Call them Heroes II.
One big and the other small, Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin combined to save West Indian blushes yesterday.
The sound of a pin dropping could have been heard around the Grenada National Stadium in the afternoon, but later on in the evening spirits were high and music and cheers were abound after the West Indies defeated Bangladesh by three wickets in the first match of the Dhaka Bank One-Day series played in St Georges.
At one stage an embarrassing defeat appeared imminent, when the Windies were struggling on 34 for five, with Chris Gayle, Kirk Edwards, captain Dwayne Bravo and his brother Darren all back in the pavilion, and Bangladesh players cock-a-hoop.
But Pollard (89) and Ramdin (74) combined explosive shots with supreme patience in a record 145-run sixth-wicket stand that put the boys in maroon back on course for victory, before upcoming Barbadian all-rounder Jason Holder (22 not out) finished off the visitors with plenty time and balls remaining.
Pollard and Ramdin pulled the homeside from the jaws of defeat following a top order batting collapse which left them reeling on 34 for five.
Pollard started slowly but accelerated his innings later to finish with a top score of 89, while Ramdin scored 74, starting quickly but curbing his enthusiasm later in the innings.
After their impressive counter attack, the two batsmen perished in the dying stages of the chase to give Bangladesh a chance to make a comeback.
Jason Holder hit three fours to reach 22 and kept his nerve with Sunil Narine to ensure West Indies take a one-nil lead in the three-match ODI series.
Al-Amin Hossain, who finished with 4-51, snatched three early wickets as the Caribbean side slumped to 20-3, chasing the visitors’ 217 for nine.
All the top order batsmen were dismissed cheaply, Chris Gayle scoring 3, Kirk Edwards 10, Darren Bravo 7 and Lendl Simmons 0.
But the efforts of the two Trinidadians were vital in guiding West Indies to their win by forcing Bangladesh to concede a match-winning position.
Pollard struck five fours and six sixes facing 70 balls while Ramdin, who faced 76 balls, accounted for six fours and a six to transform the match and carry West Indies to the brink of victory before the partnership expired.
A brief rain delay may have interfered with the flow of the partnership with Ramdin departing shortly after, playing on to the base of his off stump.
Less than three overs later, Pollard’s whirlwind innings ended as he mistimed a shot aimed for over the long-on boundary and was caught.
Earlier, Bangladesh opener Anamul Haque reached his third ODI century to guide his team to a competitive total.
His knock came off 133 balls with nine fours and one six after West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo won the toss and asked Bangladesh to bat first.
Haque held the innings together, but was alone as wickets fell regularly with West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo taking four for 32 runs in his seven overs.
He and Nasir Hossain scraped together 53 runs for the sixth wicket, Hossain contributing 22, the same score as opener Tamim Iqbal.
The second ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh is also scheduled for the National Stadium in Grenada tomorrow. (AP)
