Ireland suffered a heart-breaking whitewash in the ODI series against Bangladesh. However, come the T20I series, potentially the stronger suit of the two for the touring side, they stunned Bangladesh with an all-round display.
Fifties from Leah Paul and Gaby Lewis takes Ireland to 169/5
Ireland lost their wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter in the 3rd over of the innings after skipper Gaby Lewis won the toss and opted to bat first. Orla Prendergast joined skipper Gaby Lewis at the crease and the pair recovered well with a crucial 30-run 2nd wicket partnership to take their side closer to the 50-run mark. Jannatul Ferdus cleaned up Orla Prendergast to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Bangladesh.
Leah Paul joined skipper Gaby Lewis at the crease and the duo not only assessed the conditions on offer, but also eventually counter-attacked the opposition en route to their massive 107-run 3rd wicket partnership taking their side past the 150-run mark. The visitors ended up posting a strong total of 169/5 in their quota of 20 overs. Leah Paul (79* off 45 balls), and skipper Gaby Lewis (60 off 42 balls) were at the heart of the run-scoring with a humongous amount of 82% of the team’s total for Ireland.
Nahida Akter (4-0-20-1), Fariha Trisna (4-0-32-1), Jahanara Alam (4-0-35-1), and Jannatul Ferdus (4-0-40-1) picked up one wicket each with the ball for Bangladesh.
Fluent forties from Dilara Akter and Sobhana Mostary in vain
The home side had to script history if they were to chase down a stiff total of 170, to get their record highest run chase in T20I history. The openers Sobhana Mostary and wicket-keeper batter Dilara Akter rode their share of luck aided by the lapses in the field by Ireland, to put together a massive 103-run opening stand. However, Orla Prendergast provided some respite by sending Sobhana Mostary back into the pavilion courtesy of a clean catch by the wicket-keeper Amy Hunter.
The home side Bangladesh were eventually restricted to 157/7, courtesy of a collapse, seeing the home side losing their next 6 wickets for just 54 runs. Orla Prendergast’s double wicket maiden in the penultimate over of the run chase proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the home side. Ireland sealed the game by 12 runs to get their first victory on their tour to Bangladesh.
Wicket-keeper batter Dilara Akter (49 off 41 balls), Sobhana Mostary (46 off 35 balls), and Sharmin Akhter (23* off 13 balls) were the batters who kept the run chase alive for Bangladesh. Orla Prendergast (4-1-24-3), Arlene Kelly (4-0-22-3), and Aimee Maguire (4-0-24-1) were the star performers with the ball for Ireland.
Leah Paul was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational, unbeaten half-century (79* off 45 balls) with the bat for her side playing a crucial role in setting up Ireland’s first victory in the format on the Bangladeshi soil.
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