|| CF Correspondent ||

West Indies opener Shai Hope said on Tuesday that they were 30 runs short against Bangladesh that forced them to digest an eight wicket defeat in the tri-nation at Dublin.

Bangladesh began their tri-nation campaign on the perfect note as they beat West Indies comprehensively by eight-wicket at Clontarf Cricket Club in Dublin on Tuesday.

Opener Tamim Iqbal (80), Soumya Sarkar (73) and Sakib al Hasan ( 61 not out) all struck half-centuries as Bangladesh comfortably reached 264-2 n 45 overs after restricting West Indies to 261-9. 

Tamim and Soumya put up a record 144-run opening stand, highest against West Indies in opening stand to make a solid foundation in the chase before Tamim and Sakib added 52 runs for second wicket to take them close to the victory. Mushfiq made quick-fire unbeaten 32 off 25 balls as Bangladesh reached their target without any serious hiccup.

Earlier, skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza claimed 3-49 while Mohammad Saifuddin and Mustafizur Rahman bagged two wickets each as Bangladesh restricted West Indies to 261-9 in their stipulated overs.

Opener Shai Hope struck a brilliant 109 off 132 balls, his sixth ODI hundred and Roton Chase and Sunil Ambris made 51 and 38 runs respectively which powered the Caribbean side to 205-3 in 41st over but Mashrafee took three quick wickets in his last spell to bring Bangladesh back in the contest.

‘’We were probably [30 runs short] and not enough on the board. It was not easy to start, Bangladeshi bowlers bowled pretty well, nice and straight. It wasn’t easy to score boundaries, as I said we didn’t have enough on the board, that’s what cost us the game,’’ Hope told at the post match adding he was happy to contribute.