1 Attachment(s)
Mosaddek's 20-ball fifty seals historic win for Bangladesh
Mosaddek Hossain drives on the up ICC
The Report by Mohammad Isam
Bangladesh 213 for 5 (Soumya 66, Mosaddek 52*) beat West Indies 152 for 1 (Hope 74, Ambris 69*) by five wickets via DLS method
Mosaddek Hossain's blinder, the perfect follow-up to the start provided by Soumya Sarkar, handed Bangladesh their first-ever ODI final win, as they chased down 210 inside the stipulated 24 overs which was set after West Indies reached 152 for 1 following a five-hour rain break.
Mosaddek hit the fastest ODI fifty for Bangladesh, off 20 balls, striking five sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 24-ball 52. He took charge in the 22nd over, with Bangladesh still needing 27 from 18 balls, going after left-arm spinner Fabian Allen as he hit him for three sixes and a four. Mahmudullah, his partner at the crease at the time, struck the winning runs in the next over with a rasping cover drive, with seven balls remaining.
West Indies were poor in the field for most parts. They were sloppy at the boundary and the bowlers conceded a number of wides. Their strong top-order contribution was once again let down by their bowlers and fielders.
They couldn't contain Soumya at the top, who struck 66 off 56 balls with nine fours and three sixes, and had essentially made the job easier for rest of the line-up. Soumya started the 210-run chase with two fours over cover off Ashley Nurse in the first over. Nurse dropped Tamim Iqbal off Kemar Roach in the third over. Soumya, having gained the strike from the resultant single, slammed a stylish six over wide long-on, and two more fours to take 17 off the over.
It was Shannon Gabriel who pulled things back by picking Tamim and Sabbir Rahman in the sixth over. But this dent hardly changed Soumya's flow as he struck Holder for two fours immediately, and then went on to reach his fifty off 27 balls, the fourth fastest by a Bangladesh batsman.
With contributions from Soumya and Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh reached their highest-ever score at the end of 10 overs in an ODI innings. Soumya, however, lost his wicket in the 12th.
Mushfiqur's quickfire 36 off 22 balls, that included two slog-swept sixes, ended in the 14th over when Raymon Reifer pinned him in front. After Mohammad Mithun fell two overs later, the chase got tense as Bangladesh slipped to 143 for five in the 16th over. But the Mahmudullah-Mosaddek sixth-wicket pair took them home with their 70-run stand.
Earlier in the day, the West Indies opening pair of Shai Hope and Sunil Ambris had posted a strong 125 for no loss in 20.1 overs before rain stopped play for nearly five hours. Ambris and Hope had both reached their fifties before the rain break, looking in full control after surviving many plays and misses in the first nine overs. It wasn't until the third over that Ambris went big, when he drove Mashrafe between extra cover and mid-off for the first four of the innings. The play resumed at 5.30pm local time, and West Indies added 21 runs in the remaining 3.5 overs.
