… Windies in must-win game today against Bangladesh

THE Guyana National Stadium will host its first-ever day-night One Day International when West Indies play Bangladesh from 14:30hrs today.

The historic event will be the second of the three-game ODI series between the two sides. However, while history will be made, the Caribbean side, after coming into the tournament as favourites, found themselves in a must-win game to keep the series alive. 

Bangladesh lead the series 1-0 after comfortably winning the first ODI on Sunday by 48 runs.

It will definitely be a huge task for the home side, taking into consideration the Windies’ dismal record of six wins in 14 ODIs at the venue. More so, the hosts haven’t won an ODI series in nearly four years since they defeated the same opposition at home.

However, captain Jason Holder stressed that the side’s overall performance must improve, adding that the team has the potential to bounce back after the defeat on Sunday.

Holder, who was quoted by CMC, said, “I don’t think it’s the end of the world. We know the areas we need to tighten up on. As I said, missing chances in any cricket will hurt you – we missed one or two up front and I said, we just did not execute well at the end,” he explained.

West Indies were outplayed in all departments of the game on Sunday, and as seen in the series-opener, the surface is likely to be on the slower side, meaning the spinners will rule the roost yet again.

It will be interesting to see the Windies final X1, but for the tourists, they ticked all boxes on Sunday and are unlikely to field any unforced changes before they seal the series.

They definitely stand a chance to win their first ODI series in the Caribbean since 2009, which will be a huge relief for a side that recently lasted only six days in a two-Test series.

Squad: Windies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wkp.), Kieran Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (c), Devendra Bishoo, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Ashley Nurse, Jason Mohammed

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkp.), Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Islam, Anamul Haque, Abu Jayed, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Abu Hider Rony.