Bangladesh cruise to series win over Windies
SYLHET: Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar slammed half-centuries as Bangladesh cruised to an eightwicket win over the West Indies in the third and inal one-day international to take the three-match series 2-1 on Friday.
Tamim hit an unbeaten 81 in the northeastern city of Sylhet while Soumya added 80 off 81 balls to guide Bangladesh to 202-2 in 38.3 overs after Mehidy Hasan’s career best 4-29 helped the home side restrict the West Indies to 198-8 in 50 overs.
Shai Hope fought a lone battle for the tourists, scoring his second successive hundred of the series but it was in vain as no other batsman provided support. Fresh from an unbeaten 146 off 144 balls in the previous match, Hope struck another unconquered knock of 108 off 131 to prop up the visitors, taking his tally in the series to 297 runs.
Bangladesh made a steady response, with Tamim and Liton Das hitting 45 runs for the opening wicket before Liton offered a catch to Rovman Powell at mid-on off Keemo Paul.
Soumya and Tamim denied the West Indies any momentum, putting 131 runs in their second wicket stand, which all but sealed the contest and the series.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh on Friday recalled all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin and batsman Mohammad Mithun to their 14-man squad for a three-match Twenty20 series against the West Indies beginning next week.
Both Saifuddin and Mithun played their last Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka in February before being laid low by injuries and poor form.
Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said the duo had been rewarded for their recent performances in limited-over matches.