Anamul Haque became the third Bangladesh teenager to score a one-day century as his 120 lifted Bangladesh to a strong 292 in the second one-dayer. Bangladesh stuttered early after losing two quick wickets, recovered thanks to a rousing stand of 174 between Anamul and Mushfiqur Rahim, inexplicably lost momentum in the final Powerplay and for a while after as Anamul neared his century, but regrouped by ransacking 68 off the last five overs.
West Indies opted to bowl first in order to exploit whatever the pitch had to offer first thing in the morning for the seamers. They worked to a plan of setting the batsmen up with an atypical field set, pushing the midwicket back and bringing in fine leg. It turned out to be a smart move, producing the first two wickets. The short ball accounted for both, but the bowlers let the advantage slip in the middle overs.
West Indies could have had another wicket had Darren Sammy plucked a tough chance off his own bowling, when Mushfiqur was on 8. The moisture on the pitch had disappeared after the first half hour, handing the advantage to the batsmen, which Mushfiqur and Anamul relished. Half-volleys outside off were smashed past cover and one of the best shots in the morning was a wristy flick by Mushfiqur off Sammy that went for four.
Sunil Narine's fortunes on tour took a turn for the worse as the pair toyed with his bowling, which lacked the turn and bite he is normally associated with. Narine struggled with his control, handing freebies down the leg side in a deflating period for the visitors. Mushfiqur swept him for a six behind square and deftly cut one past short third man. Anamul improvised well against Narine, bringing up his maiden fifty with a late cut. With little seam movement on offer, Anamul was able to smash it through the line despite minimal footwork. He was strong on the pull as well, fetching boundaries off Dwayne Smith and Narine.
Bangladesh were progressing at a healthy 5.31 runs per over but ironically lost momentum when the field restrictions were on after the 35th over for the mandatory Powerplay. Realising that the fuller length deliveries weren't working, the seamers wisely dished out short deliveries, exploiting the new one-day rule that allows two bouncers an over.
Mushfiqur looked uncomfortable negotiating the short balls and the pressure created by the dot balls must have got to him as he tamely pulled Rampaul straight to midwicket. Another short one from Rampaul consumed Nasir Hossain, who offered a leading edge to short cover. Bangladesh could manage only a underwhelming 20 in the Powerplay.
Anamul slowed down as he approached his century, consuming 23 balls in the 90s, trying hard to pinch the gaps. The anxiety was evident when he squeezed a low full toss straight to point on 98, raising his bat in anger towards himself before regaining his composure. The boundaries had dried up and the drought lasted 42 balls before Mominul Haque cut Narine past gully. Mominul then smashed Smith over wide long-on to help the faltering innings regain lost ground.
Anamul's wait ended when he pulled Rampaul to deep square leg and with the pressure off his shoulders, biffed Andre Russell for two sixes and a four off consecutive balls to raise hopes of pushing 300. Both Anamul and Mominul fell to Rampaul - who picked up his second five-wicket haul - going for big hits. An expensive final over from Marlon Samuels helped Bangladesh to their highest score against West Indies and opened up the possibilities of a second consecutive win.
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