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Bangladesh set 203-run target for Ireland in second T20I
Tigers have set a 203-run target for visiting Ireland in the second game of three-match T20 international (T20I) series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Earlier, Liton Das hit the fastest half-century in Twenty20s for Bangladesh from only 18 balls and broke the record of Mohammad Ashraful who had hit fifty off 20 balls against West Indies in 2007.
Ireland won the toss and elected to field first.
Liton hits fastest T20 fifty for Bangladesh
Liton Das possessed the record for the fastest half-century in Twenty20s for Bangladesh in his pocket during the second T20 against Ireland at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Liton finished his half-century from only 18 balls and broke the record of Mohammad Ashraful who had hit fifty off 20 balls against West Indies in 2007.
Earlier, Ireland won the toss and elected to field first.
Ireland opt to bowl first in 2nd T20I
Ireland has won the toss and elected to field first in the second T20I of the three-match series against Bangladesh on Wednesday in Chattogram.
However, the start of the match may be delayed due to overcast conditions at the ground.
Bangladesh won the first T20I at the same venue under the DL Method as the match was shortened due to bad weather. A win in this match will secure the series for the Tigers.
Bangladesh has made no changes to their playing XI, as confirmed by captain Shakib Al Hasan during the toss.
Prior to the T20I series, the teams competed in a three-match ODI series, which Bangladesh won 2-0, with one match ending in no result due to rain in Sylhet.
Playing XI:
Bangladesh: Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman
Ireland: Paul Stirling (capt), Ross Adair, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Ben White
Preview of BAN vs IRE 2nd T20I 2023: Bangladesh Eye to Win Series
After winning the one-day series by 2-0 against Ireland, Bangladesh also started the T20 series with a win. Shakib Al Hasan's team won by 22 runs in the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected Monday match. Now both teams are ready for the second encounter on March 29 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. 2023 BAN vs IRE 2nd T20 will start at 2 PM.
BAN vs IRE 2nd T20I 2023: Match Preview
Ireland could not fight well in the ODI series. And it is assumed that we will also see the same outcome in the T20 series. Bangladesh may whitewash the Irish by playing organized cricket. The first match’s result also indicates the same.
The Irish were defeated by 22 runs in the first T20 of the series on Monday by the DLS method. After losing the toss and batting first, Bangladesh scored 207 runs for 5 wickets in 19.2 overs. Then the game was stopped due to rain. After more than two hours, Ireland got a changed target of 104 runs in 8 overs. But they lost 5 wickets and could not score more than 81 runs.
Read More: Rain washes out 2nd ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka
Bangladesh's two openers, Litton Das and Rony Talukdar, started in an aggressive mood. Their first wicket score was 91 runs in 7.1 overs. Litton scored 47 runs off 23 balls and hit 4 boundaries and 3 sixes. Rony scored 67 runs off 38 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes.
Najmul Hossain Shanto (14 off 13 balls), who came down to bat at number three, did not hit a good score. Shamim Hossain, who came down at number four, scored 30 runs off 20 balls with 2 fours and 1 six. Captain Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz remained unbeaten in the end. Shakib scored 20 runs off 13 balls with 3 fours.
On the other hand, Ireland’s equation was simplified with the Duckworth-Lewis method. The Irish started aggressively chasing runs.
Read More: Dhaka League: Mohammedan's losing streak continue
The Bangladeshi pacers proved too strong for Ireland, with Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud delivering excellent bowling. Taskin's career-best performance helped Bangladesh secure an impressive victory in a rain-affected match. Taskin Ahmed took 4 wickets with only 16 runs with the ball, which is his career’s best bowling in T20. His previous record was 4 wickets for 25 runs. Hasan Mahmud took the remaining wicket.
However, Ireland got a good batting condition due to rain, but they failed. Hopefully, they will try to come back to the series in the second match. Bangladesh, on the other hand, should be in a cheerful mood as they are one victory away from winning the series.
Pitch Report and Weather
The pitch in Chittagong for the first game of the series was an outstanding one, and it is expected to stay the same for the second match on Wednesday. Batsmen should have no trouble getting the ball off the square. According to the weather forecast, it looks like a pleasant day for the players and fans, with no chance of rain and temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels are expected to be in the 60s.
Read More: Bangladesh vs Ireland: Taskin takes four as Tigers win rain-hit T20 opener
Probable XIs in the 2023 Bangladesh vs Ireland 2nd T20I
Probable Bangladesh Squad
Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud.
Probable Ireland Squad
Paul Stirling (c), Ross Adair, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Craig Young, Graham Hume, Benjamin White.
Changes in the Team
There are no changes for the Bangladesh team, and it is expected that the tigers will start the match with the same squad. However, the day before the start of the T20 series, there has been a change in the Irish camp. Regular captain Andrew Balbirnie has been rested. Paul Stirling will lead the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh starting. Lorcan Tucker will serve as a vice caption. Leadership is nothing new for Sterling. After becoming vice-captain in 2019, he has captained six T20Is for Ireland so far.
Read More: Bangladesh’s ODI Series Win Against Ireland: Records, best performances, milestones achieved
Key Players to Watch in BAN vs IRE 2nd T20I
Bangladeshi Players to Watch
Rony Talukdar will be on the watch list due to his incredible innings. He got his first fifty in his international career in the first T20 match of the series against Ireland at Zahoor Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Monday. Rony returned to the dressing room with explosive innings of 67 runs off 38 balls. His aggressive batting style helped Bangladesh score 81 runs without a wicket in 6 overs, which is the Bangladesh team's powerplay record.
In the bowling section, Taskin Ahmed has been very consistent, and his pace action certainly helped Bangladesh to stop Ireland. Coming in the fourth over of the innings, this pacer took 3 wickets and put Bangladesh in a strong position in the match. Taskin bowled two batters, including skipper Starling and one got caught out. So, the Irish will surely play Taskin’s ball carefully in the next game.
Irish Players to Watch
The Irish got off to a great start in the first match, and Paul Stirling started it. Stirling face the first ball of the innings and hit Nasum Ahmed down the ground a four. Again, he swept two more fours in this over. He scored 17 runs from 8 balls. This aggressive batter can be a headache for Bangladesh.
Read More: Analysis of Bangladesh T20 Squad Against Ireland
Craig Young was the only blower to take 2 wickets in the first match. So, he might put more effort into the second match. Overall, he has 57 T20 wickets in 54 matches.
Final Words
The Irish are far behind Bangladesh in terms of strength. That gap is expected to increase further at Chittagong in the second BAN vs IRE T20I. However, this Bangladesh had no plan of winning by making a spin stage in Mirpur, as the series is being played at Chittagong's batting support wicket. And we have seen 200+ scores in the last match. So, if Bangladesh bats first in the next match, we may see another big score.
Rain washes out 2nd ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka
The second one-day cricket international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka was abandoned Tuesday because of rain.
Heavy rain fell throughout the day and by the scheduled start of 2 p.m. local time, the covers were on and large pools of water already had formed in the outfield.
Umpires made the decision to abandon the match after a ground inspection at 4:25 p.m. local time. The latest a match could start was 7:02 p.m. but it already was clear that with rain still falling a large puddles in some parts of Hagley Oval, no play would be possible.
New Zealand leads the three-match series after winning the first match at Eden Park on Saturday by 198 runs.
The third match is at Hamilton’s Seddon Park on Friday.
Dhaka League: Mohammedan's losing streak continue
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, Legends of Rupganj, and Gazi Group Cricketers won their matches in the latest round of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League Monday.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza of Rupganj was the standout performer of the day, recording a five-wicket haul against Mohammedan Sporting Club while conceding only 17 runs in 8.4 overs. It was Mashrafe's seventh five-wicket haul in List-A cricket. And with this, he reached the milestone of 450 wickets in the format.
Mohammedan, who got off to their worst start of the season, batted first and were bowled out for 80 runs in 41.5 overs. Soumya Sarkar top-scored 41 off 26 balls.
In response, Rupganj chased down the target of 81 in 8.2 overs, with Munim Shahriar scoring 30 and Parvez Hossain Emon posting 44.
In another match at the BKSP, Sheikh Jamal beat Shinepukur Cricket Club by 55 runs, with Fazle Mahmud Rabbi scoring 91.
Sheikh Jamal batted first and scored 196-9. For Shinepukur, Mehedi Hasan Rana was the pick of the bowlers, taking three for 31. Farhad Reza and Hasan Murad took two wickets each.
In reply, Shinepukur were bowled out for 141 in 41.5 overs. Ebadot Hossain, Arif Ahmed, Parvez Rasool, and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury took two wickets each for Sheikh Jamal.
In the other match of the day in Fatullah, Indian batter Ravi Teja scored a hundred and guided his team Gazi Group to a five-wicket win over Prime Bank Cricket Club.
Prime Bank batted first and scored 204 in 46.4 overs, with Mushfiqur Rahim scoring 74 and Yasir Ali scoring 48. Nihaduzzaman took three wickets for Gazi Group.
In response, Gazi Group chased the target of 209 in 39.2 overs with five wickets to spare, despite losing the first wicket off the first ball of the innings as Mehedi Maruf fell prey to Taijul Islam.
Taijul also took the wicket of Ravi, but only after he scored 101 off 92 balls.
Bangladesh vs Ireland: Taskin takes four as Tigers win rain-hit T20 opener
Bangladesh beat Ireland by 22 runs in the rain-affected first T20 in Chattogram Sunday.
Under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, Ireland's target was revised to 104 runs in eight overs, but they could only manage to score 81 for five wickets, with Taskin Ahmed registering a career-best 4-16.
Ireland, who scored 18 and 14 runs off the first two overs bowled by Nasum Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman respectively, lost their first wicket in the third over when Hasan Mahmud removed Ross Adair for 13.
Taskin struck thrice in the next over, ripping through Ireland's middle order.
Earlier, the match was interrupted by rain when Bangladesh had scored 207 for 5 in 19.2 overs, the highest T20I total in Chattogram.
After an hour and 23 minutes of delay because of rain, the pitch covers were removed. But it started raining again within three minutes.
After another 40-minute delay, the match restarted with a revised target for Ireland.
Earlier, put in to bat first Bangladesh reached 100 runs in just nine overs. Litton Das scored 47 off 23 deliveries before being caught by Harry Tector off Craig Young in the eighth over.
Rony Talukdar scored 67 off just 38 balls before being dismissed by Graham Hume in the 14th over.
Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shamim Hossain scored 14 and 30 runs, respectively. Towhid Hridoy scored a quickfire 13 off just eight balls.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan remained unbeaten on 20 off 13 balls.
Craig Young was the most successful bowler for Ireland, taking two wickets.
The next two matches of the series will be played on March 29 and 31.
Rain interrupts first T20I: Ireland need 104 in 8 overs to win
After more than two hours of rain, Ireland got a revised target of 104 in eight overs in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Sunday.
The fate of the match was uncertain as rain interrupted the game at around 3:37 pm (Dhaka time) after Bangladesh scored 207 for 5 in 19.2 overs, the highest T20I total in Chattogram.
After an hour and 23 minutes of rain, the pitch covers went off but quickly returned within three minutes due to persistent rains.
Ireland won the toss and chose to bowl first, but they may have to rethink their decision.
Bangladesh reached 100 runs in just nine overs, thanks to the blistering start of the openers Litton Das and Rony Talukdar. Litton scored 47 off 23 deliveries, including 4 boundaries and 3 sixes before being caught by Harry Tector off Craig Young in the 8th over.
Rony provided more impetus to the innings with his blistering knock of 67 off 38 balls. He smashed 7 fours and 3 sixes before being dismissed by Graham Hume in the 14th over. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shamim Hossain contributed 14 and 30 runs respectively while Towhid Hridoy scored a quickfire 13 off 8 balls.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan remained unbeaten on 20 off 13 balls, including 3 boundaries. Mehidy Hasan Miraz started giving the finishing touch before the rain came in.
Craig Young was the most successful bowler for Ireland, taking 2 wickets.
Landmark series win for Afghanistan against Pakistan
Afghanistan showcased another impressive run-chase to beat new-look Pakistan by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international with one ball remaining and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series on Sunday.
It is the first time that Afghanistan has won a series against a top-six ranked ICC team.
Pakistan chose to bat first but its inexperienced top-order again disappointed before recalled Imad Wasim smashed 64 not out off 57 balls and captain Shadab Khan made 32 to increase the final total to 130-6.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (44) and Ibrahim Zadran (38) led Afghanistan’s chase before Najibullah Zadran scored a rapid unbeaten 23 and Mohammad Nabi was 14 not out to guide their team to 133-3 with a ball to spare.
“It’s a great honor and pleasure to lead this wonderful team,” Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said. “Great effort with the ball, and then we took it deep and finished it … We have players to finish it like Nabi and Najib.”
Needing 22 off the last two overs, Najibullah and Nabi struck a six each in Naseem Shah’s penultimate over which went for 17 and effectively ended Pakistan's hopes.
Afghanistan recorded a memorable six-wicket win against Pakistan on Friday after pinning down Shadab’s team to 92-9.
In the absence of five rested frontline players, including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan continued to struggle against the pace and spin of Afghanistan on the slow wickets at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Saim Ayub, who made his T20 debut in the first game, edged behind the second ball of the game from Fazalhaq Farooqi (2-19). Abdullah Shafique became the first men’s batter in T20 history to record a fourth straight duck when he was trapped leg before wicket by Farooqi in his first double-wicket maiden over, leaving Pakistan at 0-2.
Mohammad Haris (15) and Tayyab Tahir (13) also couldn’t gauge the wicket well upfront. Azam Khan (1) was baffled by Rashid's sharp googly and was out lbw as Pakistan slipped to 63-5 in 11 overs.
Imad and Shadab then combined in a 67-run stand with Imad hitting two sixes and three fours before Shadab was run out off the last ball while going for a second run.
Gurbaz made a powerful start for Afghanistan when he smashed Naseem (0-39) for a six and a boundary in the first over and took the game deep by adding 56 runs with Ibrahim. Gurbaz was run out when his reverse lap shot went straight to Naseem at short third man and Ibrahim declined a sharp single.
Fast bowler Ihsanullah (1-23) had Ibrahim caught behind in the 18th over but Najibullah and Nabi sealed the game with their belligerent hitting against Naseem in the penultimate over.
“We were struggling again,” Shadab said. “When you lose three wickets in powerplay, you lose 70% of the games … The young players were nervous. They are playing for the first time for Pakistan, but we have to back them.”
The third T20 is on Monday.
Ireland win toss, send Bangladesh in to bat in 1st T20
Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and sent Bangladesh in to bat in the series-opening Twenty20 International on Monday. Bangladesh won the ODI series 2-0 with big victories in two matches and posted a national record 349-6 in the second game before it was washed out. The home team is aiming to continue a winning streak in the T20 format after sweeping the three-match series against world champion England. Stirling is leading Ireland in the absence of regular captain Andrew Balbirnie.Lineups:
Bangladesh: Liton Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud.
Ireland: Paul Stirling (captain), Ross Adair, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Craig Young, Graham Hume, Ben White