Men in maroon working hard to turn things around – Powell

CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh (CMC):

HAVING LOST their last three T20I series, the West Indies are trying to turn things around against Bangladesh, says veteran player and former captain Rovman Powell.

The regional side entered the three-match series against the hosts reeling from 2-1 defeats against Nepal and Pakistan, along with a 5-0 whitewash at the hands of Australia at home back in July.

In fact, the West Indies have won just one of their last eight T20I series, with their lone victory coming in a 1-0 triumph over minnows Ireland during their tour of England in June.

Among those defeats was a 3-0 drubbing by Bangladesh back in December 2024, where they were thoroughly outplayed at home.

However, the West Indies took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series against the hosts by winning Monday’s opening match by 16 runs at the Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium.

Victory in today’s second T20I at the same venue will help them secure the series with a match to spare.

They were led by standout performances by Player-of-the-Match Powell and captain Shai Hope with the bat, and Jason Holder and Jayden Seales with the ball.

Powell blasted 44 runs from 28 balls and shared an unbroken partnership of 83 with Hope, to push West Indies to 165 for three in their 20 overs.

Holder and Seales then took three wickets apiece to see them bowl out Bangladesh for 149 in 19.4 overs.

Speaking in a post-match interview following the win, Powell said the West Indies were aware of their recent struggles in the game’s shortest format.

However, he gave the assurance that they were doing everything in their power to get the sixth-ranked Windies back to winning ways.

“We’ll try our best. Losing seven matches in a row, it doesn’t leave a good taste in our mouth.

“Myself and the guys are eager to turn that around, and being 1-0 up against Bangladesh provides that opportunity for us to turn it around,” Powell said.

“We know Bangladesh is a tough team, especially at home, so we’re definitely looking towards the next game to see how best we can improve and win this series then.”