All-Round West Indies Brush Aside Bangladesh in the 1st T20I at Chattogram

West Indies started the T20I series against Bangladesh on a high note. They defeated the home side by 16 runs, courtesy of some great bowling by Jason Holder and Jayden Seales in the 2nd innings. The victory against Bangladesh gave West Indies a strong start, as they struggled quite badly in the recently concluded ODI series. Rovman Powell was named player of the match, as he scored a quick 44 runs for the visiting side in the first innings.

Batting first, West Indies started the innings cautiously. They knew the nature of the pitch in Chattogram, hence playing rash shots was not an option for them. The visitors also opted for a new opening pair in this match, as they plan to finalize their batting strategy ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Both Alick Athanaze and Brandon King made sure to play the Powerplay smartly without losing any wickets. Bangladesh also kept things tight at the start, which made scoring quite difficult for both batters. Rishad Hossain ultimately got the breakthrough in the 9th over when he cleaned up Alick Athanaze for 34. Soon after that, Brandon King also lost his wicket in the 13th over after making just 33 runs.

At that moment, the WI batting innings lacked momentum. However, things changed when Shai Hope came out to bat. The captain took on the Bangladesh bowlers with full confidence, trusting his game and shot-making abilities.

Shai Hope built a strong partnership alongside Rovman Powell at the other end. Both batters lifted the innings' tempo by hitting boundaries regularly. Due to their splendid batting, Bangladesh bowlers panicked and forgot their lines and lengths. Both batters took advantage of this situation and lifted the WI score to 165 at the end of the innings. Shai Hope starred with 46 runs, while Rovman Powell played a strong knock by scoring 44 runs off just 28 balls.

When Bangladesh came out to bat, they struggled to get their chase underway. The home team lost 4 wickets inside the Powerplay, as West Indies choked their batting plans with exceptional bowling. Saif Hassan went back to the pavilion after making just 8 runs, whereas Litton Das also lost his wicket for just 5 runs. These early blows halted the charge of the Bangladesh batters, giving the West Indies a strong footing in their defense of the target.

Towhid Hridoy tried to steady the innings during the middle overs, but he didn’t get much support from the other batters. Both Shamim Hossain and Nurul Hasan got out early without entering double figures. This created more pressure on the Bangladesh batting, which was looking quite disorganized from the start of the innings.

Some lower-order push by Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Nasum Ahmed made the match a bit interesting. From here, West Indies came back into the game by removing both players. Akeal Hosein choked the Bangladesh batting by restricting them from playing big shots and striking rotation.

In the end, Bangladesh got out after making just 149 runs. They lost the 1st T20I at Chattogram by 16 runs, as WI took the lead in the series. Both teams will now face each other in the 2nd T20I at the same venue on October 29. It would be a good contest to watch, as Bangladesh will try to make a comeback in the series by winning the next game.