DHAKA, Oct 18, 2025 (BSS)-Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz said his side 
has the belief to make a strong comeback in the ODI format despite a massive 
slump of late.

Since November last year, Bangladesh won just two matches in 14 ODIs and 
under Miraz's captaincy they won just one in 10. 

The stat left Bangladesh in a shameful state ahead of the three-match ODI 
series against West Indies but Miraz said they didn't let them down by 
thinking the past events. 

"We played the last five matches, but we did not win any of them. But still, 
we believed that we could come back strongly," Miraz said after Bangladesh 
won the first ODI against West Indies by 74 runs and took 1-0 lead in the 
three-match series.

"And obviously, this match was very important for us," he further said, 
indicating that also playing more T20 cricket in this period made it tougher 
for them to cope with the ODI format.

"I think the boys played really well. You know, we have been playing so many 
T20 matches over the last four or five series, but not too many ODIs. But now 
that we're playing, it's helping us adjust."

When Bangladesh were sent to bat first, they were reduced to 8-2, which 
brought back the fear that they would experience another batting collapse.

But Towhid Hridoy and Najmul Hossain Shanto showed a great resolve to steady 
the innings by sharing 71 runs.

Shanto was dismissed on 32, leaving Hridoy to keep the runs flowing. Hridoy, 
however, was unable to do so but raised his fifty before being out on 51.

After his dismissal, debutant Mahidul Islam Ankon played a 46-run knock and 
Rishad Hossain, the hero of the game, hit a whirlwind 13 ball-26 to help the 
side propel past 200.

Bangladesh eventually were bowled for 207 in 49.4 overs but they knew that on 
a sluggish wicket in Mirpur , the total is more than enough.

Rishad then starred in with the bowling, scalping 6-35 as Bangladesh bundled 
out West Indies for 133 in 39 overs.

While Miraz acknowledged Rishad's good work, he praised his batters for not 
making the same blunder that they have been doing over the last 14 months.

"Obviously, the batters on top, Shanto and Hridoy, the way they batted was 
excellent. In the middle, the debutant Mahidul was calm and cool, and played 
according to the situation," Miraz said. 

"And yes, in the end, Rishad did a wonder, it was a great knock definitely. 
This year, maybe this is our last series, but hopefully next year there will 
be more coming. I hope the boys understand what we need to do."

Miraz said that they have the belief that if batters can give the scoreboard 
a boost, they have the bowling attack to win the game. 

"We've discussed many things, the batters have to play positively and focus 
on getting runs. Because if we get runs on the scoreboard, definitely, we can 
win matches," he concluded.