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CHATTOGRAM – Bangladesh took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series as they stormed to a 77-run victory in Chattogram.
Litton Das struck Bangladesh’s fastest-ever T20I fifty off 18 balls, opening with Rony Talukdar to form a blistering partnership worth 124 runs off 56. A late-innings cameo from Shakib-Al-Hasan took Bangladesh to 202-3 in a reduced 17-over per side game.

Ireland then slipped to 43-6 at the end of the powerplay, largely thanks to a devastating five-for from Shakib which completed a brilliant all-round individual performance. He took two wickets in both his second and third overs after dismissing Lorcan Tucker with his first delivery in the match.

Ireland narrowly managed to avoid being bowled out and finished their innings on 125-9 with Curtis Campher hitting a fighting half-century – his second in T20Is. He clubbed six boundaries including three sixes on his way to the milestone.

After Paul Stirling had won the toss and elected to bowl first, the ever-threatening rain which has dogged this series started to fall. When the covers came off for good, Bangladesh’s reduced innings got off to a fast start. Das hammered the first of his three sixes in the third over, coming down the wicket to launch Graham Hume over the cover boundary.

That proved to be just the beginning of a brutal innings from Das. He hit three consecutive boundaries off Mark Adair in the fourth over, before repeating the feat off Fionn Hand in the next. He brought up his tenth T20I half-century off the first ball of the fifth over, carving the way for Bangladesh to score 83 runs off the first six overs, bettering the record they set against Ireland two days ago.

Talukdar joined in on Bangladesh’s fun at the other end. He hit Gareth Delany for two sixes in his second over before Ben White picked up the much-needed breakthrough. He enticed Talukdar to go after a tossed-up delivery, which was played straight into Mark Adair’s safe hands on the boundary.

White struck again in his next over removing Das for 83, who nicked it through to the keeper.

But any thoughts Ireland had of restricting Bangladesh in the latter stages were erased as Shakib and Towid Hridoy smashed 61 runs from 29 balls for the third wicket. Hridoy was dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings by Mark Adair after Bangladesh had passed the 200 mark.

Ireland’s chase started in the worst possible way as Paul Stirling was dismissed first-ball by Taskin Ahmed. Das took a brilliant diving catch behind the stumps to send the opener on his way. Things went from bad to worse as Tucker was dismissed an over later and Ireland slipped to 32-4 at the end of the fourth over.

Shakib completed his five-for by the end of the sixth over, castling Tector going for the big shot to reduce Ireland to 43-6.

With the result then a foregone conclusion, Campher gave Ireland followers something to smile about, hitting sixes off Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed to reach a hard-fought half-century off 29-balls. Hume joined in the counter-attack when he came to the crease, carving two maximums off Nasum Ahmed as he saw Ireland through to bat their overs.

Campher was dismissed one ball after reaching his fifty, and Ireland finished on 125-9. While the series result is decided, there is still one more match left to play in the white-ball leg of the tour with the final match of the series set to take place on Friday.

MATCH SUMMARY

Bangladesh v Ireland, 2nd T20I, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram, 29 March 2023

Bangladesh 202-3 (17 overs; Litton Das 83, Rony Talukdar 44, Ben White 2-28)
Ireland 125-9 (17 overs; Curtis Campher 50, Harry Tector 22, Shakib Al Hasan 5-22)

Bangladesh won by 183 runs

See full scorecard


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