For the best part of a week, Bangladesh had waited — nervously, impatiently — to be allowed into its own party. The gates to the ICC World Twenty20 proper finally opened for the home nation on Tuesday, but what was meant to be a celebration finished in shattering disappointment.
At a chockfull Sher-e-Bangla stadium, on the eve of what is Independence Day here, West Indies defeated Bangladesh by 73 runs to record its first win in the Super 10. Chasing 172, a target rendered possible by the efforts of the man-of-the-match Dwayne Smith (72, 43b), the host wilted to a pitiful 98 all out.
Quick exits
Samuel Badree took four for 15 from his four overs, Bangladesh hapless in the face of his leg-spin. Not that things had been sanguine before, but they unravelled spectacularly in the 11th over, when Badree struck thrice.
Shabbir Rahman was excised for 1, the skipper Mushfiqur caught supremely well at point by Dwayne Bravo for 22, and Mahmudullah held behind the wicket as Bangladesh crumbled from 57 for four to 59 for seven.
A little earlier, the openers Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque had hit flashy boundaries before departing in quick succession. Badree accounted for the former while the latter was stumped off the medium-pacer Krishmar Santokie, for whom effecting this sort of dismissal is not unusual.
When Santokie bowled Shakib Al Hasan the very next ball for nought, Bangladesh had fallen to 16 for three, with disbelief on faces all around. The crowds melted away soon enough, and when the end came, there were only a few spirited souls left.
In the evening, Bangladesh opted to field, hoping to be spared any trouble from the dew. The off-spinner Sohag Gazi, in the side apparently as a Chris Gayle specialist, got to work at once. He recorded seven dot balls against Gayle, who made only 26 runs off his first 38 deliveries. The Jamaican would finish on an uncharacteristically patient 48 (48b).
Going ballistic
The plan worked as long as it was Gayle they were after. The damage, however, was all being inflicted at the other end. Smith welcomed the returning Mashrafe Mortaza with two boundaries in his opening over before sweeping Gazi to the fence, rather fiercely, off successive balls. The Powerplay overs yielded only 36 runs but Smith stepped up a gear at that point.
Gazi was thumped for four fours in the tenth over as the right-hander reached his fifty. Shabbir Ahmed was dealt the same treatment as Bangladesh turned sloppy in the field. Gazi and Anamul were guilty of poor efforts on the ground, Mushfiqur allowed eight runs in avoidable byes, while Darren Sammy would be dropped twice by Mahmudullah.
At 97 without loss in the twelfth over, West Indies was preparing for a gigantic assault when Smith fell, top-edging a sweep off Mahmudullah. In the next over, Lendl Simmons was stumped off a wide from Shakib, without having faced a legal delivery. It helped the home side rein things in and roused the crowd.
Gayle, who it seemed was doing his best impression of Chris Tavare, rose from his slumber in 17th over. Shakib was nonchalantly swatted over long-on and crunched down the pitch. His strike rate ticked past 100 for the first time in the game. If that had induced fear in the Bangladeshi ranks, it was quickly doused. Ziaur Rehman removed him first ball, Tamim taking a fine catch on the boundary.
Sammy whacked a couple here and there, when an eventful final over began. Al Amin Hossain dismissed Marlon Samuels and Andre Russell off consecutive deliveries, and two balls later got Bravo, thanks to a terrific diving catch at short third man by Tamim. Denesh Ramdin was then run out off the final ball. Four wickets had fallen in a blur, but it would not make a shred of difference to the outcome.
