Match Preview: What to Expect
It was an absolute thrashing that Bangladesh handed West Indies in the first game of the series. The men from the Caribbean barely even competed and were playing catch right from the start of the game.
Mustafizur Rahman gave Bangladesh a perfect start as he picked up two wickets with the new ball. He sent back the West Indies openers cheaply and set the tone. It was then time for the returning Shakib Al Hasan to wreak havoc. He ran through the West Indies middle-order and ensured he had a dream restart after his ban. In the space of four overs, the left-arm spinner took three wickets to leave the visitors reeling at 56/5. Debutant Hasan Mahmud then ran through the lower order as he took three wickets while Shakib picked up another to finish the game with magnificent figures of 4/8 from 7.2 overs and Mehidy Hasan also chipped in with one wicket.
For West Indies, only four players got into double-digits and it was only Kyle Mayers (40) and Rovman Powell (28) who looked comfortable and really got a start but even they couldn’t kick on and get a big score. Eventually, West Indies could just last 32.2 overs and they mustered a mere 122.
Bangladesh chased it down in a canter. They did lose four wickets and took 33.5 overs but it was all too easy for them. West Indies need to hit the reset button once again. Not only do they need to bounce back strongly in this three-match ODI series as this is must win game but they are also on a six-match losing streak against Bangladesh.
Summaryp>Bangladesh seem to be on a roll at the moment and they have managed to build a solid winning streak over West Indies. That win in the first ODI took their unbeaten run to six games and they have closed in on the gap in the head to head record as well. West Indies are still in the lead as they have won 21 games while Bangladesh have won 16. West Indies were unbeaten against Bangladesh in the first 13 ODIs (11 wins and 2 no-results). However, in the last 12 years or so, Bangladesh have been the ones who have been more dominant. Moreover, Bangladesh have won the last three out of the four ODI series’ against West Indies and that looks set to increase to four out of five. Also, West Indies have not beaten Bangladesh in an ODI series in Bangladesh since 2012.| Matches Played | Bangladesh | West Indies | No Result | |
| In Bangladesh | 18 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| In West Indies | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Neutral | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 39 | 16 | 21 | 2 |