DHAKA: Captain Shakib Al Hasan produced a career-best 5-21 for Bangladesh to beat the West Indies by 36 runs in the second game to level their three-match Twenty20 International series on Thursday.

Shakib also provided vital late runs when Bangladesh batted first, his 26-ball 42 studded with five fours and one six lifting them to a more-than-competitive 211-4 and their second highest T20 total in the day-night match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

West Indies were in the chase at 98-3 in the 11th over until Shakib took three wickets in eight deliveries with his left-arm spin. The tourists were eventually all out for 175 in 19.2 overs.

After losing the first T20 by eight wickets, Bangladesh kept alive their ambition of winning all three series formats following their 2-0 win in the Tests and 2-1 triumph in the One-day Internationals.

The series-deciding third T20 game is also in Dhaka on Saturday.

Opener Liton Das launched Bangladesh by smashing 60 off 34 balls, his second half-century laced with six fours and four sixes after West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite opted to bowl first, keeping the dew factor in mind.

Liton kept the scoreboard ticking over following the dismissal of senior opener Tamim Iqbal, who struggled with his timing, for 15.

Bangladesh were set back when West Indies fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas varied their pace to claim three wickets for 10 runs, reducing the hosts to 120-4.

But Shakib and Mahmudullah, who bludgeoned 43 not out off just 21 deliveries, added an undefeated 91 off 42 balls for the fifth wicket to ensure the rapid start provided by Liton wasn’t wasted.

The captain then triggered a West Indies collapse when the visitors appeared to have the upper hand.

Fast bowler Abu Haider snagged opener Evin Lewis for one but Shai Hope, fresh from the third fastest T20 half-century, hit six boundaries in 19 deliveries to score 36.

When Nicholas Pooran was out to Shakib, caught on 14 by Tamim, Hope slowed down. There was relief all round by Bangladesh when Hope departed to off-spinner Mehidy Hasan to leave West Indies at 62-3 in the sixth over.

Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer were threatening, but Shakib turned the match toward Bangladesh again when he dismissed Hetmyer (19), Darren Bravo (2) to catches, and got Carlos Brathwaite (8) stumped.

He then became only the third Bangladeshi bowler to take five-for in T20 cricket after Elias Sunny in 2012 and Mustafizur Rahman in 2016 by bowling Fabian Allen for a duck when the ball skidded on the dew.

With wickets tumbling around him, Powell battled alone until he was eighth man out for 50 off 34 balls.

Scoreboard

BANGLADESH:

Tamim Iqbal c Cottrell b Allen 15
Liton Das b Cottrell 60
Soumya Sarkar c Brathwaite b Cottrell 32
Shakib Al Hasan not out 42
Mushfiqur Rahim c Allen b Thomas 1
Mahmudullah not out 43

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-12, NB-2) 18

TOTAL (for four wkts, 20 overs) 211

FALL OF WKTS: 1-42, 2-110, 3-113, 4-120.

DID NOT BAT: Ariful Haque, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Abu Hider, Mustafizur Rahman.

BOWLING: Cottrell 4-0-38-2 (1nb); Thomas 4-0-43-1 (1nb) Brathwaite 4-0-43-0 (5w); Allen 4-0-29-1 (2w); Paul 4-0-54-0 (5w).

WEST INDIES:

E. Lewis c Liton b Hider 1
S.D. Hope c Liton b Mehidy 36
N. Pooran c Tamim b Shakib 14
S.O. Hetmyer c Saifuddin b Shakib 19
R. Powell c Tamim b Mustafizur 50
D.M. Bravo c Mustafizur b Shakib 2
C.R. Brathwaite st Mushfiqur b Shakib 7
F.A. Allen b Shakib 0
K.M.A. Paul c Ariful b Mustafizur 29
S.S. Cottrell not out 3
O. Thomas b Mahmudullah 0

EXTRAS (LB-6, W-8) 14

TOTAL (all out, 19.2 overs) 175

FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-59, 3-62, 4-98, 5-101, 6-118, 7-138, 8-150, 9-173.

BOWLING: Abu Hider 4-0-33-1 (1w); Mohammad Saifuddin 4-0-42-0; Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-50-2 (6w); Shakib Al Hasan 4-0-20-5 (1w); Mehidy Hasan 3-0-23-1; Mahmudullah 0.2-0-1-1.

RESULT: Bangladesh won by 36 runs to level three-match 1-1.

UMPIRES: Tanvir Ahmed (Bangladesh) and Gazi Sohel (Bangladesh).

TV UMPIRE: Sharfuddoula (Bangladesh).

MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shakib Al Hasan.

FIRST MATCH: Sylhet, West Indies won by eight wickets.

THIRD MATCH: Dhaka (D/N), Saturday.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2018