West Indies vs Bangladesh, 1st T20I Match Preview, Prediction and Live Streaming

West Indies are having the time of their lives in the fifty-over format. In their last nine ODI fixtures, the Windies have won six games, and mind you these wins were not only comprehensive, but they also came against oppositions like England, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. A dampener for all this glory would be the fact that they will miss the upcoming ODI multi-nation event, the Champions Trophy. However, that does (and can) not take the spotlight away from their brilliance in the format lately.

They have a T20I series coming up against Bangladesh, and while their nearest T20I mega-event is also no less than 14 months away, this format still has more relevance throughout the year, in the form of franchise leagues, than the ODIs. In a way, they will see an equal opponent in Bangladesh in this format. Both teams have had an underwhelming year playing the shortest form of the game. And to cap the year with an opportunity to prove themselves better than this year has shown them would be something both sides would want to desperately grab.

Team Overview:

Bangladesh last played a T20I game against India in October and suffered a 3-0 series defeat. The side, this time, will be captained by Litton Das, who will fill in for the injured Najmul Hossain Shanto whose time sitting out is ominously elongating. Averaging 44 in Tests and almost 57 in ODIs on this tour, Jaker Ali is the player the team would want to pin most of their hopes on, though in an entirely different format.

Nahid Rana will feature in the T20I games and would be a welcome addition to complement Taskin Ahmed, who had a pretty tough time in the Caribbean with the white ball. Mahmudullah’s brilliant form in the three ODIs along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s successful journey towards becoming one of the better Bangladesh all-rounders, would inspire more confidence in the team going forward. But the question would remain, will the side be able to flex enough muscle power to match what West Indians hold?

Perhaps not. Despite their dismal results in the format, the West Indies’ batters have everything required to build a successful T20I batter. All they need is to hold on. Keacy Carty has been given his maiden call-up in the format, after doing a great job in ODIs. Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford’s absence in order to play the Big Bash League would sting the side plenty but if the openers get going the hosts will not have much to worry about. Johnson Charles is fit once again to join the side.

Head-to-Head Matches:

In 16 T20I games both sides have played against each other, West Indies have won 9, while Bangladesh came out on the top in 5 matches. Two games ended without any result. The last time both teams played in the format was in 2022 when the Windies bested the series 2-0.

Weather and Pitch Report:

Incidentally, Bangladesh was one of the two sides that last lit the stage at the Arnos Vale Ground in June this year during the T20 World Cup. Unfortunately, they had to endure an eight-run defeat against Afghanistan, which choked their T20 World Cup chances. The ground does not offer easy runs, especially scoring fast is a challenge here. A low-scoring game is on the cards as both teams will look to make the maximum of the bowling-friendly conditions early on in the game. The winds will be strong and that would really be the only impact the weather will have on the game since there are very little chance of rain to pay a visit.

Prediction:

Both sides have had an ordinary year in the T20Is and would want to end the year on a better note. West Indies will be without at least a couple of their regulars which means the team will need some time before they can adjust without them. This gives Bangladesh an opportunity to sweep the series opener.