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Bangladesh 249 for 7 (Siddique 55, Mahmudullah 51*, Roach 4-63) beat West Indies 248 (Fletcher 52, Mahmudullah 2-38, Mahbubul 2-42) by three wickets

Bangladesh held their nerve despite wobbles at significant junctures to complete a whitewash in St Kitts. Set a target of 249, they were given a fiery start by Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique before Mahmudullah steered the side through nervy moments to clinch a historic victory.

Things were looking a touch dicey for Bangladesh at 133 for 5 in the 28th over but they recovered through a serene partnership between Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, the wicketkeeper. It was almost risk-free cricket as the duo picked singles quietly and stole the odd boundary here and there to get closer to the target. Importantly, they knew the batting Powerplay could be taken later when acceleration was the need of the hour; till then it was time to play safe cricket. Mushfiqur picked up a couple of boundaries in the 38th over but he was unlucky to be given out out caught behind in the 40 th over, when replays showed he did not get bat on a flick down the pads.

Bangladesh opted for the batting Powerplay in the 44th over and immediately Naeem Islam smoked three boundaries off Gavin Donge. Two shuffled flicks followed a biff down the ground and the required rate dipped. Mahmudullah picked a six over long-off against Nikita Miller and Naeem hit another six, off Kemar Roach, before falling to the same bowler but by then the pair had ensured that they made full use of the Powerplay to clinch the win. West Indies were left to rue the first-ball reprieve that they offered to Mahmudullah when Darren Sammy spilled a catch at first slip.

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Bangladesh 246 for 9 (Ashraful 57, Shakib 54, Roach 5-44) beat West Indies 194 (Smith 65, Razzak 4-39)
by 52 runs

Shakib Al Hasan, yet again, was the architect of Bangladesh’s success as he delivered a fine allround performance to lead his team to a 52-run win in the series opener in Dominica. His fighting half-century helped his team post a formidable total on a slow pitch; his tactic of opening the bowling with left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak succeeded in denting West Indies early in their chase, and his dismissal of Devon Smith helped strangle the resistance which threatened to cause an upset. Mohammad Ashraful and Mahmudullah backed the effort with important contributions while fighting through a disciplined bowling performance led by Kemar Roach’s five-for.

West Indies showed few signs of learning from their mistakes in the Test series. Inept footwork combined with poor shot selection from their batsmen produced a top-order collapse on a track favouring slow bowlers. Shakib, without hesitation, opened the bowling with Razzak, who made a successful return to international cricket after being suspended for a suspect action. Accustomed to sharing the new ball – he had opened the bowling in the 2007 World Cup – he struck with his second ball, trapping Dale Richards in front and returned to bowl Travis Dowlin, who was found cutting too close to an arm ball. Razzak stuck to a flat trajectory, varied his pace, got the ball to grip and surprised the batsmen with both turn and bounce.

The arrival of the left-handed Floyd Reifer immediately prompted another ploy from Shakib. Mahmudullah – the offspinner who had dismissed him on four occasions in the Test series – was brought on, and he soon had the West Indies captain swinging across the line to be caught at point.

West Indies had to rely on their old hand Smith, and again on Dave Bernard, who struck three half-centuries in the Test series, to stage a recovery. The pair opened up once Razzak was given a break, using their feet and opting to play the spinners straight while ensuring the strike kept rotating after the second powerplay. Smith’s workmanlike 65 included just three fours, but he pierced the field with consistency while Bernard, the more cautious of the two, was prompt to see off any quiet phase with the pressure-relieving boundary. Their stand of 78 came close to even out proceedings before Shakib made the change, bringing himself on in the 29th over to trap Smith in front while sweeping across the line. The call was marginal as it appeared to be just clipping leg, but proved decisive. Bernard scored just one run off Shakib’s next over, and holed out one ball later to put the visitors firmly in control. Though the lower order kept the crowd intrigued, stepping up the pace, Razzak hit back with two more wickets to seal the finish.

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Bangladesh 232 (Rahim 48, Raqibul 44, Roach 6-48) and 217 for 6 (Shakib 96*, Raqibul 65, Sammy 5-55) beat West Indies 237 (Dowlin 95, Richards 69) and 209 (Bernard 69, Shakib 5-70) by four wickets

History was calling and Bangladesh showed they were all ears in Grenada. Raqibul Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan shared a thrilling 106-run partnership to charge Bangladesh to their first overseas series win. On an enthralling afternoon’s play, Darren Sammy threatened to do the improbable but Raqibul lifted Bangladesh with a plucky innings before the equally aggressive Shakib joined him to clinch a euphoric win.

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Four years and six months after their solitary Test win, Bangladesh sealed a historic second victory when they beat West Indies by 95 runs in St Vincent. Bangladesh’s spin twins Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah weaved a tantalising web to shove West Indies to defeat. Spare a thought, though, for David Bernard who thwarted everything thrown at him for 134 balls to remain unbeaten on a fine 52. The win, as special it was, would come with an asterisk that this was a second-string West Indies team.

The champagne moment arrived at 4.40 pm local time when the stand-in captain Shakib nailed last man Tino Best in front with a dipping full toss with only ten overs left in the day. Best put up his bat as if to suggest he had edged it but the finger was up and the Bangladeshi fielders moved into a huddle of joy. A limping Mashrafe Mortaza hobbled to the middle to join in the celebrations.

It was an enthralling last couple of sessions in the beautiful Kingstown stadium ringed by sea. The cricket in nature was almost sub-continental in its elements. Spinners operated with several close-in men prowling near the batsmen waiting for a mistake, and an over-excited chirpy wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim, applying immense pressure on the batsmen and the umpires with his appeals and adding drama with his oohs and aahs. And when the seamers came on, it wasn’t seam but reverse swing on view with the slinging Rubel Hossain and the grunting Shahadat Hossain trying their best to break through.

And the plot thickened in the last session, as Bernard found a willing partner in Nikita Miller, taking the minds back to Cardiff where England pulled off a great escape yesterday. But Mohammad Ashraful, who failed in both innings with the bat, stamped his presence in the game by removing Miller, who hung on his backfoot to defend stoutly for 54 balls, with one that straightened to get the edge. Mahmudullah returned to trap Ryan Austin and take out Kemar Roach before Shakib sealed the finish.

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