Bangladesh won the first of the two-match T20I series against hosts UAE by seven runs Sunday night in Dubai.

Put in to bat first, the Tigers scored 158-5. Chasing 159, UAE batted well but fell short of seven runs.

Chirag Suri scored 39 off 24 balls and kept the UAE's hopes alive. Aayan Afzal Khan scored 25 off 17 balls.

Shoriful Islam bagged three wickets, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also picked up as many wickets.

Earlier, Afif Hossain smashed an unbeaten 77 off 58 balls to guide Bangladesh to 158-5 against the hosts.

The Tigers lost three wickets in the powerplay.

Sabbir Rahman, who opened the innings, made a duck. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir's opening partner, scored 12 off 14 balls. Also, Liton Das (13), Yasir Ali (4), and Mosaddek Hossain (3) failed to impress.

As the Tigers lost five wickets for 77, Afif and Nurul Hasan Sohan added 81 runs in the sixth wicket stand.

Afif scored 77 with seven fours and three sixes; Nurul remained unbeaten on 35 off 25 balls with two sixes.

For the UAE, Karthik Meiyappan bagged two wickets.

The second match of the series will be played on September 27.

After this series, the Bangladesh team will return home for a short break. Following the break, they will travel to New Zealand for a T20 tri-series that also involves Pakistan and the hosts.

Next, Bangladesh will travel to Australia to take part in the T20 World Cup.