Bangladesh secured a nail-biting win over Ireland in the 3rd ODI of the three-match series, part of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, at the County Ground in Chelmsford.
The victory was secured in the last over, with Bangladesh winning by just 5 runs. Mustafizur Rahman bagged four wickets to help the Tigers clinch the series.
With just 10 runs to defend in the last over, bowler Hasan Mahmud conceded only 1 run off the first 3 balls, with 2 wickets falling off those deliveries, including a run-out. Ireland could only score 3 more runs off the last 3 balls.
After winning the toss, Ireland elected to field first. Bangladesh got off to a shaky start, losing the debutant Rony Talukdar early on for just 4 runs.
However, Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal steadied the innings with a well-crafted 69 off 82 balls, his first fifty after 9 innings.
Najmul Hossain Shanto also played a useful knock of 35 off 32 balls, while Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim contributed with scores of 35 and 45, respectively. The Bangladesh innings got a major boost in the latter stages thanks to some fine hitting by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored a quickfire 37 off just 39 balls.
They, however, missed a chance to reach 300 or more, losing 5 wickets for just 13 runs in the last part of the innings. They posted 274 all out in 48.5 overs.
Chasing a target of 275, Ireland got off to a poor start, losing Stephen Doheny early on for just 4 runs. However, Paul Stirling and skipper Andy Balbirnie put on a solid partnership of 109 runs for the second wicket. Stirling played a fluent knock of 60 off 73 balls, while Balbirnie scored a patient 53 off 78 balls.
Harry Tector, the centurion of the previous match, also chipped in with a useful 45 off 48 balls, and Lorcan Tucker scored a well-made 50 off 53 balls. Captain Andy Balbirnie also hit a fifty— 53 off 78 balls.
However, the Bangladesh bowlers kept chipping away with wickets at crucial intervals, and the Irish chase ultimately fell short by just 5 runs, ending up on 269 for 9 wickets in 50 overs.
Mustafizur, who has been going through a bad patch for a while now, scalped 4 wickets, conceding 44 runs in 4 overs, earning him the award of player of the match. Hasan also conceded 44 runs in 9 overs and bagged two wickets.
With this win, Bangladesh won the series 2-0. The first match of the series was washed out due to persistent rain, while the second match was also cut short due to the rain.