Bangladesh Clinches Series in Rishad’s Rhythm

Bangladesh celebrated a night full of joy, inspired by the scintillating performance of Rishad Hossain. Spin bowling coach Mustak Ahmed congratulated him with a warm pat on the shoulder, while also acknowledging Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hassan. The post-match celebration in the dressing room reflected the same exuberance seen on the field, as if the entire team were one happy family.

There was every reason for Mehedi Hasan Miraz and his team to be delighted. After four consecutive series losses, Bangladesh defeated the West Indies by 179 runs in the series-deciding match on Thursday (24 October), winning the series 2-1.

Under Mehedi Hasan Miraz’s leadership, Bangladesh had struggled in recent times. The team had been stuck in a losing streak since last year. Miraz took charge of the team during the final match of the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan at Sharjah Stadium in 2024 and has been the ODI captain ever since, formally assuming the role during the Sri Lanka tour. Under his captaincy, Bangladesh has played 13 matches, winning three—one on the Sri Lanka tour and two against the West Indies.

The series against the West Indies was crucial for Bangladesh. A 3-0 clean sweep could have boosted their ranking to ninth place. However, a super over loss in the second match dashed that hope. The strong performance in the final match alleviated fans’ disappointment, allowing the team to approach the upcoming T20 series with confidence.

In yesterday’s match, Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hassan excelled. On a turning wicket, their batting was extraordinary, building a 176-run partnership, the second-best opening stand in Bangladesh’s history. The record for the highest opening partnership belongs to Tamim Iqbal and Liton Kumar Das, who scored 292 runs at Sylhet International Stadium in 2020.

Saif Hassan began the innings with two boundaries off Akil Hossain in the opening over and hit his first six off the left-arm spinner. Soumya gradually opened up and, together with Saif, took the team’s score past 200 runs. After 45 innings, Bangladesh finally recorded a century for an opening partnership.

Both Rishad and Soumya received the player-of-the-match awards. Soumya was included in the team due to Parvez Hossain Emon’s shoulder injury. After years of waiting, he made the most of his opportunity, scoring 4 runs in the first match, 45 in the second, and narrowly missing a century in the series-decider—86 balls for 91 runs at a strike rate of 105.81.

Saif Hassan achieved his first half-century in his sixth ODI, scoring 80 runs off 72 balls, with six sixes and six fours. Najmul Hossain Shanto also contributed 44 runs off 55 balls. Together, these three batsmen helped Bangladesh post 296 for 8 in the allotted 50 overs. Akil Hossain and Athenak took four and two wickets, respectively.

Chasing 297, the West Indies were bowled out for 117. The four spinners shared 10 wickets among them—Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain took three wickets each, while Mehedi Hasan and Tanvir Islam claimed two each.

— Khabarwala / MZ