By Avenash Ramzan
Guyanese left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie on Sunday impressed on his One-Day International (ODI) debut, picking up 1-18 in a nine-over spell that included 41 dot balls.
Despite his miserly bowling on familiar home conditions at Providence, West Indies could not defend their 149-9 against Bangladesh in a game reduced to 41 overs per side due to a delayed start.
After the six-wicket defeat, skipper Nicholas Pooran talked up Motie’s performance, calling it ‘fantastic.’
“Fantastic! Getting his opportunity in front his home crowd and he delivered. Unfortunately, (he ended up) on the losing side, but you know the way he bowled nine overs, 1-18 that was fabulous,” Pooran told local media after the game.
“We expect him to continue to bowl like this, not only in this series, but in the future.”
Incidentally, it was Pooran who claimed the catch at short mid-wicket to hand Motie his first ODI wicket, that of Najmul Shanto.
The ODI debut meant the 27-year-old Albion spinner has broken into the West Indies team in all three formats within the space of seven months.
He made his T20 International debut in December 2021 against Pakistan in Karachi, and just last month he played his first Test match against Bangladesh in Antigua.
