Cricket

Cricket   |   March 10, 2023

BAN vs ENG, 1st T20I: Aggressive Bangladesh approach helps hosts win series opener against England in convincing fashion

In the opening T20I at Chattogram, Bangladesh defeated England by effectively mowing down the 157-run target set by the visitors. The new-look team, which included a player who had been absent for eight years, another who had been absent for two years, and a newcomer, defeated the reigning white-ball champions by six wickets with two overs remaining. A thoroughly enjoyable performance from the Bangladesh side had been long overdue. 

After Hasan Mahmud’s tight death overs, which saw England score just 21 runs in the final 24 deliveries, the Bangladesh batsmen performed in an ideal fashion for a T20 chase, approaching the chase with positive intent and gunning down the target. However, this approach had not been apparent in the Bangladeshi game for quite some time, as Litton Das and Rony Talukdar got off to a rollicking start, before Towhid Hridoy and Najmul Hossain Shanto built on the platform. 

Before being dismissed for 51, Shanto reached his third half-century in his previous four innings. Skipper Shakib al Hasan and Afif Hossain knocked off the remaining runs with great poise, as they added 46 runs in an unbroken partnership that lasted 34 balls. The remaining runs were subsequently scored by captain Shakib Al Hasan and Afif Hossain in an uninterrupted 46-run partnership that took 5.4 overs to finish the chase. Shakib struck six boundaries in his 24-ball cameo to stay undefeated at 34 at the end of the chase. Hossain contributed with 15, including a brilliant cover drive. 

Jos Buttler’s typically brilliant 67 off 42, which included all the ingredients of a Buttler special, gave the England innings a huge boost, as he struck four boundaries and four maximums. He was not able to continue till the end of the innings, which may have saved Bangladesh around 40-50 runs, as they restricted England to a modest total of 156/6. 

The Bangladesh batsmen target England’s new ball bowlers, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes, taking them for 39 runs in the first four overs, setting the tone for the chase. The hosts eventually completed the pursuit with 12 balls to spare, as they will be eager to finish off the series with a win at Mirpur on Sunday.  Follow all updates related to BAN vs ENG, 1st T20I match on Fun88 Sports.

“The way we approached the game was fantastic. I can’t ask any more from my team. When bowling, in the first 10 overs we were under the pump a little bit but no one panicked, everyone knew what we needed to do and stuck to their plans. This is a perfect start. Hopefully, we can continue this and build from here.” a delighted Shakib said as he praised his side. 

Brief Scores: Bangladesh 158 for 4 (Shanto 51, Shakib 34*) beat England 156 for 6 (Buttler 67, Hasan 2-26) by six wickets