West Indies captain Shai Hope has urged his team to strive for consistency after they won the opening ODI of their three-match series by five wickets.
The West Indies ended an 11-match losing streak to Bangladesh in the format, chasing down their target of 295 with 14 balls remaining at Werner Park on Sunday.
Bangladesh made a strong target, with Tanzid Hasan (60), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (74) and Mahmudullah (50 not out) all helping to carry them to 294-6 by the end of their innings.
However, after a slow start, the West Indies were indebted to Hope (86) and Sherfane Rutherford (113), who scored his maiden ODI century, as they clinched the win and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
The West Indies at one point had needed 161 off 114 balls, but Hope’s partnership with Rutherford, who hit seven fours and eight sixes, turned the tide, and the captain was impressed with the fight they showed to end the losing run.
“[I’m impressed] just [by] the way the guys went out there and showed we wanted to turn around that 11-game streak,” he said. “We spoke about that quite a bit.
“[Roston Chase] wasn’t getting much turn on the pitch. We had the luxury of Justin Greaves and there was more on offer for pace.
“I think [Rutherford has] really improved his batting. We ask for consistency, we always speak about it, and he’s showing that. He strikes the ball really well and the hard work is paying off in the middle. He was disappointed not to finish the game.
“We ask batters to put their hands up and put up big scores more often. The top three, top four need to put their hands up. We want to continue, not relax, we have to stay as consistent as possible.”
Bangladesh themselves were consistent with the bat, getting into a good position even as Romari Shepherd (3-51) tried to break up their play, taking Litton Das for two before stopping Jaker Ali (48) just short of his half-century in the final over.
Miraz admitted he was initially happy with the target they set but was left frustrated by their struggles to stop the West Indies’ chase.
“Yes, we were satisfied. 294 is a very good score on this kind of pitch,” he said. “Credit to them, especially Hope and Rutherford. They got a partnership on this wicket.
“It was a tough day for our bowlers. We started really well, especially Nahid [Rana], Taskin [Ahmed] and Tanzim [Hasan], they bowled really well. But after that, we didn’t bowl well in the middle overs. We didn’t get wickets.
“It can happen, but still, the wicket was looking good, and they played well. We’ll learn from so many things. We made some mistakes. We’ll focus on how to get better in the next matches. We have two matches left, so I think we have a good chance.”
