Mushfiqur starts Tigers tenure with a bang

Cricket365
October 11, 2011

A captain's innings from new skipper Mushfiqur Rahim saw Bangladesh clinch their one-off Twenty20 International against West Indies by three wickets.

A captain's innings from new skipper Mushfiqur Rahim saw Bangladesh clinch their one-off Twenty20 International against West Indies by three wickets, sparking jubilant scenes at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

Mushfiqur hit the penultimate ball of the match for six to see Bangladesh to victory in front of a raucous crowd, before bellowing his joy into the night sky as he finished unbeaten on 41 from 26 balls.

Bangladesh were struggling on 52 for four when Mushfiqur arrived at the crease halfway through the reply, despite Imrul Kayes (22) and Mohammad Ashraful (24) providing a sound start.

Marlon Samuels was the unlikely bowler doing the damage, having only recently been cleared to bowl again by the ICC after the offspinner underwent remedial work on his bowling action.

Samuels had already scored a crucial half-century for West Indies and claimed the wickets of Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan as he took advantage of the sluggish nature of the pitch.

However Mushfiqur judged the pace of the wicket well and dealt in ones and twos as he allowed himself to get set, before eventually seeking the boundaries when the required run rate began to rise.

He was helped out by Nasir Hossain, who played a part in Bangladesh taking 14 runs from the penultimate over to leave just six required from the last over.

When Ravi Rampaul allowed just a single from the first two balls and then had Hossain caught behind from the third it looked as if the islanders might snatch the victory, but Abdur Razzak handed the strike to Mushfiqur who finished the match in style.

Samuels' brisk half-century had propped up an otherwise ordinary effort with the bat from the West Indies as they made 132 for eight, which looked a shade under par at the break.

Samuels carried on from his century in the West Indies' warm-up match, striking two of his first three deliveries for six to set the tone for a 42-ball 58, but found little support at the other end as wickets fell at regular intervals with the ball not coming onto the bat.

Lendl Simmons (23) and Adrian Barath (15) had given the tourists a reasonable, if unspectacular, start to their innings after they were put in by Rahim, but only Denesh Ramdin among the middle order could reach double figures.

Samuels clobbered four sixes, including a monstrous one into the second tier at the end of the penultimate over, before he was caught behind off the bowling of Shafiul Islam with four balls left in the innings.

Shafiul was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers, taking two for 19 in his four overs.