Bangladesh’s Rishad Hossain delivered an exceptional performance with career-best figures of 6/35, leading his team to a 74-run victory over West Indies in the opening match of their three-match ODI series on Saturday.His bowling figures stand as the second-best by a Bangladesh bowler in ODIs, following Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s 6-26 against Kenya in 2006. Rishad also contributed with the bat, scoring a quick 26 runs off 13 balls.Brandon King and Alick Athanzae provided West Indies a solid start on the slow Mirpur pitch during their chase.The game shifted when Rishad was introduced in the 12th over. He dismissed Athanaze for 27, followed by Keacy Carty’s wicket, and then removed King, who top-scored with 44, leaving West Indies at 82-3 in the 22nd over.Bowling eight consecutive overs in his first spell, Rishad dismantled the West Indies middle order. The team lost their remaining seven wickets for just 51 runs.Mustafizur Rahman supported Rishad’s effort with figures of 2-16, helping to bowl out West Indies for 133 in 39 overs.Earlier, Bangladesh’s innings faced early trouble at 8-2 in the third over, but Towhid Hridoy steadied the ship with a composed 51 off 90 balls, including three boundaries.Hridoy and Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored 32, put together a crucial 71-run partnership.After reaching his 11th half-century with a single off Roston Chase, Hridoy fell to Justin Greaves.Debutant Mahidul Islam Ankon contributed 46 runs, while Rishad’s late hitting helped Bangladesh reach 207 all out in 49.4 overs.The series continues with the second ODI scheduled for Tuesday.
