News

SYLHET – Rain washed out Ireland’s second ODI in Sylhet after Bangladesh posted their highest-ever ODI total, breaking the record they set in the first match of the series on Saturday.
Mushfiqur Rahim scored the fastest men’s ODI century by a Bangladesh batter, hitting 14 fours and two sixes before reaching the milestone off the final ball of the innings.

Graham Hume was the pick of Ireland’s bowlers once again, taking three wickets in his ten overs for 58 runs as he continued an impressive start to his ODI career. Twenty-year-old Matthew Humphreys also made his international debut, receiving his maiden cap from Ryan Eagleson before the start of play.

Going into the match requiring a victory to keep their hopes of a series win alive, Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and elected to bowl first with rain set for later on. After keeping a lid on Bangladesh’s scoring in the first ten overs, with only 42 runs coming in that time, Mark Adair found the breakthrough right at the end of the powerplay with a stroke of brilliance in the field. He threw down the stumps at the striker’s end, gathering a ball which had been tucked away fine by Litton Das before rocketing it at the target, running out Tamim Iqbal by several yards. A period of restriction followed thanks to tight lines from the Irish bowlers, Curtis Campher in particular keeping things tidy and conceding only 17 off his first four overs.

Das broke through Ireland’s good work with the ball however, hitting three sixes in consecutive overs after the 18th and racing to a 53-ball half-century, reaching the milestone with a maximum over long-on.

Image: Matthew Humphreys on debut

Najmul Hossain Shanto joined the party, also scoring a fifty, before Das was out to Campher for 70. He flicked a length ball straight to Andy McBrine at midwicket to give Ireland a much-needed boost going into the second half of the innings.

Hume continued Ireland’s inroads when he was brought back into the attack, first taking the important wicket of Shakib Al Hasan with a deceptive slower ball before dismissing Shanto in his next over with a strangle down the leg-side.

That wicket brought Mushfiqur to the crease, however, who unleashed an almighty attack on Ireland’s bowlers at the end of the innings. He hit his first boundary off Humphreys with a sweep shot to the fence before following up with a six off Campher over cover. Now finding the boundary with ease, he hit six more boundaries on the way to a 30-ball half-century, a six over point bringing up his fifty.

Into the final seven overs of the innings, Mushfiqur hit four boundaries in one Campher over and raced into the eighties with four overs to go. Towhid Hridoy joined in the fun with a 34-ball 49 but was dismissed one run short of a half-century. He inside-edged a length delivery from Adair through to the keeper, the finest of scratches showing up on the review.

Needing nine off the final over to complete a memorable century, Mushfiqur gained the strike with four balls to go, Stephen Doheny having taken a fine catch in the deep to dismiss Yasir Shah off Hume’s first delivery. A four and then a two from Mushfiqur took him to 99 with one delivery to spare. He tucked a single to deep midwicket to complete his century off 60 balls, taking over the record for Bangladesh’s fastest ODI hundred from Shakib. Bangladesh finished their innings on 349-6, trumping the team record they set two days ago.

While the players were off the field, however, the rain came. With a steady downpour continuing well into the night, there was no chance of Ireland getting their chase underway and the match was abandoned well before the cut-off time.

The final match of the series will take place on Thursday where a win would see Ireland draw the series.

MATCH SUMMARY

Bangladesh v Ireland, 2nd ODI, Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Sylhet, 20 March 2023

Bangladesh 349-6 (50 overs; Mushfiqur Rahim 100, Litton Das 70, Graham Hume 3-58)
Ireland – – –

Match abandoned

See full scorecard

Wisden
Rain cut short today’s encounter
No
Connaught