Motivated Bangladesh face West Indies in first ODI Sunday

Motivated Bangladesh take on West Indies in the first ODI of the two-match series scheduled to be held tomorrow (Sunday) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur.

The day/night match kicks off at 1 pm, reports BSS.

The Tigers are coming off the back of a 2-0 Test series victory over the West Indies having beaten the Caribbean side by an innings and 184 runs in their last test, thanks in part to Mehidy Hasan Miraz finishing with figures of 12 for 117 so they will look to carry that momentum into the ODI series.

The return of key two players Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal from injury may prove vital for Tigers that lacks star power but has the major benefit of home advantage. They will be boosted by their return and the momentum carried into this series from winning the Test series too.

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is back in the side from a finger injury while southpaw opener Tamim Iqbal returns after fracturing his left wrist during the Asia Cup in September. The left-handed batsman looked in great form in a warm-up match smashing a magnificent knock of 107 from 73 balls against the Caribbean.

Bangladesh’s strength lies in their experienced middle order, which includes Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah. Their bowling attack, too, has also done well recently. Offspin-bowling all-rounder Mehidy Hasan, who took a match haul of 12 wickets in the second Test in Dhaka, will be supported by the steady pace of Mashrafe Mortaza and Mohammad Saifuddin.

The West Indies, on the other hand, have a relatively young squad and are still searching for the right balance and based on their defeat in the warm- up match, this could be another difficult series for them.

They desperately need one or two of their batsmen to fire and get to grips with the pitches and spinners, and it may be a tough start for them here. The visitors however will go to the field with an upper hand as they managed to win 20 out of 31 matches while Bangladesh won nine matches.

Darren Bravo’s return lends much-needed experience to the batting line-up, which blew hot and cold in India. A lot will depend on whether their new ODI captain Rovman Powell and T20I captain Carlos Brathwaite can fire in the slog overs.