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Bangladesh stand-in captain Liton Das credited the team’s collective effort for their first-ever T20I series victory in the West Indies on Wednesday.

Tigers had won a T20I series against West Indies in 2018, which included matches played in Florida, USA. This time, the victory came entirely on Caribbean soil.

Bangladesh beat the West Indies by 27 runs in the second of the three-match series, defending only 130 runs at the Arnos Vale Ground, St Vincent.

This victory also marked Bangladesh’s lowest winning total while batting first against the West Indies. They won the first match by seven runs at the same venue on Monday. 

With the win, the Tigers took an unassailable 2-0 lead, marking a memorable turnaround after being clean swept  in the preceding ODI series.

After the match, Liton reflected on the team’s performance, emphasising the importance of their series win.

‘It’s all about a team effort. We are in the good flow at the moment, and we have to come and play good cricket,’ said Liton.

‘I’m very happy, not only me but all the Bangladeshi people. We were looking for this kind of win.’

Bangladesh defended a 130-run target after Shamim Hossain struck a 17-ball 35 down the order on a tough surface.

The bowlers then led by Taskin Ahmed bundled West Indies out for just 102. 

‘When I faced the first ball, I knew it was very difficult to bat on this pitch; thanks to Shamim, he batted well. Credit goes to all the bowlers. Whoever came to the bowling gave us wickets,’ said Liton.

Shamim, who scored a quickfire 27 off just 13 balls in the first match, also played a key role in the second match to make his comeback series memorable.

‘I’m very happy, after a long time, I have been back on the national team. I’m happy. My role is a finisher in the team, and my role is to hit the ball. Last few months I have worked hard,’ said Shamim after the match. 

Earlier in the game, the West Indies won the toss and decided to bowl first. Bowlers responded to the call of their skipper and had Bangladesh at 29-2 during the first powerplay.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (26) and Jaker Ali (21) made crucial contributions with the bat in the middle order. Shamim was once again brilliant down the order; his cameo propelled the Tigers to set a decent total.

In reply, the West Indies kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never really looked to be able to chase down the total. 

Taskin took 3-16 while Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, and Tanzim Hasan picked two wickets each.

West Indies captain Rovman Powell stated the target was chasable, but the batting group let them down.

‘Disappointing, as a batting group we have let down ourselves miserably in the last few series. We have to reflect on things individually and then look at them collectively.’