Bangladesh aim to secure spot in tri-series final

DUBLIN, Ireland: Bangladesh will be looking to secure a place in the final of the tri-series when they face West Indies on Monday (today).

They were excellent in all departments during their previous meeting against West Indies, and an encore should put them in the final, against the same opponents. Bangladesh’s senior quartet, comprising Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mushfiqur Rahim, did very well collectively in their victory over West Indies. If Bangladesh are to do well at the ICC World Cup 2019, it is absolutely essential that these stalwarts stay in good touch.

Bangladesh will also be pleased with members outside that core unit doing well - Soumya Sarkar made a fluent 73 in that match, while Mohammad Saifuddin and Mustafizur Rahman shared four wickets between them. For Windies, the challenge will be for their batsmen to keep up the same level of performance, but against a more potent attack.

Shai Hope, Sunil Ambris and John Campbell have all scored centuries in the series, but only Hope looked the part against Bangladesh, scoring a valiant 109 as the rest of the order faltered.

Windies bowlers bundled out Ireland for 185 in the series opener, but have since picked up just seven wickets across two matches. Shannon Gabriel sparkled in the last game against Ireland, taking 2-47 in ten overs, even as Windies collectively conceded 327-5. They need more such performances.