at the first Twenty20 International at St. Vincent, Bangladesh defeated the West Indies by seven runs in a close match. After the hosts were struggling at 61 for 7 at one point, Rovman Powell led from the front with a valiant 60 off 35 balls, but it all in vain. Mahedi Hasan took four wickets for 13 as he ripped through the West Indies top order.
With a set Powell, the hosts were the favorites, and the West Indies needed 10 runs from the final over. However, before Bangladesh completed the victory, Hasan Mahmud followed a yorker with a wide delivery that the batter nicked behind.
The hosts' pursuit of 148 got off to the worst conceivable start. Brandon King was bowled out by Taskin Ahmed, while Nicholas Pooran was big-wicketed by Mahedi, who struck with the opening ball of his over. As the home team started to regain the lead, Johnson Charles hammered two sixes and a four in a fourth over of 25 runs.
However, the visitors were in complete control as Mahedi removed the dangerous Charles before the bowler took consecutive wickets in his third over. While Roston Chase gloved a reverse sweep to Litton Das, Andre Fletcher nipped behind in an attempt to play a drive away from his body. The situation worsened when the hosts faltered at 61 for 7 in 12 overs when Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein were also dismissed cheaply.
But when Powell and Romario Shepherd put together a 67-run partnership to put the West Indies back in the game, the pendulum gradually started to swing again. The hosts needed just 20 runs in the final three overs, but they scored 50 in the 14th and 16th overs.
Shepherd holed out to deep mid-wicket, adding another twist to the story. After that, Alzarri Joseph hit a vital boundary to reduce the equation to 10 off the final over, but Hasan maintained composure to secure an incredible victory.
Earlier, Akeal caused problems for Bangladesh's openers, especially Tanzid Hasan, even though they started their innings with a boundary. After Tanzid missed a pull shot off a ball that was too short to pull, the bowler won the mini-battle. Before a few quiet overs followed, captain Litton chipped one back to the bowler's first delivery.
After the PowerPlay, Afif Hossain reverse-swept Chase straight to third-man, leaving the visitors at 32 for 3. With a solid 57-run partnership between Soumya Sarkar and Jaker Ali, Bangladesh pulled off a remarkable comeback. They scored 37 runs between the eighth and eleventh overs, focusing on the fifth and sixth bowlers of the West Indies.
New batsman Mahedi received a fortunate break when Chase dropped a skier off his own bowling, but Jaker was then caught by Powell's spectacular overhead catch on the boundary ropes. For 43, Obed McCoy tricked Sarkar with a slower ball, but Shamim Hossain was the difference-maker for the visitors. While Mahedi reached the boundary ropes twice himself, he muscled three sixes and created a boundary in his 27 off 13 balls as Bangladesh finished at 147 for 6.
Brief Scores: West Indies 140 in 20 overs (Rovman Powell 60, Romario Shepherd 22; Mahedi Hasan 4-13, Hasan Mahmud 2-18) were defeated by 7 runs by Bangladesh 147/6 in 20 overs (Soumya Sarkar 43, Shamim Hossain 27; Akeal Hosein 2-13, Obed McCoy 2-30).
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