Bangladesh thrash West Indies to win ODI series

Sports Desk
Bangladesh sealed the series with a convincing 179-run win in the third and final ODI against the West Indies at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.

This is the second-highest margin of victory in Bangladesh’s ODI history – surpassed only by the 183-run win against Ireland.

Bangladesh, having won the toss and elected to bat first, finally found their rhythm with the bat. Openers Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hasan got off to a great start, putting on a 176-run opening partnership – the second-highest opening partnership for Bangladesh in ODIs. Despite getting their chance early on, the two batsmen used it to counter spin with confidence. Saif scored 80 runs off 72 balls, including six fours and six sixes, while Soumya narrowly missed a century, scoring 91 runs off 86 balls.

After their dismissals, Touhid Hridoy (28) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto (44) took the innings forward, although the momentum slowed down a bit towards the end. Towards the end, contributions from Nurul Hasan (16) and Mehedi Hasan Miraj (17) took the team to a strong position – 296 for 8. For the West Indies, Akil Hossain took 4 for 41.

In reply, West Indies collapsed in front of Bangladesh’s spin attack. They were all out for 117 runs in just 30.1 overs. Rishad Hossain and Nasum Ahmed took three wickets each, while Mehedi Hasan Miraj and Tanvir Islam took two wickets each. None of the visiting batsmen could cross the 30-run mark. They were completely helpless against the Bangladeshi spinners on the turning wicket.

With this emphatic victory, Bangladesh won the series 2-1 and once again proved their dominance on home soil.