Bangladesh clinch historic series win over World champions England
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Najmul Hossain Shanto's cautious 46 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz's four-fer propelled Bangladesh to beat England by four wickets in the second T20I to clinch the series with a match in hand 2-0 at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on Sunday.
Bangladesh became the only team ever to have beaten a reigning world champion in their first assignment of that particular format since the World Cup.
Since winning the T20 World Cup in Australia in November 2022, England had not played in a T20 International series before. However, before their tour to Bangladesh earlier this month, England played six ODIs and five Test matches.
The hosts needed to score 118 runs in order to win, but they got off to a bad start when they lost their openers Litton Das and Rony Talukdar for low single digit scores. However, Shanto and Mehidy put together a 41-run partnership to turn things around.
After dismissing Mehidy and Afif Hossain, Jofra Archer finished his four overs with three wickets, but Najmul (46) and Taskin Ahmed were still able to reach the target with seven balls remaining.
Shanto was unbeaten on 46 off 47 striking three boundaries while Taskin Ahmed struck two boundaries in Jordan's over to grip Bangladesh's victory.
Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, and Rehan Ahmed, all English bowlers, each claimed a wicket.
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PHOTO: TASKIN AHMED AND NAJMUL HOSSAIN SHANTO AT WINNING MOMENT, CRICFRENZY
After captain Shakib al Hasan made the decision to bowl first, all of Bangladesh's bowlers produced a disciplined performance on a slow pitch to tame the aggression of the potent England batting order.
Fast bowler Taskin gave Bangladesh a good start by getting Dawid Malan out for five, caught by Hasan Mahmud at third man.
However, Phil Salt and Moeen Ali, who helped the team reach the 50-run mark inside the first powerplay, appeared to help England recover from the early difficulties.
After that, Bangladesh came back strongly, and captain Shakib got rid of Salt with a return catch. For his 25 off 19, Salt hit three fours and one six.
The most entertaining moment of the match came after that as fast bowler Hasan Mahmud rattled the stump of England skipper Jos Buttler (4) with a searing Yorker.
While the scenario of the tumbling wicket was a treat to watch for the jam-packed stadium, the dismissal proved to be a mental breakdown for the world champions, who after that looked completely out-of-sort and jaded.
Then Miraz stepped up and took Moeen Ali's wicket for 15, dropping England to 57-4 after eight overs as the Three Lions lost three wickets for seven runs in nine balls.
Miraz dealt a double blow in the 15th over, stumping Chris Woakes (0) and Sam Curran (12) in the span of three balls, which was a major setback for England.
He then eliminated Chris Jordan, giving him his first four-for in T20 cricket.
With this victory, Bangladesh now holds a 2-1 advantage over England in the T20I series head-to-head. When they clash for the final T20I in Mirpur on Tuesday, the Tigers will have the chance to sweep the Jos Buttler-led world champions.
