Bangladesh will be looking to win their first T20I series against West Indies in over six years when the two sides face off in the second of the three-match series at the Arnos Vale Ground, St Vincent, today.聽
The match will begin at 6:00am Bangladesh Standard Time, and T Sports and Nagorik TV will live telecast the game.聽
The Tigers last won a T20I series against the West Indies back in 2018 when they won it by 2-1 away from home.
After suffering a 3-0 clean sweep in the ODIs, Bangladesh staged a solid comeback when they beat the Caribbean side by seven runs in a nail-biting first T20I on Monday at a venue, which saw an international match after 10 years.
It was a tight contest between the two counterparts as it rolled to the last over when Rovman Powell struck a fiery 60 off 35 balls.聽
But his effort went in vain as Bangladesh bowlers held firm and snatched the win in the last three overs.
Bangladesh captain Liton Das praised his bowlers and hoped the win would boost the team鈥檚 spirit.聽
鈥業 back the bowlers to defend anything. I want my players to play aggressive cricket. They are playing really good cricket at the moment. It has been a long tour; winning the game today was a boost for everyone,鈥� said Liton after the match.
West Indies were reduced to 38-5 with left-arm spinner Mahedi Hasan claiming a career-best 4-13 in his four overs on his return to the side after missing out on the Afghanistan series.聽
However, Windies captain Powell plotted a strong fightback, smashing five fours and four sixes, adding a 67-run partnership with Romario Shepherd (22) for the eighth wicket until pacer Taskin Ahmed gave the breakthrough in the 17th over.
Then Hasan Mahmud ensured Bangladesh鈥檚 victory by defending nine runs in the final over, taking two crucial wickets of Powell and Alzarri Joseph.
Earlier, after being sent to bat first, Bangladesh posted a competitive 147-6 in the allotted overs, despite losing three wickets for just 30 runs inside the powerplay.
Soumya Sarkar (43 off 32) and Jaker Ali (27) steadied the innings with a crucial 50-plus run stand for the fourth wicket but couldn鈥檛 convert it into a big partnership.聽
Shamim Hossain, who returned to the side after a one-year hiatus, provided acceleration towards the end of the innings, smashing a quickfire 27 off just 13 balls, which proved to be crucial in the lower order and in their narrow聽win.
鈥業 came back after a year, and this innings was something I really needed. It feels great. The team needed it as well. I was confident that I could contribute positively,鈥� said Shamim.
Shamim also echoed Liton and believed that their win in the first match would inspire them to win the series.
鈥楽ince we鈥檝e won one match, we are slightly ahead. The goal is to win the series. You know how strong the West Indies are in T20s, but I鈥檓 hopeful we can win the next match and take the series.鈥櫬�