The West Indies destroyed Bangladesh by nine wickets in an embarrassingly one-sided contest Friday, dismissing the World Cup co-hosts for just 58 runs - their lowest ever One-day total.
In front of a stunned capacity crowd of 25,000 in Dhaka, the home side's batting imploded and they were all out in just 18.5 overs - sparking angry scenes from supporters who hurled placards from the stands.
The Caribbean side romped to their second win of the tournament in just 12.2 overs, with Chris Gayle making an unbeaten 37 and sit second in Group B with four points from three games, level on points with South Africa.
Spinner Sulieman Benn grabbed 4-18 and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Darren Sammy claimed three wickets each as Bangladesh fell well short of their previous one-day low of 74, notching the fourth lowest score in World Cup history.
Junaid Siddique and Mohammad Ashraful were the only two batsmen who made it into double figures in a match that could prove pivotal to quarter-final hopes with India, South Africa and England also in Group B.
West Indies skipper Sammy praised team-mate Chris Gayle for a motivational speech that inspired his side. "It was a brilliant performance by my team-mates. Chris Gayle wasn't feeling well today but I thought he came out and showed how committed he is to the cause," he said.
"He said 'do not take Bangladesh lightly'. We were a little flat in the warm-up and he didn't like that so he encouraged us to go out there and remember Bangladesh would be coming hard at us." "We've always fancied ourselves but it's up to us to go out there and play competitive and consistent cricket," he added.
Disappointed Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan was at a loss to explain his team's disastrous showing, adding that he understood the fans' frustrations. "We have a lot of things to work on now. We have to sit down and think about it but hopefully we will come back strongly."
He said reaching the quarter-finals was still possible after one win out of three so far, with the game against England in Chittagong now a "must-win".
In the earlier clash on Friday, New Zealand steamrollered hapless Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in Ahmedabad for their second win of the tournament. After bowling out the African nation for just 162, the Kiwis cantered to their target thanks to unbeaten half-centuries by Martin Guptill (86) and Brendon McCullum (76) with 99 balls to spare at the Sardar Patel Stadium.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori said the win was a much-needed confidence boost. "I think it's the performance that we were looking for. Now we've got to replicate that against some of the bigger nations," he said.
Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura cut a sorry figure as he tried to explain his team's capitulation. "It's a game we will like to forget quickly and move onto the next one," he said.
Meanwhile, Australian captain Ricky Ponting expects Sri Lanka to come out fighting on Saturday after their defeat to Pakistan and give the defending champions the first severe test of their World Cup credentials.
"Sri Lanka were one of the favourites coming into the tournament and although they've lost that one game against Pakistan, I don't think that changes anything at all. They're a well-skilled and well-drilled team," said the Australian captain.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said he would back his three spinners to top Australian pace in the crucial World Cup Group A clash. The 1996 world champions and 2007 runners-up are considering the option of playing Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath to cast a spin web over Ricky Ponting's men on a slow R. Premadasa stadium pitch.
