Windies vs Bangladesh 2018, 1st T20I: Player Ratings
Bangladesh were outclassed by the host Windies in the opening game of the three-match T20I series on Wednesday in St Kitts. Windies skipper Carlos Brathwaite won the toss and opted to field.
Having been asked to bat first, the visitors had a poor start as both of their openers went back to the pavilion without scoring any run. Then, one-down batsman Litton Das and skipper Shakib Al Hasan combined for a decent partnership before Das departed for 24.
Just when it looked like Bangladesh will get to 160 considering their batting depth, right-arm fast-medium bowler Kesrick Williams displayed a magical piece of pace bowling. The Bangladeshi batsmen had no clue on how to counter his variations and this resulted in Williams removing in form batsmen like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah. His brilliant bowling completely derailed the Bangladesh innings and they finished with 143/9.
144 seemed like an easy chase in front of a strong Windies batting line up, but more than 45 minutes of rain brought down the target to 91, needed off only 11 overs. Chasing 91, the host started positively but a double-wicket maiden by Mustafizur Rahman had left them reeling at 10 for 2 in two overs, with both the openers dismissed.
However, Andre Russell and Marlon Samuels tackled the situation very smartly as they added 42 runs before Samuels departed for 26 when Windies were on 52. Then, Russel and Rovman Powell combined for a 41 runs partnership to seal the victory with 11 balls to spare. Here are the player ratings for the match.
West Indies
1. Andre Fletcher - 3/10
It was an off day for Fletcher with the bat as he lost his wicket after scoring only 7 runs off 7 balls.
2. Evin Lewis - 2/10
This was a very rare off day for Evin Lewis as while trying hit Mustafizur Rahman for a six but instead he got caught by Litton Das.
3. Andre Russell - 9.5/10
Making a return to international Twenty20 after a long gap, Russell made an unbeaten 35 off 21 balls, hitting three sixes and the equal number of fours. He was awarded Player of the Match for guiding the hosts to a seven-wicket win and a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at Warner Park.
4. Marlon Samuels - 6/10
Samuels backed up the good work of Andre Russell as he contributed with a quick 26 runs off 13 balls in the third wicket stand with him.
5. Rovman Powell - 7.5/10
He played a wonderful cameo coming in at number 5 and also he sealed the match for Windies in a fine fashion with a maximum.
6. Denesh Ramdin - 7/10
Ramdin did not get a chance to bat but he was brilliant behind the stumps by stumping in form opponent opener Tamim Iqbal.
7. Carlos Brathwaite - 6.5/10
Although Brathwaite didn't get a wicket, he was economical throughout his spell.
8. Ashley Nurse - 8/10
He gave an early breakthrough with sending both the opponent openers back to the pavilion in the very first over of the match. However, he was not given bowling later.
9. Samuel Badree - 2/10
He was pretty expensive with the ball.
10. Keemo Paul - 8/10
He bowled a quality spell where he picked up the wickets of two set batsmen Shakib and Litton.
11. Kesrick Williams - 9.5/10
Williams was simply outstanding in this match. He first picked up the huge wickets of Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah and then got two lower-order batsmen out.