Bangladesh marked their return to international cricket after more than a 10-month halt due to coronavirus pandemic with a convincing six-wicket victory over West Indies in the first of the three-ODIs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today. 

Ace left-arm paceman Mustafizur Rahman gave Bangladesh a good start after newly appointed ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal chose to feild first. Mustafizur removed both the Windies openers -- Sunil Ambris and Joshua Da Silva -- inside first six overs. After that Shakib, who returned to national duty after serving a year-long ban imposed by the ICC, dismantled the Windies middle order with some tight bowling.  

Kyle Mayers and Rovman Powell tried to put in some resistance after that but that did not happen as debutant Hasan Mahmud bagged the wicket of Powell (28 off 31) in the 30th over while Mehidy Hasan Miraz had Mayers (40 off 56) caught at slip in the next over. 

The Windies folded soon after for 122 as Mahmud scalped two more wickets to wrap it up. Shakib finished with impressive figures of four for 8 in his 7.2 overs that featured a maiden and was adjudged player-of-the-match for his effort while Mahmud finished with figures of three for 28 in six overs, including a maiden.

In response, skipper Tamim gave the Tigers a decent start, laying the foundation for the win with a 69-ball 44. Bangladesh did lose three batsmen -- Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib -- to the spin of Windies debutant Akeal Hosein but that could not stop the Tigers to romp to victory.     

33.5 ov; BAN 125/4: Mushy hits the winning runs

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim plays a reverse sweep off a Nkrumah Bonner and gets is past short third man and all the way for a boundary as Bangladesh romp to victory with six wickets and 97 balls to spare. 

Akeal makes Shakib his third victim 

27.6 ov; BAN 105/4: Shakib Al Hasan b Hosein 19 (43b 1x4 0x6) SR: 44.19

Akeal Hosein hurts Bangladesh again. This time he gets premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan off his last ball. Akeal bowling from around the wicket and Shakib attempts to cut a ball that pitched outside off, but the ball spun back in -- much more than Shakib had anticipated -- and had the left-hander cramped for room. Shakib ends up dragging the ball onto his stumps.  Shakib goes for a 43-ball 19 and Akeal finished with impressive figures of three for 26 in his 10 overs that includes one maiden. 

Tamim departs after scoring 44

22.5 ov; BAN 83/3: Tamim Iqbal st †Da Silva b Mohammed 44 (69b 7x4 0x6) SR: 63.77

West Indies skipper Jason Mohammed draws Tamim Iqbal forward as he got the ball to turn a bit away from the left-hander. The Windies keeper quickly removes the bail before the Bangladesh ODI skipper could drag his leg back to the crease. Tamim goes after a 69-ball 44. 

Akeal removes Liton, Shanto 

Bangladesh have lost opener Liton Das and number three Najmul Hossain to Akeal Hossain's turners. The youngster is well adapt to turning the ball sharply and used the rough patches that have appeared to good effect.

A peach of a delivery saw Liton castled as he played down the wrong line. Najmul then waited too eagerly for the turn but played one early towards mid-wicket for an easy catch. Shakib has joined captain Tamim at the crease.

END OF OVER 16 

BDESH: 57/2CRR: 3.56 • RRR: 1.94 • Need 66 runs from 34 overs

Tamim Iqbal 27 (51)

Akeal Hosein5-1-4-2

Alzarri Joseph8-3-18-0

 

Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das have started solidly in chase of 123, contending with the pace and bounce generated by Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder. The duo have also remained watchful against young spinner Akeal Hosein as Bangladesh reached 41 for no loss after 11 overs.

BANGLADESH: 41/0 CRR: 3.72 • RRR: 2.10 • Need 82 runs from 39 overs

Tamim Iqbal 21 (40)

Liton Das 12 (28)

Alzarri Joseph 6-3-7-0

Akeal Hosein 2-0-2-0

 

West Indies were bowled out for 122 as Shakib Al Hasan bagged a four-fer in his return to international cricket. 7.2 overs, two maidens, 8 runs conceded and four wickets with an economy rate of 1.09, Shakib was immense in what is his 100th ODI in Bangladesh. Youngster Hasan Mahmud also bagged three wickets in quick time.

West Indies were in dire straits after some recovery work from Rovman Powell and Kyle Mayers had got them past the 100-run mark. Debutant Hasan Mahmud struck twice in two deliveries to remove Powell and Reimon Reifer and was in a hattrick before Alzari Joseph was able to fend away the hattrick ball. Mayers, who had played some brilliant shots during his 56-ball stay then fell to Mehedi Hasan Miran after a team-high 40. Akeal Hossain then fell to Hasan next over as West Indies lost their ninth wicket. Shakib then went through Alzari Joseph's defences to bag his fourth of the match.

32.2 ov; WI 122 all out: Alzarri Joseph b Shakib Al Hasan 4 (7b 1x4 0x6) SR: 57.14

31.3 ov; WI 122/9: Akeal Hosein c Liton Das b Hasan Mahmud 1 (4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 25

30.4 ov; WI 121/8: Kyle Mayers c Liton Das b Mehidy Hasan Miraz 40 (56b 4x4 1x6) SR: 71.43

29.2 ov; WI 115/7: Raymon Reifer lbw b Hasan Mahmud 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

29.1 ov; WI 115/6: Rovman Powell c †Mushfiqur Rahim b Hasan Mahmud 28 (31b 2x4 2x6) SR: 90.32  

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is amongst the wickets as he bagged his 150th, 151st  and 152nd wicket at home in what is also his 100th ODI in home soil. There is a rough patch outside the right-hander's off stump and Shakib has been exploiting that rough patch to the best of his abilities. West Indies are in deep trouble.

18.3 ov; WI 58/5: Another arm ball from Shakib and the batsman dabs at the delivery but misses the line. The umpire raises his finger but the batsman wanted a review. Review was lost as he was given out. Nkrumah Bonner lbw b Shakib Al Hasan 0 (4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0  

16.6 ov; WI 56/4: Shakib bags his second wicket of the match. Jason Mohammed st †Mushfiqur Rahim b Shakib Al Hasan 17 (36b 0x4 0x6) SR: 47.22

12.4 ov; WI 45/3: Shakib Al Hasan bags his 150th wicket at home soil in his 100th ODI in Bangladesh.  McCarthy went for the sweep but missed the arm ball and was castled. Andre McCarthy b Shakib Al Hasan 12 (34b 1x4 0x6) SR: 35.29

5.2 ov; WI: 24/2 - Da Silva drives on the up against Fizz but Liton Das at gully shows cat-like reflexes and snatches the ball at mid air. Fizz bags his second wicket of the match. Joshua Da Silva c Liton Das b Mustafizur Rahman 9 (13b 1x4 0x6) SR: 69.23

Play has restarted after rain and McCarthy luckily survived the second ball after restart as a thick outside edge went for four. More than an hour has been lost due to rain

Update 12:45 pm: There was a bit more shower but the rain has now stopped and the covers are completely off. The match is set to restart in a few minutes.

Update 12:13 pm: Rain has well and truly stopped. The covers are coming off as the groundsmen prepare for play to restart once again. 

Mustafizur Rahman bagged the wicket of West Indies opener Sunil Ambris in just the second over of the innings with a full-length delivery that shaped back in before rain stopped play at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.

WI are 15 for one after 3.3 overs.

Joshua Da Silva 4 (7)

Andre McCarthy 2 (6)

Rubel Hossain 2-0-11-0

Mustafizur Rahman 1-0-2-1

Bangladesh and West Indies players show solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement before start of play. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Toss

Bangladesh's newly appointed captain Tamim Iqbal has won the toss and elected to bowl against the West Indies in the first ODI at Mirpur today.

The series paves the way for Bangladesh's international return after a hiatus since March last year when cricket was stalled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is a new beginning for Bangladesh in this new year with Tamim Iqbal being appointed ODI captain. It will be Tamim's first assignment since he replaced Mashrafe Bin Mortaza as captain. The series will also be a new beginning for ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who will return to the national duty after serving a one-year ban from ICC for failing to report corrupt approaches. Shakib however did not miss much action as the pandemic seized many international series for the Tigers.

Record bacons both left-handers too in today's game. Shakib is set to feature in his 100th ODI game in Bangladesh and can reach a landmark of 150 wickets alone at home soil. The newly-appointed skipper Tamim would need 67 runs to reach the mark of 1000 runs against the Windies -- a feat which will see him become the first Bangladesh batsman to do so.

Teams:

Bangladesh XI: Tamim Iqbal (captain), Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain

West Indies XI: Sunil Ambris, Joshua da Silva, Andre McCarthy, Nkrumah Bonner, Jason Mohammed (captain), Rovman Powell, Kyle Mayers, Akeal Hosein, Raymon Reifer, Alzarri Joseph, Chemar Holder