delivery bowled by Holder. One down batter Liton Das was playing sensibly at the other end. Chris Gayle caught Soumya Sarkar at point. Veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim also went back to the hut early in the innings.
In the death overs, Bangladesh needed 30 runs off the last three overs. Liton Das tried to clear the long-on boundary, but the tall Holder took a brilliant catch just inches inside the boundary rope.
Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah tried to take Bangladesh over the line, however, Russell defended 13 runs in the last over to win the game for his side by three runs.
With their third straight loss in the Super 12 round, Bangladesh’s campaign has come to a halt in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
What Lies Ahead
After two losses and one win in Super 12 round, Bangladesh will play their next game against South Africa at Abu Dhabi on Tuesday whereas winning side West Indies will face Sri Lanka in the next game on upcoming Thursday.
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