Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey

Bangladesh v West Indies: 5 key talking points. BAN vs WI: 5 key talking points from their 2019 Cricket World Cup clash.

Complete and utter torment in Taunton.

How the tables have turned. The last World Cup meeting between Bangladesh and West Indies resulted in stones being thrown at the West Indies bus. An expectant and hopeful home crowd, like the bus windows, were left shattered by Bangladesh’s 58-all out capitulation under the leadership of Shakib Al Hasan.

Fast forward eight years later, Shakib produced one of the all-time great World Cup performances to flatten West Indies. Along with Liton Das, Bangladesh made West Indies’ 321 look like child’s play, cantering to the total with 51 balls to spare.

The Tigers, with seven wins in their last nine games against West Indies, rightly looked at this game as a significant opportunity in the quest for a Semi Finals birth. They are now in the mix, with a crunch game against Australia to come on Thursday.

For now, here are five talking points from Bangladesh’s first ever win over West Indies in World Cups.

1. Supreme Shakib

Mark Nicholas, despite his magnificent commentary, raises eyebrows every time he mentions Shakib Al Hasan as an ‘understated’ cricketer. Shakib, top of the all-rounder rankings in all formats consistently over the past decade, showed why, picking up two wickets and then taking complete control of the game batting at number three.

To bat at three was Shakib’s request. He wanted to own games even more than he had for over a decade. Shakib is Bangladesh’s best ever cricketer, and he needs to constantly be in the action. Since his shift to number three in the Tri-Series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in January 2018, Shakib has only gone from strength-to-strength. He averages 59.68 in 19 ODIs at three, with this year alone producing 524 runs to date at a staggering average of 131.

Here, he made the Windies’ bowlers look third rate. The short ball, Bangladesh’s achilles heel at times over the years, was West Indies’ Plan A, B and C, with Chris Gayle as Plan D. Shakib obliged, cutting, pulling and then driving mercilessly as Jason Holder grew more and more helpless with each passing delivery. It was a masterclass from the world’s best all-rounder.

2. West Indies get it horribly wrong

It is incredible to think that a number of teams are still unsure of their best combinations in a World Cup. West Indies is one of those sides, unwilling to play a specialist spinner.

West Indies made a massive blunder here, playing Andre Russell as their fifth specialist bowler. The man can barely walk, offering up only three effective overs early in the innings, after which he looked physically incapable of doing anything more. Couple that with the lack of variety and Plan B in the attack, Bangladesh were cantering to the total, slowed down only by a freak piece of Sheldon Cottrell fielding and a legside strangle.

Bangladesh knew the short balls were coming. West Indies sent down 112 short-of-a-length deliveries, in which Bangladesh smashed 177 runs for the loss of just two wickets. Darren Bravo didn’t need to play. Ashley Nurse did. Jason Holder needed to try cut out Shakib’s cut shot. Maybe a gully? Backward point? Didn’t happen. There was too little adaptability and change of plans according to the situation.

This selection blunder also had an impact elsewhere. Both Bangladesh’s fielding and running between the wickets were streets ahead of the Windies, taking advantage of a number of slow movers inside the 30-yard circle, keeping the scoreboard ticking with incredible ease and regularity. Crucially, there were missed opportunities too, particularly Shakib’s top edge on 58 that fell in no man’s land.

3. Can Liton Das reach his potential?

Talented Bangladesh batsman. Beautiful on the eye. All the shots in the book…. with an average of 21.63 in 28 ODIs.

We’ve seen this before.

Mohammad Ashraful, arguably the most unfulfilled talent in the last two decades, had all the traits and numbers Liton Das has. Sure, Ashraful played a lot more games, but Liton was heading in the same direction, hence why he was left out of Bangladesh’s first XI in this World Cup.

However, this was an innings of high class. Walking in at the loss of two quick wickets on World Cup debut, Liton kept the scoreboard moving right away to move Bangladesh out of a position of stress. As he grew more confident, he raced to 50 before Jason Holder could even think about what to do next, then followed by an amazing highlight reel headlined by three superb sixes in a row off Shannon Gabriel.

If Liton can continue producing this kind of form, Bangladesh have yet another dimension to their play that can hold them in good stead in the race to the Semi Finals.

4. Shai Hope dividing opinion

Shai Hope has a superb record against Bangladesh. His rise in the ODI format has been a key reason why West Indies have grown more competitive in recent months. However, his 121-ball 96 is cause for discussion. Was he too cautious?

West Indies needed to rebuild after Chris Gayle’s early dismissal. Shai Hope, who plays the anchor role that West Indies need, did that well with Evin Lewis. He also anchored things nicely for Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder to go ballistic.

However, when he was required to hit big at the end, he couldn’t. Just 62 runs came in the final eight overs, prompting Holder to state after the game that they were 40-50 short. In a game like this, a strike rate of under 80 can prove crucial, and this is where Hope can improve.

He has the talent and ability. It’s about building on what he has now to elevate his game even further.

5. Where to now for Andre Russell?

Little impact with the bat and knees the size of mini-basketballs.

Andre Russell, a player who could have elevated West Indies to greater heights at CWC 2019, has struggled. His batting has not adapted to the longer format, and his bowling has been hampered by injury problems. Russell could barely walk by the time his sixth over was complete. Like perhaps most of his teammates at that point, he didn’t want to be on the field.

So, what do the Windies do? Is it worth carrying an injured player for potential, especially with such a crucial role as fifth bowler? Darren Ganga rightly claimed it was “incomprehensible” that an injured Russell was picked, and with their campaign officially on life support, the Windies have decisions to make – either play him as a batsman only or not at all.

Thanks for reading!

Also read: Be sure to check out my “key talking points” after each CWC 2019 game! The latest:

India vs Pakistan: India too good for hapless Pakistan

Afghanistan vs South Africa: RANT – Disgraceful Afghanistan team management

Australia vs Sri Lanka: Finch and Starc superb for Australia