West Indies down Bangladesh in must-win T20 World Cup game

West Indies have beaten Bangladesh by three runs as both teams were searching for a win in the make-or-break T20 World Cup clash at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Both teams fielded a side with two changes as they looked to keep their hopes alive in the T20 World Cup after suffering two back-to-back defeats.

In a nail-biting finish, Andre Russell defended 13 runs and guided his team to victory despite Liton Das' hard-fought 40-run innings.

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field first with Chris Gayle opening the innings and replacing Lindl Simmons for West Indies. However, the shuffle did not work as Bangladesh made early breakthroughs.

Nicholas Pooran smashed 40 off 22 balls to lift the title holders' score to 142-7 after 20 overs.

Chris Gayle (4) and Evin Lewis (6) both departed inside the Powerplay as Shimron Hetmyer failed to make an impact on the game either.

Skipper Kieron Pollard went off the field with an injury concern which brought Andre Russell to the crease, who was run-out without facing a single delivery.

Debutant Roston Chase kept his nerves calm and scored a crucial 39 and put on a 57-run fifth-wicket partnership with Pooran.

Former captain Jason Holder hit two sixes in the 20th over and added a five-ball 15 on his return to the team whereas Pollard (14) returned to sign off the innings with a six.

Mahedi Hasan, Shoriful Islam, and Mustafizur Rahman took two wickets each.

In return, Bangladesh started their innings steadily while chasing 143, with Shakib Al Hasan opening the innings with Mohammad Naim.

Shakib felt a little uncomfortable with the ball, as reports confirmed that he was struggling with his hamstring. The Bangladesh management perhaps wanted him to go out, hit a few big hits even if that meant losing his wicket.

As fate would have it, Shakib was the first one to depart while trying to hit Andre Russell out of the park for nine. His partner, Mohammad Naim, did not survive long either as Jason Holder forced him to chop one back onto his stumps in the sixth over. He returned after scoring 17 off 19 balls.

Liton Das held one end as Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim both departed from the other end for 17 and eight respectively. The breakthroughs were provided by Akeal Hosein and veteran pacer Ravi Rampaul.

Needing 44 from the last 5 overs, Bangladesh looked to be in control but DJ Bravo came up with two magnificent overs, leaking only 11 runs in the 17th and 19th over combined. On top of that, he also dismissed a settled Liton Das for 44 runs.

Needed 13 runs off the last over, Andre Russell stepped up and despite misfields and a dropped catch, he led his side to victory by three runs.

All five West Indies bowlers picked up a wicket each with Jason Holder being the most economical of all.