BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Andre Russell’s astonishing 47-ball hundred stunned Bangladesh A and helped power West Indies High Performance Centre to an emphatic 117-run victory in the first one-dayer here yesterday.
The all-rounder, already a senior West Indies player, finished unbeaten on 132 from a mere 56 deliveries, as WI HPC piled up 327 for nine off 50 overs.
Left-hander Leon Johnson cracked 67 while Chadwick Walton, a right-hander, boosted the total with 61.
Seamer Shafiul Islam picked up three for 37 while medium pacers Muktar Ali (2-53) and Farhad Reza (2-78) finished with two wickets apiece.
In reply, Bangladesh A collapsed from 146 for three in the 27th over to be dismissed for 210 off 41.2 overs, with Shuvagoto Hom top scoring with a run-a-ball 51 and Imrul Kayes (38) and Marshall Ayub (30) chipping with smaller efforts.
Seamer and captain Carlos Brathwaite undermined the innings with three for 23 while off-spinner Ashley Nurse claimed three for 45.
Opting to bat first, WI HPC must have been ruing their decision when they crashed to 49 for four in the 15th over, thanks to a burst from Shafiul.
However, Johnson and Walton then added 91 for the fifth wicket, to lift the HPC beyond the 100-run mark. Johnson faced 81 balls and struck seven fours and a six while Walton went at better than a run-a-ball, counting five fours and two sixes off 59 deliveries.
Both fell within 19 balls of each other to leave the HPC on 163 for six in the 37th over but Russell then transformed the game.
Overall, he belted seven fours and 13 sixes, raising his first 50 off 35 balls and the second off an astonishing 12 deliveries.
In the process, he put on 47 with Brathwaite (20) before adding a whirlwind 95 off 40 balls with Nurse (14).
Bangladesh started positively, Imrul Kayes and Abdul Majid (9) staging a stand of 46 off 51 balls before they were removed in the space of 19 deliveries.
Hom then anchored two stands, 40 for the third wicket with Ayub and 32 for the fourth wicket with captain Naeem Islam (12) to keep Bangladesh A in contention at 146 for three.
Nurse’s introduction changed the game, however, as he ripped through the middle order, engineering a collapse that saw the last seven wickets tumble for 64 runs.
Scoreboard
WI HPC
J Charles c M Ayub b F Reza 9
N Bonner b S Islam 0
J Blackwood c N Hasan b S Islam 12
L Johnson c M Ayub b S Rahman 67
J Carter c F Reza b M Ali 5
+C Walton c wkp N Islam b S Islam 61
A Russell not out 132
*C Brathwaite c wkp N Hasan b M Ali 20
A Nurse c M Ayub b A Sunny 14
N Miller c S Hom b F Reza 1
Extras (lb1, w5) 6
TOTAL (9 wkts, 50 overs) 327
Did not bat: Sheldon Cottrell.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-11, 3-26, 4-49, 5-140, 6-163, 7-210, 8-305, 9-327.
Bowling: Farhad Reza 10-1-78-2, Shafiul Islam 10-1-37-3, Shuvagoto Hom 5-0-31-0, Muktar Ali 10-2-53-2, Arafat Sunny 9-0-72-1, Sabbir Rahman 6-0-55-1.
BANGLADESH A
Imrul Kayes c wkp Walton b Carter 38
Abdul Majid c Charles b Brathwaite 9
Marshall Ayub b Miller 30
Shuvagoto Hom c Blackwood b Nurse 51
*Naeem Islam c and b Nurse 12
Sabbir Rahman lbw b Nurse 17
+Nurul Hasan c Blackwood b Brathwaite 20
Farhad Reza c Blackwood b Miller 3
Muktar Ali c wkp Walton b Russell 6
Shafiul Islam c Carter b Brathwaite 11
Arafat Sunny not out 4
Extras (lb2, w7) 9
TOTAL (all out, 41.2 overs)
Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-65, 3-114, 4-146, 5-157, 6-166, 7-176, 8-192, 9-201, 10-210.
Bowling: Cottrell 8-0-36-0, Russell 6-0-41-1, Brathwaite 5.2-0-23-3, Carter 2-0-22-1, Miller 10-0-41-2, Nurse 10-0-45-3.
Toss: WI HPC.
Result: WI HPC won by 117 runs.