Bangladesh survive Powell scare, claim historic T20I win over WI
What's the story
Bangladesh pulled off a thrilling seven-run win over West Indies in the first T20I at Arnos Vale Stadium on December 16.
The match was played on Bangladesh's Victory Day, making the win even more historic.
Mahedi Hasan was the architect of this win, picking up his career-best figures of 4/13 in four overs and helping his side defend a target of 148.
Meanwhile, a fighting half-century from WI skipper Rovman Powell went in vain.
Match highlights
Mahedi Hasan's exceptional performance
WI's chase started on a tought note with Taskin Ahmed sending Brandon King back for one in the second over.
Mahedi then took center stage, sending Nicholas Pooran back for one and Johnson Charles for 20 in the third and fifth overs respectively.
His brilliant performance continued into the seventh over where he sent Roston Chase back for seven and Andre Fletcher without scoring.
Game changer
West Indies's fightback and Bangladesh's response
Despite being reduced to 62/7, the West Indies found hope in a 67-run partnership between Powell (60) and Romario Shepherd (22).
However, their hopes were dashed when Taskin dismissed Shepherd.
Powell's impressive knock of 60 off 35 balls wasn't enough to secure a win for his team as Hasan Mahmud bowled a decisive final over, taking two crucial wickets including that of Powell.
WI were hence folded for 140 in 19.5 overs.
Batting performance
Bangladesh's batting struggles and late stability
Earlier in the match, Bangladesh could only manage 147 for six wickets.
The team was rocked early with Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Litton Das falling cheaply.
However, a crucial 57-run partnership between Soumya Sarkar (43) and Jaker Ali Anik (27) steadied the innings.
Later, Shamim Hossain (27) and Mahedi Hasan (26*) added a vital 49 runs for the sixth wicket to lend some late stability to their innings.
Mahedi
Career-best figures for Mahedi
Mahedi, who was exceptional throughout his spell, finished with figures worth 4/13 in four overs.
As per ESPNcricinfo, this was his maiden four-fer in the format as the off-spinner has now raced to 42 wickets from 52 games at a brilliant economy rate of 6.60.
Notably, the off-spinner has claimed eight wickets from five T20Is against WI with his economy being 5.75.
Powell
Third fifty against Bangladesh for Powell
Powell hit five fours and four maximums en route to his 60 off 35 balls.
He has now raced to 1,739 T20I runs at 26.34. The tally includes eight fifties and a ton. The dasher owns a strike rate of 141.84.
As per ESPNcricinfo, Powell now has 276 runs in 10 matches versus Bangladesh at 46 (50s: 3).
Meanwhile, Powell scored his fourth T20I fifty as captain.
Information
Maiden away T20I win vs WI
This was Bangladesh's maiden away T20I triumph over West Indies. The Men in Maroon have overall hosted the Tigers across five concluded T20Is, winning four of them.