Bangladesh were keeping the West Indies on a tight leash in their World Cup clash at Taunton on Monday after dismissing star opener Chris Gayle for a duck.
When Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and elected to field, he admitted he was hoping to take advantage of a pitch that might help his bowlers.
Mashrafe’s decision paid off as the West Indies were contained to a sedate 94-1 from the first 22 overs.
Evin Lewis was on 49 from 57 balls, while Shai Hope had made 37 from 62 deliveries.
West Indies opener Gayle was on familiar turf at Taunton, where he played for English county Somerset, but he failed to deliver the hoped-for fireworks.
Gayle was expected to wreak havoc in the tournament, but the big-hitting 39-year-old has only managed scores of 50, 21 and 36.
Once again Gayle looked out of sorts against Bangladesh as he poked at the ball with little power.
He went 12 balls without scoring before dangling his bat limply at Mohammad Saifuddin’s seaming delivery on the 13th, with the edge well held low down by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
Gayle’s dismissal kept the West Indies from establishing any early momentum and they managed just eight runs off the opening five overs of the innings.
Mortaza was tying the West Indies in knots and his clever spell of nine runs from five overs helped restrict Jason Holder’s side to the lowest scoring 10-over powerplay of the tournament so far.
Bangladesh have had the upper hand against the West Indies in recent meetings, winning six of the last seven, including all three games in the Tri-nation series in Ireland last month.
Both the West Indies and Bangladesh have won one of their four group matches, with two defeats and one no result apiece.
Each knew victory would take them up to fifth in the table, while a defeat would leave their semi-final hopes in severe danger.
