BASSETERRE Bangladesh suffered the only defeat on their trip to the Caribbean, when West Indies won their Twenty20 international by five wickets on Sunday.
Bangladesh were unsuccessful in defending a modest victory target of 119, after reckless batting - epitomised by four needless run outs - undermined their batting at Warner Park.
The result was secured, when Travis Dowlin, whose run-a-ball 37 was the top score, pulled a long-hop from left-arm spinner Mehrab Hossain Jr for the last of his five fours.
Sundays game followed two Tests and three one-day internationals between the two sides which ended in a historic sweep for Bangladesh of both series against a West Indies side depleted by a player boycott.
'We didnt bat well, especially the top-order batsmen, including myself, and we didnt play smart cricket, that was our downfall,' said Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.
'I dont know why we played like this, but we didnt execute our game plan well. If you have four run-outs in an innings, it will be very difficult for you to score runs in a T20.' He added 'We have played very good cricket for the last month, and one bad game does not make us look bad. We are looking forward to our trip to Zimbabwe.
It will be very important to us.'
Shakib, bowling his left-arm spin, removed opener Dale Richards with the very first ball of the West Indies run-chase.
But Bangladesh were put on the back-foot by a stand of 46 between Andre Fletcher and fellow Grenadian Devon Smith that put West Indies firmly on course.
Mohammad Ashraful ended with two wickets for 18 runs from two overs.
'Its good to have ended the series on a winning note,' said West Indies captain Floyd Reifer, who made 22.
'I thought the guys fielded really well to put them under pressure. In our team meetings, we talked about Twenty20 being a really fast-paced form of the game, and we needed everyone to be sharp in the field.' Reifer added 'It was going to be difficult for us coming into this match after losing the Tests and ODIs.
'But I told the guys that we had to look forward to the future, and think about the bigger picture. We needed to move forward and keep improving.'
Bangladesh suffered a batting meltdown and were restricted to 118 for nine from their 20 overs.
Naeem Islams 27 from 18 balls - which included two fours and two sixes - was the top score, while Mahmudullah made 21.
Bangladesh suffered a shaky start when they slumped to 12 for three in the third over, and never fully recovered.
Naeem and Mahmudullah added 31 for the fourth wicket in the most stable period of the innings, but they too, succeeded in running themselves out.
Nikita Miller was the most successful West Indies bowler with two for 22 from four overs, and Darren Sammy, who was named man-of-the-match, ended with two for 33 from four overs.—AFP
