‘Nice to see us ticking boxes and keep improving’ - Shai Hope reflects on series win vs Bangladesh

West Indies defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in the second ODI of the series in St Kitts. Batting first, the visitors failed to impress and were reduced to 64/4 at one stage. Opener Tanzid Hasan looked in good touch in the powerplay but he barely had support from the other end. Bangladesh were under pressure before Mahmudullah and Tanzim Sakib played important knocks, scoring 62 and 45 runs respectively. However, they needed someone to step up and play a big knock.

In the end, Bangladesh posted 227 runs on board in the first innings. Pacer Jayden Seales picked up three wickets in the powerplay and four in total, as West Indies was happy with their performance in the first innings. In the second, openers Brandon King and Evin Lewis gave a perfect start, scoring 82 and 49 runs respectively. They stitched a partnership of 109 runs, which pushed the visitors out of the contest.

Meanwhile, after the game, West Indies captain Shai Hope reflected on their incredible win and noted the importance of picking wickets on the powerplay. He added that the team is ticking boxes and improving, which is key.

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“Very pleased. You understand the importance of wickets in the powerplay and the bowlers delivered what was asked of them. We always analyze our game whether we win or lose and it is nice to see us ticking boxes and keep improving. We asked the guys to finish the series up here 2-0 and one more to go, so looking forward to it,” Hope said in the post-match presentations.

Did not bat well in the middle overs: Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz highlighted that the team didn’t bat well in the middle overs. However, he acknowledged Mahmudullah and Sakib’s contribution with the bat and added that the team bowled well in the first ten overs but overall, there’s plenty of room for improvement. 

“We did not bat well in the middle overs and could not get the partnerships going. Mahmudullah and Sakib tried their best at the end with the bat. They bowled really well and first few overs they did not allow us to get runs and Seales was bowling really well. We knew 228 was not going to be enough on this wicket. We bowled really well in the first 10 overs, but there are some areas we need to improve on,” Miraz said.