SHAK ATTACK IS BANG ON TARGET

SHAKIB AL HASAN is set on making his bowling as effective as his batting after a brilliant ton saw Bangladesh thrash West Indies in Taunton. Victory by seven wickets with 51 balls to spare put his side’s semi-final hopes back on course, moving the Tigers into fifth place a point behind England. Shakib’s unbeaten 124 – his second consecutive century following 121 against England – anchored a chase of 322 and moved him to the top of the run charts. “To stay at the wicket till the end was the most satisfying,” he said. “I’ve been working on my batting and it’s paying off. I’m working on my bowling too. At the moment I’m doing OK, but I can get better.” Shakib has five wickets under his belt this World Cup and few could argue he is the best all-rounder on show.

Defeat left West Indian hopes of the semi-finals precariously balanced. Captain Jason Holder admitted his side face four finals in their remaining group games. He said: “We never got going as we should. If you score 320, you have to try really hard to defend, but we didn’t get wickets and also let some chances slip.

“No excuses, we should have been more disciplined. Every game is a final now and we have to pull ourselves up.”

The optimism generated by a crushing first-up win over Pakistan has quickly dissipated.

Chris Gayle scratched around before Mohammad Saifuddin induced an edge. A 13-ball duck was only the second of Gayle’s World Cup career.

The West Indies produced the tournament’s lowest-scoring powerplay – 32 for one – then Evin Lewis (70) and Shai Hope (96) put on 116 for the second wicket.

But the real impetus came from Shimron Hetmyer and Holder.

Hetmyer matched the 25-ball effort from Australia’s Alex Carey as the fastest 50 in the tournament, while Holder struck 33 from 15 balls before Hope holed out in the deep.

Bangladesh’s stroll to victory was their seventh win in eight games against the West Indies.