Bangladesh Eye Series Victory Against West Indies
With an aim to confirm the three-match ODI series, Bangladesh will take on West Indies in the second game tomorrow (Tuesday) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the city's Mirpur area. The match starts at 1.30 PM and will be aired live on T-sports and Nagorik TV. Bangladesh lead the series 1-0 following their crushing 74-run victory in the first match. Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain was instrumental in the victory in a spin-friendly surface with a record-breaking bowling that saw him grabbed 6- 35, the second bowling figure by a Bangladesh bowler, only behind Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's 6-26 against Kenya in 2006.
Rishad's figure is also the best by a Bangladeshi spinner but spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed urged him to stick to the process, rather being excited by getting the spin-friendly surface as he will be key weapon for the team in the second match also. "As a spinner, when you see a wicket that turns a lot, you get excited. But when you're excited, you often forget your process. Process is everything," Mushtaq said during the pre-match conference at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today. "You don't take wickets by bowling one good ball - you take wickets by bowling good overs. On turning pitches, you need to bowl maidens, bowl good overs, and the wickets will come." Since West Indies have the shortcomings in this kind of wicket, there is a high chance Bangladesh would confirm the series tomorrow.
However, Mushtaq advised the Bangladesh players to stay calm and disciplined. "From a coaching point of view, you have to focus on process and belief. Turning pitches can take players out of their comfort zone, so we work on keeping them calm and disciplined," Mushtaq said. As per overall stat, West Indies still have the edge in head-to-head battle but Bangladesh came close to level the win-loss ratio after winning 22 and losing 24 in 48 matches.
The rest of the two matches were abandoned. Bangladesh added left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed to the squad with a plan to spin out West Indies given that the pacers have little to offer in this pitch. Nasum may get him in the playing XI tomorrow at the expense of Taskin Ahmed. West Indies also bolstered their squad by calling up left-arm spinner Akeal Hussein who is likely to be drafted in the playing XI. Bangladesh: Mehidy Hassan Miraz (Captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Soumay Sarker, Mohammed Saif Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Patwari, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud and Nasum Ahmed. West Indies: Shai Hope (c), Alick Athanaze, Ackeem Auguste, Jediah Blades, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Khary Pierre, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hussain and Ramon Simmonds.
