Bangladesh restricted Windies at 261/9, needing 262 to win their first match of the tri-nation series in Dublin on Tuesday. As of filing this report at 8 pm the innings break was going on. Earlier, winning the toss Windies opted to bat first in their second match of the series in a chilly weather. Bangladesh dropped opener Liton Das for Soumya Sarkar.
All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin was also picked for Bangladesh's first match in the tournament with Taskin Ahmed not included in the lineup after he had featured in the warm-up match against Ireland Wolves on Sunday. Meanwhile, Windies had one change in their lineup from the previous match as batsman John Campbell, who struck 179 in the series opener against Ireland, was out with a sore back.
At the start, opener Sunil Ambris survived two close shouts off the bowling of Mashrafe in the Bangladesh skipper’s very first over. The second shout from Mashrafe looked close but umpire denied him. After a shaky start, Ambris showed a lot more composure with his stroke making while other opener Shai Hope was beginning to assert his dominance.
Finally, their 89-run stand for the first wicket came to an end as Bangladesh got two wickets in quick succession through spinners Mehidy Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan. In the 16th over Ambris (38) was caught by Mehidy Miraz’s delivery in his first over. In the very next over, new batsman Darren Bravo (1) was out caught behind to Shakib’s delivery, leaving Windies at 90/2 after 17.2 overs. Hope then reached his fifty in the 20.2 overs. His fifty came from 63 balls. After Hope’s fifty, Windies score crossed 100-run mark after 21st over.
Hope was partnered by Roston Chase, who was playing the supporting role. Both of them crossed 150-run mark after 30th over and were looking set to unleash big shots. Hope was looking unstoppable and was marching towards his second ton of the series. Finally, during the 39th over Hope picked up his second consecutive century of the tourney. His century came from 125 balls. Chase on the other side was playing brilliantly and picked up his efficient 60-ball half century. Mashrafe then finally dismissed Chase (51) to break their 115-run partnership, leaving Windies at 205/3 after 40.5 overs.
After that wickets began to fall in regular intervals as Mashrafe Mohammad Saifuddin and Mustafizur sent four more Windies batsmen to the pavilion, leaving Windies at 245/7 after 47.3 overs. Hope’s 132-ball 109 included 11 fours and 1 maximum. In the end, Nurse tried to hit some shots but fell to Mustafiz as Windies innings ended at 261/9 after 50 overs. Mashrafe was the pick of the bowlers for Tigers as he scalped three wickets. Saifuddin and Mustafizur grabbed two wickets each. However, Mustafiz was expensive, as he gave away 84 runs in 10 overs.