Shakib leads Tigers to leveller

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan's all-round performance, which included his maiden T20I five-wicket haul, helped Bangladesh bounce back to level the three-match series as the Tigers registered a comfortable 36-run win over the West Indies at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

Shakib, who waged a lone battle during the first T20I which the hosts lost by eight wickets in Sylhet, this time ensured that his contributions would not go in vain after scoring an unbeaten 26-ball 42 in a Bangladesh record fifth-wicket stand with Mahmudullah Riyad which culminated in the Tigers posting their second highest T20I total of 211 for five.

Shakib also ended with career-best bowling figures of five for 21 from four overs before the West Indies were eventually bowled out for 175 in 19.2 overs.

The left-hander's efforts were ably backed by a collective approach from his teammates, with Liton Das's blistering 34-ball 60 setting up a perfect platform.

The West Indies, despite losing wickets at regular intervals, kept the run rate near ten till the halfway mark in their innings but the cushion provided by the huge total on the board helped the Tigers maintain pressure on the batting side and eventually seal victory.

Left-arm seamer Abu Hider got the breakthrough by removing the dangerous Evin Lewis for one before Shakib had Nicholas Pooran caught at short fine leg for 14.

At the other end, Shai Hope kept swinging the bat wildly before he was at deep mid-wicket off Mehedi Hasan Miraz after a 19-ball 36 which included six fours.

However, it was Shakib who changed the course of the game with two devastating blows in the 11th over. He first dismissed Shimron Hetmyer (19) off the second ball and followed that by removing Darren Bravo (2) off the last ball of the over.

West Indies, already struggling on 101 for five, suffered another blow as Shakib dismissed visiting skipper Carlos Brathwaite, who was stumped for eight. The champion cricketer then bowled Fabian Allen with a drifter to register his maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is.

Rovman Powell, who reached his fifty off just 33 balls, was the only hope for the visitors but that too faded when Mustafizur Rahman dismissed the right-hander in the 16th over.

Earlier, the Tigers team management stuck with the same eleven from the first T20I and they showed a different approach by banking on their strengths after being asked to bat.

Openers Liton and Tamim Iqbal set the platform with a 42-run stand before Tamim departed for 14. However, Liton continued at the other end after taking some time to adjust to the Mirpur pitch.

The stylish right-hander opened up and struck three boundaries off Sheldon Cottrell in the third over, which he followed with back-to-back sixes off Brathwiate in the next over.

Liton reached his fifty off just 26 balls while, at the other end, Soumya Sarkar also scored quickly before the Tigers faced a mini-collapse, going from 110 for one to losing Soumya (32) and Liton (60) in the 12th over of Cottrell which was followed by the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim (1) in the next over.

It was then Shakib and Mahmudullah Riyad who added an unbeaten 91-run fifth-wicket stand to post a huge total. Bangladesh added 71 runs from the last five overs as Riyad remained unbeaten on 42 off 26 balls with the help of seven fours.