BartaBangla Desk :: Bangladesh defeated Ireland by 44 runs in their second and last warm-up ahead of the World Twenty20. The hosts put up a decent effort in all aspects of the game after a while to beat Ireland comprehensively on Friday.
Bangladesh, opting to bat first, posted 179 for three in their 20 with superb cameos from skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and allrounder Shakib Al Hasan.
In reply, Ireland ended on 135 for eight.
The hosts lost their opener Anamul Haque (3) early. Other opener Tamim Iqbal (32) and Sabbir Rahman (23) put up a 48-run stand to steady the innings.
After their quick returns, Shakib (58 off 32 balls) and Mushfiq (58 off 30 balls) paired for a 116-run unbeaten fourth wicket stand, off only 59 deliveries. The pair smashed 15 boundaries and three sixes.
Ireland, in their reply, stumbled in the start losing their opener Paul Stirling early – much like the hosts. However, they kept losing wickets regularly with Bangladesh bowlers bowling wicket-to-wicket and putting effort in the field.
Skipper William Porterfield (44) and Stuart Thompson (35) were the only batsmen to put up resistance for the Irish. When they were dismissed Ireland’s chances diminished further. They ran through the over, falling 44 runs short.
Pacer Mashrafe, who recovered from a side strain to be included in the team, and Shakib bagged two wickets each. Shohag Gazi, Al-Amin Hossain, Abdur Razzak and Mahmudullah picked up a wicket each for the hosts.
Bangladesh head in to the T20 World Cup with victories in both warm-up matches. They beat the United Arab Emirates by four wickets on Wednesday.
Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in the World T20 opener on Sunday.