WI vs Ban: Shakib shines as rain ruins 1st T20I
Jul 03, 2022
Roseau [Dominica], July 3 : Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan showed signs of his best with an entertaining cameo as rain ruined the first T20I of the three-match series against West Indies.
Only 13 overs were possible at Windsor Park on Saturday as the first T20I between West Indies and Bangladesh finished without a result.
After West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran won the toss and elected to bowl first on a dreary day in Roseau, Bangladesh's innings never really reached any great heights as they battled their way to 105/8 from 13 overs.
There were delays at the start of the day as ground staff prepared the pitch and outfield and more play was lost during Bangladesh's innings as the weather continued to frustrate both teams.
One shining light for Bangladesh was the form of veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who once again showed his prowess in the shortest format of the game with an entertaining innings at first drop.
Shakib came to the crease inside the first over when Munim Shahriar (2) fell to Akeal Hosein and the Bangladesh ace wasted no time in making his intent known.
He took a particular liking to Hosein and then smashed leg-spinner, Hayden Walsh, into the stands in an entertaining 15-ball stay that netted 29 runs.
Walsh did have the final say, as he tempted Shakib one time too often from a Bangladesh perspective and Devon Thomas held on to a tough chance behind the stumps.
While Walsh got the big wicket of Shakib, it was Romario Shepherd that was West Indies' best bowler during the match as he picked up three key wickets and finished with figures of 3/21.
The right-armer varied his pace well to continually confuse the Bangladesh batters and he saw the demise of Liton Das (9) and Mahmudullah (8) with excellent slower deliveries.
Shepherd then found the outside edge of Mahedi Hasan's bat as Bangladesh's batting order collapsed before the rain intervened to save them in the opening match of the three-game series.
