Tigers fall apart

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Bangladesh were set to sign off from their best-ever World Cup campaign on a sour note when the Tigers were reeling on 48-5 in 20 overs chasing a challenging West Indies total of 230 in their final Super Eights match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados yesterday.

The Tigers, who floored India on their way to a dream passage into the second round and stunned the world by defeating top-ranked South Africa, never looked quite up to the task of negotiating the discomforting bounce that the famous venue was offering to the seam bowlers.

Bangladesh lost their way after young left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal was run out in a terrible mix-up with Javed Omar, recalled in the playing eleven in place of out-of-sort Shahriar Nafees.

WI beat Bangladesh
West Indies 230 for 5 in 50 overs (Sarwan 91 not out, Chanderpaul 50, Lara 33, Samuels 31; Aftab 1-12, Shakib 1-38, Mashrafe 1-39) beat Bangladesh 131 in 43.5 overs (Rahim 38 not out, Mashrafe 37, Powell 3-38, Collymore 2-11) by 99 runs.
Wickets fell more frequently than runs on the board with Aftab Ahmed (6), Shakib Al Hasan (0) and Mohammad Ashraful (2) and Javed joining the long procession.

Skipper Habibul Bashar, who had a miserable World Cup with the willow, was batting on 7 along with wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, 1.

Tamim was run out for seven with the total on 13 in the seventh over with Aftab Ahmed following quickly, caught behind by Denesh Ramdin for six off Corey Colleymore, for six to make the score 21-2. Shakib tried to cut off his chest, but could only manage to fend it off to Ramdin.

Ashraful mistimed an attempted pull and was caught at square leg.

Earlier, West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan hit an attractive unbeaten 91 as the hosts recovered from a precarious start to post a fair total.

The 26-year-old added 81 for the fourth wicket with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (50) and a quickfire 60 for the fifth with skipper Brian Lara to help the West Indies post the challenging total.

Sarwan hit five boundaries and two towering sixes during his 90-ball knock that lifted the hosts’ chances of winning their first match in the second round.

Sarwan, who is tipped to take over from Lara as captain, capitalised on some sloppy fielding as he and the skipper added 84 runs in the final 10 overs.

Lara, who was playing his penultimate match after announcing he would retire from one-day cricket after the World Cup, hit a robust 27-ball 33 with two sixes and a four before he was caught off Abdur Razzak in the 47th over.

But it was the Tigers who had the upper hand from the outset until late in the innings.

West Indian batsmen found going tough against some accurate pace bowling by Syed Rasel and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza following Bashar’s decision to bowl on a bouncy Kensington Oval pitch.

Mashrafe removed Devon Smith (five) in the third over, bowling the left-hander with a sharp incoming delivery before Rasel, who missed Bangladesh’s defeat against Ireland with a sprained ankle, trapped the out-of-form Chris Gayle in the next over.

Gayle made only one to continue his poor run of scores, having made just 148 in seven matches.

At 15-2, Bangladesh were unlucky not to have picked Marlon Samuels’s wicket when Shakib failed to hold a diving one-handed chance off Rasel at gully before the batsman had scored.

Chanderpaul, who was slow at the start, reached his 46th one-day fifty off 84 deliveries. The very next ball he missed a cross batted shot and was bowled by medium pacer Aftab Ahmed for 50. He hit three boundaries.

West Indies, who carried over two points into the Super Eights courtesy of a win over fellow qualifiers Ireland, brought back paceman Jerome Taylor for Ian Bradshaw and Samuels for Kieron Pollard.

Bangladesh paceman Syed Rasel (L) successfully appeals for an lbw decision against West Indies opener Chris Gayle (not in picture) during the World Cup Super Eights match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

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