Do or die: ODI series decider a test of adaptability

2018 West Indies tour of Bangladesh…

By Brandon Corlette

The One-Day International (ODI) series in Bangladesh has been a roller-coaster for the West Indies. It began with a defeat in the lone One-Day practice match; West Indies were aiming to change their fortunes from a Test series defeat.
However, the One-Day practice match was a grand return for Bangladesh talisman Tamim Iqbal, who recorded a spectacular century. West Indies entered the first ODI low on confidence, since they were defeated in all the matches on tour. The trend continued for the Caribbean side as they succumbed to a five-wicket defeat in the first ODI.
In the build-up to the series, Cricket West Indies announced that Rovman Powell was appointed interim captain for the three-match ODI series.
The first ODI saw the Windies batsmen display a poor batting performance against a not-so-spectacular Bangladesh bowling attack. In the first ODI, Windies were restricted to 195-9 in 50 overs with Shai Hope top-scoring with 43, and Roston Chase and Keemo Paul scoring 32 and 36 respectively. With a small target on the board, the bowlers required magical spells, but only Chase captured two wickets for the Windies.
The second ODI saw the Windies roller-coaster moving upwards; Hope’s magnificent 146* handed the Caribbean side a four-wicket win. It was a nail-biting match that was completed in the final over with the West Indies chasing 256 in 50 overs.
The front-line fast bowlers set the tone for the West Indies, sharing five wickets between themselves in 30 overs that costs 161 runs. Oshane Thomas was the pick of the bowlers with 3-54 while Roach had an economy rate of 3.9, and grabbed one wicket. Guyana’s all-rounder, Paul, chipped in with one wicket along with countryman Devendra Bishoo’s 1-27 in 10 overs. Bangladesh were restricted for 255 and West Indies required sensible batting to chase the target, and Hope and Paul ensured exactly that.
The ODI series had been drama-filled and in the final ODI on Friday, nothing less will be expected. Earlier in 2018, Bangladesh toured the West Indies and completed a 2-1 ODI series victory and they will be hoping to repeat a similar performance. In July 2018, the ODI series in the Caribbean, against the same opposition, was evenly poised 1-1 and the final ODI in St Kitts, Iqbal smashed a match-winning century to lead his team to an 18-run win.
West Indies were restricted to 283-6 with current ODI Captain, Powell, top-scoring with 74* while the universe boss, Chris Gayle scored 73 and stroke-maker Hope, 64.
With most of the top performers of the final in St Kitts playing in Friday’s final ODI, the players will be aiming to repeat such performances, especially Powell, who has been short of runs in recent times. Aggressive batsman Shimron Hetmyer, who was the player of the ODI series in the Caribbean, will be aiming to finish on a high note in the final ODI.
Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hassan explained that Bangladesh were taking inspiration from that series-winning performance in St Kitts earlier this year. “We want to repeat this performance in Sylhet on Friday,” said Mehidy. With several missed opportunities in the field, the Bangladesh team will be aiming to improve in that particular area.
The final ODI is scheduled for 02:00h Eastern Caribbean time on Friday, December 14 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh.