Bangladesh will feel a little disheartened following their five-wicket loss to the West Indies in the first ODI in St. Kitts, perhaps feeling they did not falter much. Sherfane Rutherford's turnaround performance was a game-changer, but on flat decks such as the one on offer at Warner Park, there are a few areas the Tigers must improve to bounce back in the second fixture of the three-match series at the same venue today.

Bangladesh felt that their score of 294 for six was enough on Sunday. Runs came from opener Tanzid Tamim, who struck a run-a-ball 60. Mehedi Hasan Miraz came in at number four after two quick wickets and steadied the ship. The Bangladesh skipper tried to consolidate at the beginning after getting a life on one, and then another loose shot saw him almost get caught at point on 31. But in trying to push the tempo, he departed for a 74-ball 100.

In fact, the only bit of real acceleration came from the 74-ball 96-run sixth-wicket stand between Mahmudullah Riyad and Jaker Ali. In reply, the home side made a strong comeback despite a slow start, proving once again that the tempo of ODI cricket is evolving.

Despite a tight and effective start with the ball, Bangladesh were lulled into a sense of comfort when the Windies' required rate climbed to eight runs per over. There appeared to be more of an impetus with a conservative approach instead of going for wickets in the middle overs, and the plan backfired. Rutherford and Justin Greaves completely took the game away with a 57-ball 85-run stand at the death, the former hitting eight sixes during his tremendous 80-ball 113.

"It is challenging in their own backyard, and our bowlers, despite bowling well, could learn a lot from these kinds of matches, like how to handle pressure... they will learn from these kinds of matches, and I feel there are lots of positives from this game for us," Miraz said after the game.

The bowlers put in the hard lengths as the Windies needed to dig deep early, but the lack of wickets in the middle overs saw set batters take the game on.

There is a feeling Miraz's 74 off 100 was not the tempo required, but he had held the innings together. The Windies learned early where he can be nullified. He had added the pull shot, but in ODIs, dot balls can hurt, and the Tigers played a lot more of them than the hosts.

"Our batsmen did well, and the bowlers bowled well initially, and we could have won the game if we had improved in certain areas," Miraz opined.

For a batting-friendly pitch, Bangladesh's key areas for improvement include pushing for more runs during the middle overs and showing more intent with the ball.

Posting 294 would have given some faith, but the spinners were taken to the cleaners, and the pace trio, who were tight at the beginning, had no answers later on. Despite the setback, Miraz said they can still come back to win the series.

"We still have a chance because we have just lost one game, and if we can win the next game, we can have the opportunity to win the series," he opined, as the Tigers seek to square the series in a do-or-die affair.