Bangladesh 141 for 8 (Tamim 39, Mortaza 30, Stirling 3-21) beat Ireland 140 for 8 (Mortaza 4-19) by two wickets
Just when Ireland thought they finally had the beating of Bangladesh, a
savage batting assault by Mashrafe Mortaza ended their hopes and gave
the visitors a 3-0 win in the series. That margin was unfair to the
Irish, who took two games to the very last ball.
It was a game that defied the notion that there can be none of the
subtle changes in Twenty20 that make the longer forms of the game so
captivating. This was a game that swung and shifted over 240 balls of
mostly high-quality T20 cricket.
"The last two games were probably a better reflection of where both
teams are," said Bangladesh coach Richard Pybus. "Ireland were out of
sorts in the first game but the last two both went down to the wire," he
said of a series which saw Bangladesh pull off victory margins of 71
runs, one run and two wickets.
Bangladesh needed 32 off 16 balls when Mortaza smashed three sixes off
four balls from the left-arm spinner, George Dockrell, the last of which
Kevin O'Brien misjudged and eventually knocked over the rope for
another maximum.
With eight balls left Mortaza was bowled by Kevin O'Brien, leaving just
four needed off the last over. And while Trent Johnston and his fielders
made sure every run was hard-earned, the scores were tied with one ball
left. A scampered single by Elias Sunny and a whisker-missed shy by
Kevin O'Brien saw another close win for Bangladesh.
It was desperately disappointing for Ireland, who are using the games to
build towards the ICC World Twenty20 finals in Sri Lanka in September.
They play far fewer T20s than full members - this series was their first
home games in the shortest format since 2008 - and their aim will be to
up that number rapidly in the future.
Bangladesh were unchanged, but Phil Simmons gave Tim Murtagh a first
T20I cap, replacing Alex Cusack, and recalled Niall O'Brien in place of
Ed Joyce. Although O'Brien hit a frisky 22 he, like most of Ireland's
batsmen, got in and then got out. The middle order crumbled yet again,
with Kevin O'Brien struggling in a sequence that has seen him get out
five times in the last ten balls he has faced for Ireland. He was out
first ball here to Mortaza, the man of the match, whose career best 4
for 19 ensured Ireland totalled just 140 for 8.
Early wickets were essential, but Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and
Mohammed Ashraful settled in from a testing start to record their
nation's first fifty opening stand in this format. Tamim also recorded
his best score in 18 T20 internationals.
They had taken the score to 62 in the 10th over, with the spinners on,
when Ashraful needlessly carted the ball to John Mooney at long off, and
within two overs the score was 69 for 3.
Another flurry of wickets saw Bangladesh collapse to 89 for 6 as
Stirling and Dockrell exerted pressure. But just as the vociferous Irish
crowd started to dream of a third win over these opponents, Mortaza and
Mushfique Rahim put together a stand of 46 in 16 balls, which included
the 21-run butchering of Dockrell's final over.
"I'm very happy with the spin quartet", said Pybus, "and the tour was
good for our seamers too, who got experience of bowling in northern
hemisphere conditions, learning that they have to get their lengths
right.
"Our batting was pretty solid too, but we have a little work to do before the World Twenty20."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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