Despite having eight wickets in hand, Bangladesh was unable to reach the 300-run mark. After the remarkable opening stand, the team managed only 77 runs for the loss of six wickets in the remaining 78 balls. Fans were left disappointed by the poor batting display during the slog overs. Bangladesh ultimately finished at 296 for 8. To win the series, West Indies now need 297 runs.
In truth, the batsmen after the openers failed to build on the solid platform set by Saif Hassan and Soumya Sarkar. The opening pair had put on 176 runs in just 25.2 overs, raising hopes that the team would comfortably surpass 350. However, that did not materialise.
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat, making a strong start. For the first time in the series, the two openers displayed excellent confidence, putting on a century partnership off 93 balls and then reaching 150 runs in 128 balls.
The aggressive opening stand finally ended at 176 runs, marking the second-highest opening partnership in Bangladesh’s ODI history. The highest opening partnership record is held by Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das, who scored 200 against Zimbabwe in Sylhet in 2020.
Saif and Soumya also surpassed the record of 170 runs set by Shahriar Hossain and Mehrab Hossain against Zimbabwe in Dhaka back in 1999.
However, both batsmen departed with regrets. Saif was dismissed after scoring 80 runs off 72 balls, including six fours and six sixes. He was caught out attempting a slog sweep against Roston Chase, mistiming the shot and sending the ball high into the air.
Soumya came even closer to a century, scoring 91 runs off 86 balls with seven fours and four sixes. He was caught after attempting a big shot off Akil Hossain, falling just nine runs short of the milestone.
Following the loss of the two openers, Bangladesh’s scoring rate slowed considerably. Tawhid Hridoy batted particularly cautiously. Although he attempted to accelerate at one point and managed a boundary, he was soon caught out attempting a slog sweep for a six. He scored 28 runs off 44 balls, including two boundaries.
Shanto’s innings was also modest, and though the West Indies fielders dropped a few catches off his bat, they did not miss the crucial one. He eventually holed out to Akil Hossain’s bowling after scoring 44 runs off 55 balls, which included three sixes.
Mahidul Islam Ankon changed his bat during his innings but was dismissed bowled by Akil Hossain on the very next ball after scoring six runs from ten deliveries. Rishad Hossain, promoted up the order, was unable to make an impact, scoring three runs off six balls before being dismissed. Nasum Ahmed also failed to score, departing for just one run. Bangladesh lost four wickets for just nine runs.
Afterwards, Mehedi Hasan Miraz scored 17 runs off his allotted balls, and Nurul Hasan Sohan contributed 16 runs from eight balls with a boundary and a six, helping Bangladesh approach the 300-run mark.
Left-arm spinner Akil Hossain was the standout bowler for West Indies, taking four wickets for 41 runs.