END OF OVER:20 | 15 Runs | BAN: 142/9 (40 runs required, RR: 7.10)
- Towhid Hridoy83 (50b)
- Mustafizur Rahman2 (4b)
- Curtis Campher2-0-22-0
- Mark Adair4-1-20-2
That concludes all the action from us today. Thank you for joining us and tuning in! This is Rashad Mahbub, signing off on behalf of Chetan Kumar and Ranjith P. Goodnight and goodbye!
Paul Stirling: "We need to play more comfortably in the white ball format, and we've shown how emphatic we can be. We turned up really well today. That's as close to full strength as we've had in a long time. We welcomed back some senior figures, and it showed today; we came out on top. [Sloppiness and Fielding] I don't think there's ever a perfect game. But in terms of the first 35 overs of the game, I thought we were excellent. There are not many places I really pick holes in. But you're right, we were a little bit sloppy towards the end, and dropped catches are a little bit of a concern. That's something to improve on. We've got two more tries to hopefully get a series win. Being 1-0 up so early will be putting us in that comfort zone to go better in the next two. We won our last game here as well, so we've got two on the bounce. We'll take that momentum into the third game."
Player of the Match, Matthew Humphreys: "I was definitely struggling with my grip, but I think I pretty much just resorted to bowling arm balls a lot of the time. I think under the lights and the dew, it helped with that, and I was getting a little bit of swing. [Arm ball] I think it's been something that I've been working on for a while, especially with the new ball. I think especially under the lights and with the wet ground, it definitely helps the reaction off the surface. I think Stirling and Tim were brilliant up top. I think with them being 20 for four after the Powerplay, we were obviously in a very strong position then. I think having a similar kind of performance from my peers gives me that confidence to go into a comfort zone."
Litton Das: "I thought our bowlers did a really great job, especially Fizz. We know how he bowls. Still, if we bowl a little better, we can restrict them by 20-25 runs, because the wicket was helping the bowlers. I know the Chattogram wicket is very much batting-friendly sometimes, and especially when there's dew. But if we lose a couple of wickets in the Powerplay, it's very difficult for the lower-order batsmen to come and stabilize. Losing four wickets so early on put us on the back foot, and it's always going to be catch-up time. I was very happy that Towhid Hridoy was back in the side, and he delivered what was important for us. Jaker Ali helped out for a while. I still believe in my team; if we play our game, we can beat them, but we have to play well on the day. I am very happy with Hridoy because he batted really well. I want him to continue this series the way he bats, and we will come back."
Rivary: "Why none is talking about Taskin here? Where's he??" He is playing T10 in Abu Dhabi and will return to International duties after 30th November.
Mustafa Moudi : "Bangladesh Team Believes in Absolute Justice. Never let their opponents win a Single Match in the Series in One format and then get Whitewashed in the Next Series in other Format against the same team, making sure that no team is left unhappy. They did the same with Afghanistan and West Indies before and seems like they are following the suit this time too !!"
9:45 pm This was Ireland's game to lose straight from the start. They completely outclassed the home team, leaving them struggling at 20/4 in the Powerplay; Bangladesh's second-lowest T20I Powerplay score. Humphreys struck in the first over, and Adair joined in, picking up the big wicket of Litton Das before forcing Emon to gift his wicket away. Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy managed a brief period of stabilisation, but another collapse followed, with Humphreys bagging three wickets in his final over. Hridoy, however, was truly brilliant, fighting alone to remain unbeaten on 83 runs off 50 balls. Despite Ireland dropping a few catches in the second half, their bowling was phenomenal. Humphreys grabbed four wickets, McCarthy claimed three, and Adair finished with two. The scoreboard pressure was simply too much, and the home team was outclassed.
Ireland won by 39 runs