Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Desk-
In the opening Twenty20 international, Bangladesh stunned the world champions by defeating England by six wickets in Chattogram, a coastal city in the south.
Shakib Al Hasan, the captain, and Najmul Hossain Shanto each scored fifty runs to lead the hosts to their first-ever T20 international victory over England on Thursday.
When England was put in to bat, they appeared to be in charge after their openers, Jos Buttler (67), and Phil Salt, put up an 80-run partnership. But, after Salt was out for 38, Buttler received little assistance, and the visitors were held to 156-6 at the conclusion of their 20 overs.
The best bowler for Bangladesh was Hasan Mahmud, who got two wickets while four of his teammates each grabbed one.
After a brief opening partnership between Litton Das and Rony Talukdar, Bangladesh gained pace thanks to a partnership between Shanto (51) and Towhid Hridoy, a rookie, for 65 runs. However, the duo was then bowled in consecutive overs, and the chase appeared to be in danger of failing.
Shakib, who led Bangladesh to a one-day victory over England earlier this week, came to their aid once more on a slow field and played a composed innings under pressure to lead his team to victory.
“The way we approached the game was fantastic, under the pump in the first 10 overs but no one panicked. Stuck to the plans,” Shakib said after the match.
“In T20, when you don’t think too much you tend to play well. Hopefully, we can keep this in the dressing room. This is a great start for the World Cup in 2024 in West Indies.”
