Paul Stirling-inspired Ireland managed to pull off a rare win over Bangladesh in T20I format. Stirling's 77-run knock made the run chase look easy at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. The visitors chased down the below par target of 125 with ease and won the game by seven wickets. Despite the authoritative win, Shakib Al Hasan-led won the three-T20I series 2-1.
The last time Ireland beat Bangladesh in a T20I was in T20 World Cup 2009 which was hosted by England. William Porterfield-led side beat Bangladesh by six wickets with 10 balls to spare in Nottingham.
Shakib won the toss and opted to bat first. Mark Adair struck off the first ball he bowled to dismiss Litton Das (5). In his first over, Harry Tector got rid of Najmul Hossain Shanto (4). In-form Rony Talukdar hit a few boundaries but became victim to Curtis Campher. Stirling's trick worked as he used four bowlers in the powerplay overs. Adair came back to bowl and got Shakib out for a single-digit score. Bangladesh were 41/4 after six overs.
In the seventh over, Bangladesh found themselves in deep trouble as Benjamin White dismissed Towhid Hridoy (12). The hosts lost half their side for 41 runs. In the 10th over, Matthew Humphreys struck twice to dismiss Rishad Hossain (8) and Taskin Ahmed (0). Bangladesh lost seven wickets for just 61 runs. Shamim anchored the innings and had support from Nasum Ahmed for a while. Gareth Delany came in the 16th over and broke the eighth-wicket partnership with the wicket of Nasum (13). In the next over, Adair came back into the attack and got Shoriful Islam (5) out.
After the ninth wicket, Shamim decided to take on bowlers. He got to his half-century from 40 deliveries. In the final over, he lost his wicket to Fionn Hand. He scored 51 runs from 42 deliveries including five fours and two sixes. Bangladesh got all out for 124 with four overs left in the innings.
Ireland got off to a decent start in the powerplay overs despite Ross Adair and Lorcan Tucker registering single-digit scores. Stirling found the gaps and did the bulk of scoring during fielding restrictions. Ireland had 47 runs on the board after six overs.
In the 10th over, he got to his half-century from 31 deliveries. After reaching the fifty-run mark, he decided to shift gears and hit Shoriful for a six followed by three consecutive fours. In the 13th over, Stirling departed. The skipper scored 71 runs from 41 deliveries including 10 fours and four sixes. In the 14th over, Campher decided to end the run chase with a four and a six off Taskin. Ireland got over the line with six overs to spare.
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