West Indies were flying despite losing the early wicket of Brandon King. On Wednesday, opting to bat first against Bangladesh in the second T20I in Chattogram, Alick Athanaze and Shai Hope shared a blistering partnership of 105 runs in just 59 balls. It looked like a 200+ total was on the cards. But two left-arm bowlers turned the game around for Bangladesh.
From 106/1, the Windies collapsed to 149/9 in no time, thanks to a masterclass from Nasum Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman at the Bir Shrestha Shahid Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Cricket Stadium in Chattogram.
Nasum initiated the carnage, while Mustafizur ran through the Windies’ middle order. Despite the Caribbean dominance, spectators were buzzing with joy, cheering every delivery regardless of the match situation. To repay their unwavering support, Nasum Ahmed rose to the occasion after conceding 32 runs in his first three overs.
In his final over, Nasum broke the 105-run partnership by dismissing Athanaze. A slowish-length delivery on middle stump induced a slog sweep from Athanaze, which was comfortably pouched by Tanzid Hasan Tamim. On the very next ball, Nasum uprooted the stumps of Sherfane Rutherford with a straight delivery, further rattling the Windies’ innings.
Then Mustafizur Rahman took center stage, bowling his four overs in three distinct phases of the innings. In the 13th over, Shai Hope, who had scored a fighting 55, fell to Mustafizur’s slower off-cutter. Deceived by the change of pace, Hope was caught at point by Shamim Hossain.
The drama did not end there. In the last over of the innings, Mustafizur produced a double strike. Romario Shepherd was deceived by his trademark off-cutter, miscuing a shot to Jaker Ali, who barely had to move to take the catch. Sitting on a potential hat-trick, Mustafizur then clean bowled Khary Pierre with a perfectly executed delivery, sealing a remarkable collapse.
The Windies could easily have posted 200+ on the batting-friendly Sagorika track, but thanks to the two left-arm bowlers, Bangladesh regained control. Nasum, who claimed two wickets in his four-over spell conceding 35 runs, admitted that the Windies were on track for a massive total before the turnaround.
During the mid-innings break, Nasum reflected, “Yes, we’re all very happy. The way they started, it looked like they would get 180–200, but the bowlers pulled it back brilliantly.”
Bangladesh’s comeback, despite facing an early assault, was remarkable. The team took eight wickets for just 44 runs, a feat that drew applause from the home crowd. Praising the collective effort, Nasum added, “I would say all our bowlers bowled really well in the last ten overs. They were 101 after ten, which means they scored only 48 in the last ten. All credit goes to the bowlers—they made a great comeback.”
