"1-0 up, 2 to go. Happy victory day to you all from St Vincent," Bangladesh stand-in skipper Liton Das wrote in his verified Facebook post after a thrilling seven-run win against West Indies in the first T20I of the three-match series in St Vincent on Monday (Bangladesh time).

The match coincided with a significant day in Bangladesh's history, as December 16 marks the country's emergence as a sovereign nation in 1971.

Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud delivered a superb final over as Bangladesh snatched the win at the Arnos Vale Stadium.

"Good start (to win the first T20I). If we play good for another game, we can win the series," said a confident Liton during the post-match presentation ceremony.

"We have played here before. When I saw the wicket, it (the pitch) did not behave the way I thought. When we batted, we felt it was not a great wicket. We were thinking 150-160 would be a good total. We knew with the bowlers we had, we could fight (with our score). I want them (our team) to play aggressive cricket. They are showing their quality and playing really good cricket at the moment.

"It has been such a long tour. Good start (to win the first T20I). If we play good for another game, we can win the series," added the Bangladesh captain, who has set a national record for most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a T20I innings (five), going past Mushfiqur Rahim's three.

Defending a total of 146 for seven, the visitors seemed destined to fall to the mighty hitting of Rovman Powell, as the home skipper blazed 60 off 35 balls, with five fours and four sixes, to lift his side from the depths — on 61 for seven in the 12th over — to within touching distance of a sensational victory.

His eighth-wicket partnership of 68 off 38 balls with fellow all-rounder Romario Shepherd (22) looked to have swung the match decisively his team's way as, despite the loss of Shepherd in the 19th over, Powell was still at the crease in partnership with Alzarri Joseph, with nine runs needed for victory when right-arm quick Hasan started the final over.

However, the seamer responded to the challenge magnificently, having Powell caught behind by Bangladesh captain Liton Das off the third ball of the over, and then uprooting Joseph's middle stump two balls later to leave local hero Obed McCoy a helpless spectator at the other end.

Earlier, McCoy had claimed his 50th wicket in T20 Internationals on his return to the West Indies team, finishing with figures of two for 30.

Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein was again at his miserly best in taking two for 13 off his four overs, but Bangladesh were able to gain late impetus from 96 for five in the 15th over courtesy of Jaker Ali, Shamim Hosein, and Mahedi Hasan.

Opener Soumya Sarkar held the early part of the innings together with a team-high 43.

Mahedi then followed his unbeaten 26 with an outstanding bowling effort, his spin varieties earning him four for 13, and subsequently the Player of the Match award, as the West Indies middle order caved in for what looked like an inevitable massive defeat.

Powell and Shepherd nearly completed a memorable rescue act, though, before they were thwarted by the excellent Hasan.

The two sides next play on December 18 (6 am, Bangladesh time) at the same venue.