BAN vs WI | Twitter and Najmul Shanto shell-shocked after batter throws wicket away off half-tracker

‌After winning the first game by a huge margin, Bangladesh tried to go with the same template as they opted to bat against the West Indies in Mirpur on Tuesday. But the home side lost opener Saif Hassan and Towhid Hridoy cheaply inside 11 overs, with the score reading 41 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.

Just as former captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was looking to steady things with opener Soumya Sarkar, the visitors’ skipper Shai Hope pulled out a masterstroke as he introduced part-time spinner Alick Athanaze into the attack in the 18th over.

Having bowled just four overs in his 14-match ODI career before this game, Athanaze came to the fore on a slow and sluggish surface that supported the spinners. With some fortune, he broke the crucial partnership, accounting for Shanto in only his second ball of the game.

Coming from around the wicket, he bowled a slow and short ball around the off stump that came in with the hand. The former Bangladesh skipper’s eyes lit up as he aimed to go past Brandon King, who was placed at mid-on.

But to his horror, the ball hit the bottom of the bat with King running towards his left to complete a sliding catch at the edge of the 30-yard circle. The southpaw was shell-shocked at how he was unable to clear a rank ordinary delivery, as he kept hitting his forehead in disbelief.

Twitter could not believe what they just saw as Shanto’s lapse of concentration gifted off-spinner Athanaze his first ODI wicket.