Bangladesh v England: Tigers secure comfortable six-wicket win in first T20
- Published
Najmul Hossain Shanto set up Bangladesh's chase with 51 from 30 balls
1st T20, Bangladesh v England: Chattogram |
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England 156-6 (20 overs): Buttler 67 (42); Mahmud 2-26 |
Bangladesh 158-4 (18 overs): Shanto 51 (30); Wood 1-24 |
Bangladesh won by six wickets |
Bangladesh beat world champions England comfortably by six wickets in the first T20 international in Chattogram.
Opener Najmul Hossain Shanto struck an impressive 51 from 30 balls as the Tigers reached their target of 157 with two overs to spare.
Shanto added 65 for the third wicket with debutant Towhid Hridoy, who made 24, as the hosts adapted better to a slow, sluggish pitch.
The second of three T20s takes place on Sunday in Mirpur.
It is Bangladesh's first win over England in a T20, though it is only the second time the teams have met in the format.
England were on course for a huge total as captain Jos Buttler and Phil Salt raced to 80 after 10 overs, but Bangladesh's seamers fought back at the end, conceding just 21 runs from the final four overs to restrict England to 156-6.
Buttler made a dynamic 67 from 42 balls after being dropped by Shakib Al Hasan on 19, but when he and Ben Duckett fell in consecutive balls, England struggled to make the most of their aggressive start.
Seamer Hasan Mahmud led the attack with 2-26 from his four overs, including the key scalp of Buttler.
In reply, Bangladesh also made the most of the six-over powerplay to attack England's seamers, reaching 54-2.
England's seamers struggled to adapt to the slow pitch and Shanto capitalised, striking four consecutive boundaries from Mark Wood's first over.
Captain Shakib then calmly used his experience to steer his side to victory and finish unbeaten on 34.
Bangladesh bowlers counter England's aggression
The opening 10 overs of England's innings were typical of the white-ball side's approach: capitalise on the powerplay, take the attacking option first, and put the bowlers under pressure.
Buttler and Salt were cruising and the tourists looked set for a competitive score of more than 170, with Bangladesh's body language showing signs of despondency after Shakib dropped a simple chance and the England captain sought to make the most of it.
But their seamers held their nerve and mixed up their pace brilliantly at the end to deceive England, who lost four wickets for 11 runs in 20 balls.
England struggled to adapt against the slower bowling, continuing with their trademark aggression and paying for it. Buttler, Dawid Malan and Sam Curran were all caught on the boundary as the pressure built.
Bangladesh's chase then followed a similar trend as set batters Shanto and Hridoy fell in quick succession. But England's bowlers were unable to adapt quickly enough as the batters looked more comfortable against the pace-heavy attack.
Their side looked bowler-heavy with five seamers and two spinners, which proved ineffective as Bangladesh paced the chase perfectly.
'We were 20 runs short' - reaction
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan: "The way we approached the game was fantastic. We were under the pump when bowling but didn't panic, and stuck to our plans. Apart from my dropped catch we did really well in the field.
"Hopefully we can build on this win in the next few games against England."
England captain Jos Buttler: "I thought they finished their innings well with the ball. We were probably 20 short from where we wanted to be. We didn't quite make enough runs and couldn't save that in the field.
"The pitch played as expected with low bounce but was consistent. The extra runs would have made it easier. Bangladesh took the game on and that put us under pressure."