Chittagong, December 2 – Bangladesh secured a 2-1 victory in the three-match T20 series against Ireland. The host team registered an 8-wicket win in the series decider played at Matiur Rahman Stadium on Tuesday.
Bangladesh opening batsman Tanzid Hasan Tamim was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his unbeaten 55 runs with 7 boundaries. Mehidy Hasan was awarded ‘Player of the Series’.
In the match played at Chittagong, Ireland won the toss and chose to bat first but was bowled out for just 117 runs in 19.5 overs.
Captain Paul Stirling and Tim Tector gave Ireland a steady start, adding 38 runs in the first 4 overs. However, after Tector’s dismissal for 17 runs, wickets began falling regularly. Captain Stirling contributed 38 runs off 27 balls with 1 six and 5 fours.
For Bangladesh, Rishad Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman took 3 wickets each, while Shoriful Islam claimed 2 wickets.
Chasing the modest target, Bangladesh completed the victory in just 13.4 overs. Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Saif Hassan put on 38 runs for the first wicket. Saif scored 19 runs off 14 balls before captain Liton Das (7) also departed early.
The team lost 2 wickets for 46 runs in 5.2 overs. From there, Tanzid Hasan formed an unbroken 73-run partnership with Parvez Hossain Emon off 50 balls to guide the team to an easy victory.
Tanzid Hasan remained unbeaten on 55 runs off 36 balls with 3 sixes and 4 fours, while Parvez scored an unbeaten 33 off 26 balls with 4 boundaries. For Ireland, Craig Young and Harry Tector took 1 wicket each.
After completing a 2-0 clean sweep in the Test series against Ireland, Bangladesh lost the first T20 match by 39 runs. The hosts then made a strong comeback by winning the second match by 4 wickets, setting up an exciting series finale.