Chittagong: Bangladesh upset the world champions England in the first Twenty20 in Chittagong. Shakib Al Hasan and his team surprised by six wickets in Chittagong. The Bengal Tigers achieved the target of 157 runs set by England with two overs to spare with the loss of only four wickets. Captain Shakib Al Hasan scored 34* runs not out in 24 balls and Afif Hossain scored 15* runs in 13 balls to bring the team to victory. Najmul Hossain Shanro’s innings was crucial as he came to the crease third and scored 51 off 30 balls.
In reply, Bangladesh’s Ronnie Talakdar (21 off 14 balls) was dismissed by Adil Rasheed, Liton Das (12 off 10 balls) and Jofra Archer came back. After that, Najmul Hossain Shanro and Tauhid Hridoi took the team past 100. But Moeen Ali broke the partnership by bowling Tauhid who scored 24 runs off 17 balls. Shanro, who completed his fifty off 27 balls, was dismissed by Mark Wood for 51 runs off 30 balls, which was a setback for the Tigers. After this, all hopes were on the captain Shakib Al Hasan. Shakib, who played with the responsibility of the captain, partnered with Afif Hossain to give Bangladesh an upset victory.
Philip Salt and skipper Jos Buttler gave England a great start following losing the toss and batting first, but the latter might not capitalize on this. With this, the team scored 156 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. The Salt-Butler partnership was separated following adding 80 runs in 10 overs. Nazum Ahmed returned Salt who scored 38 off 35 balls. Then Jos Buttler’s half-century became the highlight of the English innings. Buttler scored 67 runs off 42 balls with four fours and a six each. Buttler was dismissed by Hasan Mahmood on the first ball of the 17th over.
Meanwhile, David Malan, who is a firework hero, scored four runs off seven balls and Ben Duckett scored 20 runs off 13 balls, which was a setback for England. Wickets for Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur. Later, Sam Curran (6 off 11 balls), Hasan Mahmood, Chris Woakes (1 off 2 balls) and Tuskin Ahmed were dismissed while Moeen Ali remained unbeaten with 8* off 7 balls and Chris Jordan with 5* off 3 balls. With the win, Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the three T20 series. Earlier, England had won the ODI series 2-1.
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Last Updated Mar 9, 2023, 6:02 PM IST