Andre Russell picked a wicket in his very first over, dismissing Shakib Al Hasan, and defended 13 runs in the final over of the match.
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From being run out without facing a single delivery to bowling an exceptional final over to win the match, West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell had an unbelievable match against Bangladesh in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Friday. The result meant that Bangladesh were knocked out of the competition while the defending champions narrowly kept their place. At one point, it seemed like the partnership of Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah and Litton Das would see them over the line, but that was not to be. All responsibility fell on the shoulders of Russell to defend 13 runs in the last over of the match, and the all-rounder delivered for his team yet again. The West Indies had scored 142-7 in 20 overs and Bangladesh just narrowly missed out, making 139-5.
There were several blunders from both sides when it came to fielding. Substitute fielder Andre Fletcher dropped a Mahmudullah catch in the last over of the game and it seemed like that would be the defining moment of the match. The Bangladesh skipper fought till the very end, scoring an unbeaten 31 off 24 deliveries. He constructed a magnificent partnership with Litton Das who scored 44 runs off 43 deliveries. Had it not been for some brilliant death over bowling by the West Indies, these two might have easily sealed the victory.
However, if anyone deserves the plaudits, it has to be Russell. The all-rounder was the victim of an unfortunate run-out in the first innings and walked back to the dressing room without even facing a ball. His morale must have taken a severe hit. Then again, Russell is one of the great all-rounders in world cricket today and he showed the fans exactly why. He picked a wicket in his very first over, dismissing Shakib Al Hasan, and when the responsibility of defending 13 runs in the final over fell to him, Russell took it in his stride and delivered for his team.
Every single bowler for the West Indies took one wicket, with Jason Holder being the most economical with figures of 1-22 in four overs. Spinner Akeal Hossein also bowled a fine spell as he picked up one wicket for just 24 runs in four overs. Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo were the two other wicket-takers for the defending champions.
The star batter on the day for the West Indies was undoubtedly Nicholas Pooran. He seemed to be the only one on the team who understood the pitch and played brilliantly when his team was 62-4. Pooran scored 40 runs in just 22 deliveries, in a knock that included one boundary and four maximums. Things would have been better had Roston Chase been able to bat with a better strike rate, but he managed to score 39 runs in 46 deliveries. The rate of scoring was extremely slow for a T20 match.
Thankfully for the West Indies, all-rounder Jason Holder played a late cameo to get the score to over 140. Holder hit two consecutive sixes in the final over off Mustafizur Rahman before giving the strike to skipper Kieron Pollard. Holder scored an unbeaten 15 runs off just five deliveries.
Pollard was retired hurt earlier in the innings as he was reportedly feeling ill but he came back at the death to finish the innings in style for his team. He smashed a massive six of the last delivery and remained unbeaten on 14 off 18 deliveries. Despite the sluggish start to the innings, the West Indies will be quite happy with the total they posted after 20 overs.
Had it not been for Shoriful Islam, things could have been worse for Bangladesh who also had to win the match to stay in the competition. Islam picked the two crucial wickets of Chase and Pooran in consecutive deliveries. While Chase was not looking dangerous, Pooran was at his explosive best. Shoriful picked two wickets for just 20 runs in four overs.
Pacer Mustafizur Rahman bagged a couple of wickets but he was expensive as he conceded 43 runs in four overs. Spinner Mahedi Hasan also picked two wickets and he conceded 27 runs in four overs.
