Windies Fall Short Again as Bangladesh Secure T20I Series Sweep

West Indies were demolished by 80 runs in the third T20 International at the Arnos Vale Ground on Thursday night, giving Bangladesh their first sweep in a T20I series in nearly two years.

Bangladesh won the toss for the first time in the three-match series but maintained the familiar pattern of batting first, posting 189-7 before bowling out West Indies for 109, their lowest total against that opponent. 

At the top of the innings, Parvez Hossain Emon – who took Soumya Sarkar’s place due to an injury sustained while fielding – gave the visitors a dream start with 39 off 21 balls, including four fours and two sixes. Captain Litton Das has struggled with the bat in the Caribbean, but he stuck around long enough to add 44 for the first wicket, 14 off 13 his contribution.

Emon went in the sixth over, making it 54-2 at the end of the first powerplay, but the run rate looked a lot healthier than it did in the first two games when the West Indies failed to overhaul relatively meagre targets. Tanzid Hasan, the new batter, fell shortly after coming in and the scoring slowed a bit, but it was still 76-3 at the halfway stage.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz hit a flurry of fours in his 29 off 23 balls. Jaker Ali swiftly moved to 17 from 16 deliveries at the end of the 14th over. Then drama ensued.

Jaker Ali went for a run off the bowling of Roston Chase, then called for a second. His partner, Shamim Hossain, started off, then demurred. Both men grounded, but Jaker Ali thought himself out and returned to the dressing room, only to be recalled by the umpire.

That reprieve, and the run-out of Mahedi Hasan two balls later, seemed to light a fuse under Jaker Ali. In the next three overs, he hit two fours and two sixes, taking him to 44 from 30.

Tanzim Hasan was dismissed in the 19th over, but Jaker Ali finished the innings off in a big way, with a four to bring up his second career 50, then three sixes off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph. By the time the Bangladeshis closed their innings, Jaker Ali had made 72 not out from 41.

Notwithstanding captain Rovman Powell’s expression of confidence in the composition of his team following their first two losses, Justin Greaves and Jayden Seales made their T20I debuts. Making way for them were Andre Fletcher and Akeal Hosein.

Their death bowling problems still unsolved, the home team hoped to address their fragile top order. That, too, remained an issue. Taskin Ahmed rapped Brandon King on the pad with the second ball of the innings, taking his wicket for the third time this series.

The debutant Greaves went in the next over, but Johnson Charles and Pooran hit six fours and a six between them in the next four overs. The last of those overs also ended with Pooran back in the pavilion, however. West Indies ended the powerplay 45-3, with Pooran bowled for 15 from 10 balls.

Five balls later, the home team were down to five wickets, with just two runs added. Chase was out for a duck, and Charles was run out 23 from 18 balls, centimetres shy of his ground. 

On the stroke of the halfway mark, and moments after a Romario Shepherd six, Powell found himself deceived by the turn, caught behind by Das for a laboured two from 12.

The rest of the innings was all but academic from that point forward. The Men in Maroon only crossed 100 in the 15th over. To add insult to injury, they lost two wickets in that over. Shepherd’s vigil ended in the 16th over, caught for 33 off 27 balls.

Obed McCoy’s ouster ended things with 20 balls yet left to face, Shepherd’s 33 the top score in the total of 109.