Lack of ability to get wickets in the middle overs proved costly again for Bangladesh as West Indies completed a 3-0 clean sweep by successfully chasing a record total to win the third and final ODI of the series by four wickets at Warner Park on Thursday.
Apart from the second ODI, Bangladesh piled up 294-6 and 321-5 in the first and third games, respectively, but couldn’t defend the total.
It was an uphill task for West Indies as they were 86-4 at one stage while chasing 322 runs, the highest at the venue.
However, the hosts successfully recovered and chased down the target, boarding on a 132-run partnership between Amir Jangoo and Keacy Carty.
Jangoo smashed and maiden ODI hundred (104 off 83) on his debut while Keacy scored 95 off 88, complimented by Gudakesh Motie’s unbeaten 44 to seal the victory. It was also their third highest run chase against Bangladesh in ODIs.
With the century, Jangoo became the 18th man to score a hundred on ODI debut and the first for the West Indies since Desmond Haynes against England in 1978.
But the Bangladesh bowlers missed crucial opportunities in the middle overs to seize control of the game. Rishad Hossain claimed two while Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, and Hasan Mahmud took one wicket apiece for the Tigers.
‘Yeah, it was a tough day for our bowlers. We batted very well. Our batters built partnerships. As a bowling unit, we could have performed better,’ said Bangladesh stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz after the match.
‘We fell short, particularly in the middle overs, where we couldn’t execute our plans effectively. That was definitely an area where we struggled.’Â
Earlier, Bangladesh got off to a shaky start after being sent into bat, losing two wickets of Tanzid Tamim and Liton Das, both without scoring, inside three overs.
Then a 136-run partnership for the third wicket between Soumya Sarkar and Mehidy steadied the ship.
Soumya, who was dropped on zero by Brandon King, made it count by scoring a run-a-ball 73 while Mehidy made 77 off 73, including eight boundaries and two sixes.
Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali also stitched together to a record 150-run stand for the sixth wicket, the highest stand in ODIs for Bangladesh, propelling the team to a strong finish.
Mahmudullah scored 84 off 63 balls, his third successive fifty of the series, featuring seven boundaries and four sixes, while Jaker played an impressive 57-ball 62.Â
Mehidy heaped praise on Mahmudullah for showing the value of the experience in the series; at the same time, he said that the young players wasted their opportunity to take up the responsibility in the absence of some key players.
‘Mahmudullah has been playing for a long time. He got three fifties in this series. We learnt so many things from him. There were chances for the youngsters to take responsibility, but we could not,’ said Mehidy.
Mehidy urged the team to see the series defeat as a lesson for the forthcoming 2025 Champions Trophy.
‘After this series, we have the Champions Trophy, and we know what we need to improve. Hopefully, we understand how to improve those things.’
Bangladesh will now shift their focus to the forthcoming three-match T20I series against the Caribbean starting on December 16 at Kingstown, St Vincent.
