BAN vs WI | Twitter impressed as Hope, Powell, and Seales power West Indies to clinical win

‌West Indies started the T20I leg of their Bangladesh tour with a 16-run win at the Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram on Monday. Captain Shai Hope and Rovman Powell came up with crucial knocks to power the visitors to 165/3 in 20 overs before Jayden Seales and Jason Holder picked up six wickets between them to bowl the home side for 149.

Opting to bat, the Windies had a slow start as both openers looked uncharacteristic on a difficult surface, scoring just 35 runs in the first six overs. Alick Athanaze (34) was the first to depart in the ninth over, with the score reading 59, while his partner Brandon King too followed four overs later. And with Sherfane Rutherford falling for a first-ball duck, the Windies looked in a dicey position at 82/3 in the 13th over. But Hope and Powell’s game-changing partnership took the visitors past the 150-run mark. Hope smashed four sixes and a four during his 28-ball 46 while Powell, who looked rusty in his earlier part of the innings, turned it around with four sixes and a boundary to finish at 44 off 28 balls. Taskin Ahmed was the pick among Bangladesh bowlers with a spell of 2/36 in four overs, while Rishad Hossain chipped in with a wicket.

The chase started positively for the Tigers with Tanzid Hasan scoring a six and two boundaries in the first two overs before Romario Shepherd’s stunning catch ended his innings in the second over. From 16/0, the home side slipped to 42/4 at the end of the powerplay, with left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein striking twice. The slide continued even after the fielding restrictions were lifted, with Towhid Hridoy and Tanzim Hasan Sakib the only batters to show some resistance. Hridoy made a 25-ball 28, while Tanzim hit three fours and a six during his entertaining knock of 33 off 27 balls. Though Nasum Ahmed (20) tried to take the Tigers close with his cameo, they folded out just short of the 150-run mark once he holed out in the deep for Powell and Holder to complete a relay catch. Holder and Seales shared the spoils with spells of 3/31 and 3/32, respectively, in their four overs, while Hosein ended with two.