BAN vs ENG: Bangladesh beat world champions England for first time in shortest format, take 1-0 lead

Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh defeated T20 world champions England by six wickets in the three-match T20I series opener, in Chattogram, on Thursday (March 9). The Bangla Tigers, who lost the three ODIs 1-2, put up a clinical display with both bat and ball and emerged on top courtesy of top performances from Hasan Mahmud and Najmul Shanto. 

Opting to bowl first, on a sluggish surface, the Bangladesh bowlers kept it tight versus the English batters. Philip Salt and skipper Jos Buttler stitched an impressive 80-run stand in the first ten overs but Salt fell for 38. The England captain held one end and departed for a 42-ball 67 but the visitors lost the plot after the first ten overs. They were not allowed to score freely with Mahmud returning with 2 for 26 along with one wicket each from Taskin and Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and skipper Shakib. As a result, England managed a mdoerate 156 for 6.

In reply, Bangladesh batters got starts but it was Shanto’s 30-ball 51, laced with 8 fours, which took his side home. Towhid Hridoy, Rony Talukdar and captain Shakib (24-ball 34 not out) paved the way for the home side’s easy win, with two overs to spare. The second and penultimate tie will be held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on March 12.

This is Bangladesh’s first-ever win over England in the shortest format and they now lead the series 1-0.

After the loss, Buttler said, “Bangladesh finished the inning really well. We couldn’t manage to get away. We were probably 20 runs short and we had to chase it in the field. Low bounce and a little bit slow but it was consistent throughout. Bangladesh came out and played with a lot of intent and that put us under a lot of pressure. We’ve got a lot of all-rounders, blessed to be in this position.”

Meanwhile, Shakib stated, “The way we approached the game was fantastic. When we were bowling, we were under the pump but no one panicked. Other than my dropped catch, everyone fielded well. That’s what we want to do, when you don’t think too much, you perform well. Hopefully we can continue this. This is a very good start. We can build on from here. We can only good better from here.”