Shakib leads Bangladesh to remarkable victory

Darren Bravo hugs Shakib Al Hassan after his match winning innings.

A blistering innings of 124 from Shakib al Hasan led Bangladesh to a straightforward win against West Indies. The target was 322 and Bangladesh reached it with seven wickets and 8.3 overs to spare. This was a record-breaking performance, Bangladesh’s highest successful run chase in ODI cricket and the second highest – after Ireland’s triumphant pursuit against England in Bangalore – in World Cup history.

For West Indies it was heartbreaking. Their early defeat of Pakistan raised hopes of a revival in this form of the game but since then they have been frail in body and mind. Here they tried to impose their plan A when defending a substantial total. That failed. And they did not have a plan B. The selection of their side did not permit one. They played five fast bowlers with Gayle as the only spin option. Four of the pacemen were tall right-handers inclined to bang the ball into the pitch. But this did not worry the Bangladesh batsmen a jot.

Before Shakib arrived Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar had added 52 in nine overs and then Bangladesh’s ageless all-rounder soon became the highest runscorer in the tournament. He took control from the moment he arrived at the crease. He knew what to expect and he was intuitively in position to cut and pull against bowlers who seemed to have only one tactic – to bang the ball into the pitch. Just occasionally he top-edged the hook shot but no West Indian could lay hands on the mis‑hits.

Tamim was equally adept at combatting the short ball and it took a freakish piece of action to dismiss him. He hit a crisp straight drive back to the bowler, Sheldon Cottrell, who pulled off a heist reminiscent of Roger Harper bowling to Graham Gooch at Lord’s in 1988. Cottrell stuck out his left hand and then threw the ball at the stumps with Tamim out of his crease as he completed the shot. He hit them.

Even though Mushfiqur Rahim was caught down the leg side cheaply, Bangladesh could canter to victory thanks to a superb partnership of 189 between Shakib and Litton Das, who was playing his first match of the tournament. Initially Das was content to be a sleeping partner but the introduction of Gayle seemed to energise him. With his form flooding back he hit the hapless Shannon Gabriel for three consecutive sixes. By now West Indies had accepted the inevitability of defeat. Das, who hit the winning runs, had raced to 94 from 69 balls.

Afterwards Jason Holder said the target was “30 to 40 runs short”, which means he wanted a score that would have required a record-breaking run chase by a considerable margin. This seemed an odd appraisal designed to counter the haplessness of West Indies in the field and in their selection.

It is true that Holder’s team might have scored more. They had to recover from a tortuous start with Gayle stuck at the crease for 12 balls without scoring a run before edging to the keeper. Then the innings was dependent on the solidity of Shai Hope, a minor resurgence by Evin Lewis and some pyrotechnics from Shimron Hetmyer and Holder.

Hope hit the ball silkily but often straight to a fielder, although that did not seem to matter so much when the lower order set to work. This did not include any contribution from Andre Russell on a bad day for West Indies’ iconic Jamaicans. He also departed without scoring. Later in the field he could move little better than Gayle as his creaking body rebelled after bowling six painful overs, a sad reflection of West Indies’ standing in this tournament.

Bangladesh are now the undisputed leaders of the chasing pack. Next up for them is Australia at Trent Bridge. They will not be taken for granted. THE STAR

Shakib Al Hassan cuts during his century.

Before this World Cup, only the real cricket tragics would have known this mans name. But now, he's a star known in all corners of the cricketing world. Set a mammoth 322 to win, Shakib brilliantly led his side with the bat, scoring at a strike rate of 125, and was aided by Tamim Iqbal (48 off 53) and Liton Das (94 off 69) as the Bangladeshi's chased it down in just the 42nd over. THE MOMENT

Mustafizur Rahman changed the game in the 39th over with two wickets in 3 balls.

Shai Hope was approaching 100, and Shimron Hetmyer had just joined Alex Carey for the equal fastest 50 in this years World Cup, off just 25 balls. The score, 3 for 242 with over 10 overs to bat. Enter Mustafizar Rahman, who in the space of 3 balls had put a halt to the Windies march towards 350, first removing Hetmyer, and then Andre Russell second ball. A total of 350 would have been chased down quiet easily by the way the Bangladeshi's batted, but perhaps the extra 30 or more runs they could have put on would have created more pressure on the Bangladeshi top order.

THE FAILURE

Andre Russell walks back after being dismissed for 0.

The two biggest names in the West Indian batting line up, both recorded ducks. Chris Gayle (0 off 13 balls) recorded his second slowest duck on record, and Andre Russell lasted just two balls. Both batsman could have provided more firepower for the Windies and push their total above 350, it may or may have been enough. Both will be looking to bounce back next game.

WHAT NEXT - Bangladesh will be looking to knock over Australia and move into the top four on Thursday whilst the West Indies take on New Zealand on Saturday. TONIGHT - Afghanistan take on hosts England from Old Trafford.