Twitter Reactions: Windies gain the upper hand with a clinical show in the first T20I

After the jolt in the ODI series, Windies are now up against Bangladesh for a 3-match T20I series. While the first game of this series was played at St Kitts in West Indies, the last two games will be played at Lauderhill in Florida. West Indies went into this series as the favourites to win it as they are one of the most dominating teams in T20Is. They lived up to the expectations in the series opener.

The hosts won the toss and opted to bowl first in this game. Windies spinner Ashley Nurse stunned the visitors by dismissing both the openers for a golden duck in the first over. None of the other batsmen could get going after this initial blow. While almost all of them got good starts, but none of them notched up a big score. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan tried to play some aggressive cricket. But, he was soon dismissed after he scoring 19 off 10 balls.

Mushfiqur Rahim failed yet again but Mahmudullah stayed put and scored 35 off 27 balls which propelled Bangladesh’s score. But, he got out while trying to play an ambitious shot and they collapsed. Late wickets hurt them as the visitors could only muster a total of 143 runs after 20 overs. The start of the second innings was delayed due to a rain interruption.

Russell steers Windies

The target for Windies was reduced to 91 from 11 overs according to the DLS method. However, Mustafizur Rahman picked two wickets in the same over to bring Windies down to 10/2 in two overs. But, Andre Russell and Marlon Samuels got their act together streamlining the chase. The former was surprisingly promoted to number 3 and he didn’t disappoint. The duo added 42 runs off just 22 deliveries which meant that Samuels’ wicket didn’t deter Windies much.

They eventually got to the target comfortably with 11 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand. Russell was the hero with the bat for them as he remained unbeaten on 35 off 21 balls with 3 fours and as many 3 sixes. Much like the ODI series they have taken a 1-0 lead now in the T20Is as well and would be looking to seal the series in the next game itself.

While the Windies fans were thrilled with the victory, the tourists were utterly disappointed with their show. Tweeple praised Ashley Nurse for his exceptional bowling and trolled Bangladesh for their recent performances in T20Is.

Here’s how Twitter reacted during the game:

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