Tall story as Holder catch breaks Bangladesh hearts

Jason Holder, who stands 6ft 7ins (2.01m) tall, took an outfield catch that helped West Indies keep their Twenty20 World Cup title hopes alive on Friday, leaving Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah Riyad to lament the fielder not being 5ft 10ins (1.78m) Shimron Hetmyer instead.

Holders West Indies prevailed in a last-ball thriller to down Bangladesh by three wickets and win their first match of the Super 12 stage.

Bangladesh needed 13 off the 20th over bowled by Andre Russell but fell just short on 139 for five to lose their third straight match, all but ending their chances of making the semi-finals.

But it was the final ball of the 19th over that saw the decisive blow when top-scorer Liton Das, who made 44, fell to Dwayne Bravo with Holder taking the catch at the edge of the long on boundary.

"If Liton's last shot would have been six -- I thought it was probably six, but that's an advantage when you have a 6'5" or 6'7" tall fielder in your outfield who can catch," said Mahmudullah.

"So I think probably that was one crucial moment in that catch."

Mahmudullah, who remained unbeaten on 31 but failed to get his team over the line in Andre Russell's last over, added: "In T20 games, you have these sort of close calls every now and then.

"Unfortunately, we came second today, but I think probably, if me or Liton got into the last over, we were both set, it would have been a different story."

Holder had a telling impact with the wicket of opener Mohammed Naim, the match-defining catch and a five-ball 15 on his return to the team.

Holder was named in the main squad on Thursday in place of the injured Obed McCoy.

"I was obviously disappointed not to be a part of the original squad, but I'm here now," the all-rounder told reporters.

"I can only control what is in front of me. Certain things are beyond my control. Every opportunity I get, I try to cherish it and make the most of it to help this team."

Coming in at number nine, Holder hit two of the three sixes in the final over to boost the team total of 142 for seven after Nicholas Pooran smashed 40 off 22 balls.

Holder's wicket of Naim and figures of 1-22 also played a part in the win, but he picked Russell's last-ball yorker as his favourite moment of the match.

"The last ball that Russell bowled. Obviously, four runs, one ball to bowl the perfect yorker, which was a dot ball, was phenomenal," said Holder.

"A lot of jubilation went through my veins especially, and then all the guys obviously played really well. So, yeah, that moment was the best moment for me. Let's hope the next two games we can feel similarly."

West Indies are fifth in the six-team group table with England Australia at the top with two wins each.

Only the top two qualify for the semi-finals.