Tigers look to get back on track

It was a heart-pumping encounter when Bangladesh met the West Indies the last time in T20Is. In that match in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Bangladesh almost got over the line but were only denied a win by a superb Jason Holder catch at the boundary line. So far, Bangladesh have won five T20Is against the West Indies and lost seven and emerged victorious in their last away T20I series against them. 

T20I has always been Bangladesh's Achilles Heel in international cricket. They've won just one out of their last ten matches in this format and Mahmudullah's men will be desperate to turn things in the Caribbean.

A three-way race for two opening spots
With Tamim Iqbal not returning to the T20 fold, Bangladesh have a lot to ponder over the opening combination. They played Litton Das in the middle-order in the T20 World Cup and then left him out in the Pakistan T20Is after the tournament. Litton returned to the team against Afghanistan and struck a fifty batting at number three. 

Munim Shahriar made his international debut in that Afghanistan series and although he didn't get a big score, the selectors retained him because of his ball-striking ability. This year in eight T20 innings, Munim has scored 199 runs at an average of 25 and a strike-rate of 137. Most of those runs came inside the first six overs. A powerplay maximiser, Munim might get a chance to open the innings with, probably, Anamul Haque Bijoy if Litton Das is retained at number three.

In this year's Bangladesh Premier League T20, Anamul amassed 280 runs with a highest score of 78 and was the most prolific wicketkeeper-batter in the tournament. After that, he had a glorious Dhaka Premier League season where he created a world record of most runs in a List A tournament. The visitors might have two of these three batters open the innings in the T20I series. 

West Indies: A new-look T20I side
Kieron Pollard captained the West Indies when the two sides met in T20Is and with him retiring, Nicholas Pooran has taken charge as the white-ball skipper. The hosts have made a lot of changes to their T20I squad for the Bangladesh series as a lot of players who were part of the squad for the recent India tour have been left out.

Rovman Powell, who had a superb IPL season recently, has been elevated to vice-captaincy. Powell scored 250 runs at a strike-rate of 149.7 for Delhi Capitals in the tournament. Obed McCoy, another IPL performer, has been included in the squad as well. Devon Thomas has been rewarded for his consistent performance in the domestic circuit. Shamarh Brooks, Alzarri Joseph and Keemo Paul have also been recalled.

Pitch and conditions 
The Windsor Park in Dominica hosted just two T20Is and that too way back in 2014 but the records of the other formats suggest that spin is the way to go here although the overhead conditions might just help the swing bowlers up front. If the pitch eventually helps the spinners, Bangladesh will be delighted as they have a lot of spin options in Shakib Al Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain. 

The match will begin at 11.30 pm BDST on Saturday at Windsor Park in Dominica.