West Indies win the Twenty20 encounter by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:

Naeem Islam, DS Smith, TM Dowlin

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DateLine: 3rd August 2009

 

West Indies finally registered a win in the ill-fated fixture against the lowly rung Bangladeshi team. The home team won by five-wickets in the Twenty20 encounter on Sunday after a disciplined bowling fielding performance.

 

The tourists had humbled the home team in the Test and the ODI series and so a win in the lone Twenty20 encounter would have come as a soothing effect on the wounds of the Caribbean team.

 

Bangladesh had won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that promised to be a run fest. The opening bowlers located the right length on the pitch and applied the screws on the batting side. The Bangladeshi wickets tumbled regularly as Sammy led the way with some accurate bowling. This forced the Bangladeshi batsmen to take adventurous methods to push the scoring rate.

 

To make the matters worse for the Bangladeshi team, the home side's fielding efforts were more sharper as they effected four run-outs, in which all off them were direct hits. The West Indian team limited Bangladesh to 118-9 off their stipulated 20 overs. Sammy and Miller finished with two wickets apiece, while Naeem Islam was the top scorer for the Bangladeshi team.

 

The West Indian team thinking that the target of 119 would not break break much sweat was waken up from their dream when Dale Richards chopped a harmless Shakib Al Hasan delivery onto his stumps of the first ball of their innings. But left-hander Smith dominated a second wicket stand of 46 with Fletcher to put West Indies on course.

 

Fletcher (8) fell to Nazmul Hossain and Smith departed to fellow fast bowler Rubel Hossain at 67-3. But Dowlin, one of the new West Indian players to enhance his reputation in this series, hit five fours, including the winning runs, to seal a satisfying win. Captain Floyd Reifer added 22 off 20 balls and although he and vice-captain Sammy fell to Ashraful near the end, the victory was never in doubt.