Bangladesh seal series with thumping win

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar bat during their third one-day international match against West Indies at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet on Friday. — BCB photo

Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar hit contrasting fifties as Bangladesh crushed West Indies by eight-wicket in the third and final one-day international to win the three-match series 2-1 in Sylhet on Friday.

Tamim hit an unbeaten 81 off 104 balls while Soumya added 80 off 81 balls guiding Bangladesh to 202-2 in 38.3 ovrs after Mehedi Hasan’s career best 4-29 helped the Tigers restrict West Indies to 198-8.

Shai Hope fought a lone battle for West Indies earlier with the bat, scoring 108 off 131, his second successive hundred of the series, which went in vain due to lack of support from other end.
Hope

Tamim and Liton Das put 45-run in the opening stand to help Bangladesh got off to a steady start in their reply.

Liton made 23 before he became the first batsman dismissed in the innings but Soumya and Tamim added 131 runs for the second wicket to take excitement out of the contest.

One-down Somuya batted aggressively to fives sixes and as many fours before he was bowled by Paul, the only West Indies bowler with some success with 2-38.

Tamim, who happily anchored the innings, sealed the game with successive fours off Powell, his eighth and ninth boundary in the innings.

Mushfiqur Rahim was unbeaten on 16 at the other end.

Earlier, skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza and spinner Sakib Al Hasan claimed two wickets each after man-of-the-match Mehedi worked up West Indies’ top-order.

Hope, who made unbeaten 146 off 144 balls in the previous match batted with caution as wicket fell at a regular interval in the other end.

He did not so any serious aggression until ninth wicket fell for 177 runs.
With the right-hander running risk of fall short of partner, Hope hit Sakib over the long off to bring up his fourth ODI century.

The opener, who was named player of the series after making 297 runs in the series, also hit 10 fours in his fine innings.

Bangladesh won the first match by five wickets on Sunday before West Indies levelled the series with four-wicket win in the second match two days later.

West Indies will wrap-up the tour with three Twenty20 internationals, with the opening match scheduled at the same venue on Monday.

Source: New Age.