Today marks the final ODI of the series, played in St. Kitts. Before the match, what could Mehedi Hasan Miraz say? Even without asking him, it’s easy to guess that the Bangladesh captain would want to at least win the final match, despite losing the series already, to avoid a whitewash. Such a win could also give the team some confidence heading into the T20 series.
For Bangladesh, the task now is to find a consolation win in the ODI series against the West Indies. This is a new experience for Bangladesh, as the team has historically performed well in ODIs against the West Indies. Before this series, Bangladesh had won five out of the six previous ODI series between the two teams, with the last loss dating back to 2014. Bangladesh’s dominance was not limited to home ground; they had won ODI series in the West Indies in 2018 and 2022 as well. With such a record, it’s clear that Bangladesh is disappointed by their current performance, as they now aim to avoid a whitewash in the last match.
However, after an impressive Test series draw in Antigua, hopes were high that Bangladesh would continue their winning streak in the ODI format. In previous series where Bangladesh won, they had struggled in the Test matches, so a Test draw had provided extra confidence. Given this, it seemed unlikely that the ODI record against the West Indies would not be repeated.
Yet, Bangladesh lost the first two ODIs, and now, in the final match, they are fighting to avoid a whitewash. Why? One reason could be the inexperience of the current squad, as many senior players are missing. The only senior player remaining is Mahmudullah, who has shown his value by scoring two crucial fifties in the first two ODIs. He could now easily announce, “I’m not leaving ODIs anytime soon.”
This was evident in the second ODI when, after a solid start from opener Tanzid Hasan, Bangladesh lost three top-order batsmen. At 115 for 7, Mahmudullah found himself at the crease with the tail-ender Tanzid Hasan. Together, they managed to put on a partnership of 92 runs, with Mahmudullah scoring 45 off 62 balls. But with a target of 227, a chase that should have been manageable on a pitch where Bangladesh had scored 294 runs in the first ODI, West Indies comfortably surpassed the target in the 37th over. A 109-run opening partnership between Brandon King and Evin Lewis helped West Indies win by 7 wickets.
After the match, captain Miraz praised the early bowling performance but acknowledged the batting failure, stating, “We bowled well in the first 10 overs, especially Rana, who was our best bowler. But defending this score on this wicket was very tough for the bowlers.” He also reiterated the old lesson, “Our score wasn’t enough; we needed to make over 300.”
The conditions and strategies may change, but the key to avoiding a whitewash in today’s match is the same: play good cricket.
