Stunning Tigers thrash the Windies

WHAT A VICTORY! Bangladesh went to Taunton to take on the West Indies in the cricket World Cup – with a little uncertainty over their form. There’s no uncertainty now.

It was a triumph of timing. Yes, Bangladesh was set a huge challenge. The Windies batted first and managed to get to 321 for 8 in their 50 overs. Shai Hope ended just short of a century, with Evin Lewis securing 70 and Shimron “I’m not here to mess about” Hetmeyer getting his 50 in just 26 balls. What were the Bangladeshi bowlers thinking, letting the Windies off the hook? Surely this was too high a total to reach?

If the total hadn’t been so high, it wouldn’t have been such a thrilling match. When Bangladesh came in to bat, the one-trick Windies were stuck: they bowled short, only to find that Bangladesh could play the short ball!

That is to say that Shakib Al Hasan could play the short ball. He reached his century and carried on scoring – getting to an unbeaten 124 before he had to stop because the match was won. It would have been a splendid Test Match innings, and it meant that most of the lower order went home with clean pads.

Two wickets were lost before Shakib took charge at 133 for 3 after 19 overs. It was his second century in two matches – this one off 83 balls – and he was rewarded with the Man of the Match award. Shakib responded by musing that he had been working on his batting for the last few weeks. Pleased as he was to see the work pay off, he thought he could still get better.

Shakib was ably assisted by a calm and focussed innings from a cheeky Liton Das. Das was steadily adding to the runs – until he went up a gear and hit the Windies’ Shannon Gabriel for six. And six again. And six again! Three balls and a hat-trick of sixes. Class. Das’s sudden burst took him up to 94 not out from 69 balls. He must have been disappointed not to get his century – but he had the consolation of hitting the winning shot. His final boundary clinched a Bangladesh victory with 51 balls to go and seven wickets in hand. It was the second highest chase in World Cup history.

The once mighty West Indies would need a miracle to get through to the semi-finals. Bangladesh, now fifth in their Group, are not home and dry yet – as team captain Mashrafe Mortaza acknowledged in his post-match interview. “We have a chance to go through,” he said, “but we have to win all of our matches.” Mortaza paid tribute to Shakib’s innings. The team will need his form to continue if they are to reach the next stage.

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