Shakib returns as Bangladesh defeat WI
Rahane was always thinking of win in 4th Test vs Australia
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan 20, (AP): Shakib Al Hasan claimed 4-8 on his return to international cricket as Bangladesh made a winning start to the three-match ODI series by beating West Indies by six wickets in the opening game on Wednesday.
All-rounder Shakib was back after being given a two-year ban by the International Cricket Council in October 2019, with one year suspended, for failing to report approaches from a bookmaker.
Thanks to his wily left-arm spin, Bangladesh bowled the tourists out for 122 in 32.3 overs before reaching 125-4 with 97 balls to spare in reply.
Debutant Hasan Mahmud and fellow fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman also played key roles for the home team, taking 3-28 and 2-20 respectively.
Rain held the players up for about an hour after Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal won the toss and asked West Indies, featuring six ODI debutants, to bat.
Shakib, in his first game for Bangladesh since the 2019 World Cup, bowled seven overs in a row and ripped through the middle order as West Indies lost three wickets for 11 runs.
Debutant Kyle Mayers and Rovman Powell, who hit two sixes, provided some resistance with a partnership of 59 for the sixth wicket.
Mahmud picked up his first wicket by having Powell caught behind for 28 and followed up by trapping Raymon Reifer lbw for naught with his next ball.
Mayers top-scored with 40 before being undone by a Mehidi Hasan delivery that spun sharply.
Tamim, captaining the side for the first time after being appointed last March, then gave Bangladesh a flying start to its reply by hitting 44 before being stumped off West Indies captain Jason Mohammed.
Leg-spinner Akeal Hosein also clean bowled Tamim’s fellow opener Liton Das for 14 to claim his first wicket on his debut. But Mushfiqur Rahim, who finished 19 not out, ensured victory with a reverse-swept boundary past third man. Hosein finished with 3-26 from his 10 overs.
It was Bangladesh’s first match
after a nine-month layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The series is part of the ICC World Cup Super League which will determine which teams qualify for the 2023 World Cup in India.
A host of West Indies players, including ODI captain Keiron Pollard and Test captain Jason Holder, have skipped the tour. The squad was also affected when fast bowler Romario Shepherd and leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr., tested positive for COVID-19.
The teams play the remaining ODIs on Friday and Monday, followed by two Test matches in February.
BRISBANE: Also:
Against all odds, interim captain Ajinkya Rahane managed to lead an injury-affected India to victory in the fourth cricket Test and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India were forced to make four changes for the series finale after salvaging a draw in Sydney, and a draw in Brisbane would have been good enough to retain the trophy.
Turns out Rahane had a plan for victory all along.
“We knew if we wanted to win the Test and series then five bowlers would be the key,” Rahane said after India’s three-wicket win on Tuesday.
“That’s why we opted for five bowlers. Washington Sundar got that balance for us. Mohammed Siraj had played two Test matches, (Navdeep) Saini one, (Shardul) Thakur one, Natarajan also on debut. All credit to them.”
India’s bowling attack was decimated by the loss of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin, who could easily have been chosen as man of the series ahead of Pat Cummins if he played the final Test.
But debutants Sundar and Thangarasu Natarajan played key roles at the Gabba, while recalled paceman Thakur starred with bat and ball, topscoring for India in the first innings with 67 runs and taking seven match wickets.
Rahane also praised Rishabh Pant’s match-winning total of 89 not out. Pant’s promotion to No. 5 in the order was a clear signal of India’s intention to complete a venue-record chase of 328, rather than bat for a draw. “Rishabh was brilliant,” Rahane said. “I don’t know how to describe this victory. I’m just proud of all the boys, each and every individual showed character.”
A captain’s century from Rahane for an eight-wicket win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, after the visitors lost by eight wickets in the day-night Test at Adelaide, started the series comeback.
India lost regular captain Virat Kohli, who returned to India for the Jan. 11 birth of his daughter, and Mohammed Shami with a broken right arm, after being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide, India’s lowest ever total.
“After Adelaide, we didn’t discuss anything about what happened in Adelaide,” Rahane said. “We decided we would fight very hard, we just wanted to give our best and not think about the result. We just wanted to express ourselves as a team.” Next up for India is a four-Test home series against England beginning Feb. 5 in Chennai, when Kohli, who has been named in India’s squad for the series, will return to the captaincy.
Kohli took great pleasure in congratulating Rahane and the team from his home in India.
“WHAT A WIN!!! Yessssss,” Kohli tweeted. “To everyone who doubted us after Adelaide, stand up and take notice. Exemplary performance but the grit and determination was the standout for us the whole way. Well done to all the boys and the management. Enjoy this historic feat lads.”