The West Indies Under-19 team trailing their Bangladesh counterpart 2-3 in their seven-match One Day International series need to win today’s sixth ODI at the Albion Community Centre ground if they are to set up a grand finale in the seventh and final ODI.
The West Indies boys face a stiff task when the square up against Bangladesh today on an Albion pitch known for assisting spinners.
Their slow-bowlers have been causing all sorts of nightmares for the West Indies batsmen with Zubair Likhon even recording a hat-trick while Javed Rahuttul and skipper Mehedi Miraj and others have supported well.
The series started off in favor of the home team after the comprehensively won the first One Day International. But, a few bad performances with the bat saw the Caribbean team losing the next three ODIs.
Match five played on Wednesday was a do-or-die game for the Windies who convincingly defeated the tourist by 64 runs.
Young left-hander Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who looked a bit scratchy earlier in the tournament, finally came to the party hitting a solid half-century.
The young-left hander seems to be finally tapping into his batting genetics but will need to hold his composure for this all important encounter. Berbician Shimron Hetemyer, who for the first time will be playing at the highest level on his home ground of Albion, will look to create fire-works while his teammates, apart from the consistent Trinidadian Jeremy Solozano, should also seek to provide support.
Spearhead fast-bowler Ray Jordan continues to impress with his pace and movement and is a key figure in the bowling unit while the West Indian part-time medium and slow bowlers have also been effective and will need to continue their showings.
All eyes will be on another home-turf boy Gudakesh Motie-Kanahi, who has been the team’s stand out performer in terms of his economy and consistency in taking wickets. The left-arm spinner watched by his Albion supporters should be a handful.
No questions should be asked about the Bangladesh batting line-up as they have shown throughout the tour that their batters are capable of chasing down or posting big targets.
The responsibility will lie with the bats of opener Sadman Anik, who has missed out on being the only centurion of the tournament by five runs and continued to show his class in other games.
Other batsmen such as wicket-keeper Jashim Uddin who has recorded three half-centuries and the dangerous Mossadek Saikat will be called upon to continue their good showing. With the final match set for the Everest Sports Club ground on Monday, the West Indies know a win today will put them right back in the fold to possibly win the series while a win for the tourist means a 4-2 result and the series win. The match commences at 9:00hrs and admission is free.