West Indies rout toothless Tigers

West Indies took a giant stride towards the World Cup quarter-finals by pounding lacklustre Bangladesh by nine wickets in a key Group B match on Friday.

Lanky spinner Suleiman Benn grabbed 4-18, and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Darren Sammy claimed three each, to bowl out Bangladesh for their lowest one-day total of 58 in 18.5 overs.

The West Indies surpassed the small target in 12.2 overs even before the lights came on for the day-night game at the packed Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka.

Chris Gayle remained unbeaten on 37 off 36 balls, while Darren Bravo was on nine after Devon Smith was bowled by off-spinner Naeem Islam for six.

With only their second win in the last 11 one-day internationals, the West Indies have four points from three matches, the same as group leaders South Africa, who have played one match less.

Bangladesh, with one win from three games, were left with a mountain to climb to stay in contention for the quarter-finals.

The hosts must win their remaining league matches against England, South Africa and the Netherlands to ensure a place in the last eight.

A sell-out crowd of 25,000 jeered the home team and threw paper placards on the field after Bangladesh fell below their previous low of 74 against Australia in Darwin in 2008.

Bangladesh's reckless batting on a slow wicket saw them being bowled out for the lowest total in this World Cup after Kenya made 69 against New Zealand.

It was also the fourth lowest total in World Cup history.

Sammy's men took wickets at regular intervals after Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won his third successive toss and chose to bat.

The home team lost hard-hitting opener Tamim Iqbal off the third ball of the match when the left-hander attempted a lofty cover drive off Roach and edged a catch to Sammy at second slip.

Sammy, who handed the new ball to left-armer Benn for one over before coming on himself, forced Imrul Kayes to edge a catch to wicket-keeper Devon Thomas with his third delivery.

In his next over, Sammy removed Mushfiqur Rahim for no score, the young batsman flicking a catch to Ramnaresh Sarwan at short-mid-wicket.

Junaid Siddique hit a fluent 25 with four boundaries when he fell leg-before to Roach, a decision that was referred to TV umpire Asad Rauf.

Benn, who replaced Roach after the fast bowler's five-over spell that cost just 18 runs for two wickets, bowled Shakib with his second ball.

Sammy earned another success in his sixth over, the 14th of the innings, when Raqibul Hasan drove a slower ball to point where the towering Keiron Pollard took a low catch.

Roach, replacing Sammy for his second spell, struck with his first ball when former captain Mohammad Ashraful edged a catch to the wicket-keeper after making 11.

Benn then took the last two wickets in three balls to terminate the Bangladesh innings in quick time.

Bangladesh take on England next in Chittagong on March 11, the same day when the West Indies play Ireland in Mohali.

My worst day, says Bangladesh captain

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said his team's nine-wicket rout by the West Indies on Friday was the "worst day" of his career, but insisted his side's World Cup campaign was not over.

"We did not play well at all," said Shakib after Bangladesh were shot out for their lowest one-day total of 58 in just 18.5 overs, with the West Indies cantering home in the 13th over of their innings.

"I did not expect that we would play so badly. This has to be the worst day of my career."

A sell-out crowd of 25,000 packed into the Sher-e-Bangla stadium saw the day-night match come to an end even before the lights came on, jeering the home team and throwing paper placards on the field to show their disgust.

"I am not surprised they were angry, they have every right to be," said Shakib.

"They expect a lot from us because we have done well over the past few years. But I did not think we were capable of such a defeat.

"Our fans expect us to win games against good teams, especially at home. We just did not play good cricket at all. Nothing went right other than winning the toss."

Bangladesh's score was well short of their previous low of 74 against Australia in Darwin in 2008 and was also the fourth lowest total in World Cup history.

The World Cup co-hosts, with one win from three games in Group B, were left with a mountain to climb to stay in contention for the quarter-finals.

They face England, South Africa and the Netherlands in their remaining group matches.
But Shakib said Bangladesh were not yet out of the race.

"It is definitely possible to come back," he said. "If you win two out of three matches, we may still qualify. I know it will be hard to come back after losing this game.

"But the boys know they are capable of coming back strongly. They have done it before, so why not this time?"

Scorecard
Bangladesh innings:
Tamim Iqbal c Sammy b Roach 0
Imrul Kayes c Thomas b Sammy 5
Junaid Siddique lbw b Roach 25
Mushfiqur Rahim c Sarwan b Sammy 0
Shakib Al Hasan b Benn 8
Raqibul Hasan c Pollard b Sammy 4
Mohammad Ashraful c Thomas b Roach 11
Naeem Islam c Thomas b Benn 1
Shafiul Islam c Pollard b Benn 0
Abdur Razzak not out 2
Rubel Hossain b Benn 0
Extras: (w 1 nb 1) 2
Total (all out; 18.5 overs) 58
Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-16 3-25 4-36 5-41 6-51 7-56 8-56 9-58
Bowling: Roach 6-0-19-3 (1nb, 1w), Benn 5.5-2-18-4, Sammy
7-0-21-3

West Indies innings
D. Smith b Naeem Islam 6
C. Gayle not out 37
D. Bravo not out 9
Extras (b 2 w 5) 7
Total (for one wicket; 12.2 overs) 59
Fall of wicket: 1-29
Did not bat: R. Sarwan, S. Chanderpaul, K. Pollard, D.
Thomas, D. Sammy, N. Miller, S. Benn, K. Roach
Bowling: Shafiul Islam 2-0-11-0, Naeem Islam 6-1-14-1 (1w),
Rubel Hossain 1-0-12-0, Abdur Razzak 1-0-8-0 (2w), Mohammad
Ashraful 2-0-11-0, Shakib Al Hasan 0.2-0-1-0
Result: West Indies won by nine wickets
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat

Lowest World Cup totals
Lowest World Cup totals after Bangladesh were bowled out for 58 by the West Indies on Friday (team, score, overs, opposition, venue, date)
Canada 36 18.4 v Sri Lanka Paarl 19 Feb 2003
Canada 45 40.3 v England Manchester 13 Jun 1979
Namibia 45 14.0 v Australia Potchefstroom 27 Feb 2003
Bangladesh 58 18.5 v West Indies Dhaka 04 Mar 2011
Scotland 68 31.3 v West Indies Leicester 27 May 1999
Kenya 69 23.5 v New Zealand Chennai 20 Feb 2011
Pakistan 74 40.2 v England Adelaide 01 Mar 1992
Ireland 77 27.4 v Sri Lanka Port Elizabeth 18 Apr 2007
Bermuda 78 24.4 v Sri Lanka Port of Spain 15 Mar 2007
Namibia 84 17.4 v Pakistan Kimberley 16 Feb 2003

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