Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin saved the West Indies from a humiliating defeat and engineered a three-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first one-day international at the National Stadium in Grenada on Wednesday.
The West Indies eventually got home at 7-219 from 39.4 overs after Bangladesh reached 9-217 from 50 overs.
Reeling at five for 34, Pollard's commanding 89 and Ramdin's polished 74 turned the match on its head, their 145-run sixth-wicket partnership transforming the improbability of victory into a leisurely canter by the time the winning runs were hit by Jason Holder.
They played positively and exposed the limitations of the Bangladeshi bowling attack as visiting captain Mushfiqur Rahim was at his wit's end to stem the flow of runs following the early clatter of wickets.
Medium-pacer Al-Amin Hossain emerged with the bowling honours, taking three of the first five wickets to fall and finishing with four for 51.
He added the scalp of Pollard, who fell to an outstanding outfield catch by Mahmudullah as the big-hitting right-hander attempted to heave another six to take him closer to a hundred and his team nearer to victory.
"It was good to be able to put my head down together with Denesh to bring the match home," said Pollard.
Anamul Haque's workmanlike hundred held the Bangladesh innings together.
Put in on a pitch that made free scoring difficult, the opening batsman's 109 was essential to giving the innings some respectability with more senior players in the batting order failing to contribute significantly.
Dwayne Bravo was the most successful West Indian bowler, finishing with four for 32, including the wickets of Mashrafe Mortaza and Anamul in the final over of the innings.
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