Najmul Hossain Shanto smashed a cracking half-century as Bangladesh held their nerve to beat world champions England by six wickets in the first of a three-match Twenty20 international series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Thursday.
This was also Bangladesh’s first win against England in the shortest format of the game. The two teams had previously played only one T20I against each other, which England won by eight wickets at the 2021 World Cup.
Shanto scored 51 off 30 balls, his third fifty in this format, and guided Bangladesh to 158-4 in 18 overs after the hosts held England to 156-6.
After a good bowling performance, Bangladesh batted with lots of spirit and guts to chase down the target with six wickets and 12 balls to spare.
Shanto continued his good work from the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League. Rony Talukdar and Towhid Hridoy also impressed after getting a chance in the national team due to their good performances in the BPL too.
Rony scored 21 off 14 balls, while Towhid scored 24 off 17 balls.
Captain Shakib Al Hasan (34 off 24 balls) and Afif Hossain (15 off 13 balls) provided the finishing touches in a 46-run partnership from 34 balls to send the hosts home.
Earlier, at one stage, England were 135-2 after 15.5 overs and were eyeing something beyond 180. But they lost their two set batsmen, Ben Duckett and Buttler, who had already made a 47-run partnership, in two consecutive deliveries.
England could make only 21 runs in the last four overs after the falls of Duckett and Buttler.
The world champions started off strongly. Apart from two missed chances in the same Nasum Ahmed over, they didn't give much to the Bangladeshi bowlers.
In the fifth over, Mustafizur Rahman conceded a boundary to Salt through covers. The sixth over by Nasum saw two dropped catches, including a sitter from Shakib.
Shakib made a complete mess of wrapping his fingers around the ball, and it went straight down with Buttler on 19.
Salt was caught behind in the 10th over; he reviewed only to lose it as Nasum drew the first blood. He scored 38 off 34 balls before departing.
Shakib was economical with the ball, and he soon picked up Dawid Malan in the 12th over.
Buttler reached his fifty in 32 balls in grand style, hitting a six down the wicket of Hasan Mahmud. He was eventually dismissed by Hasan in the first ball of the 17th over, giving Shakib a breath of relief.
After that, it was all Bangladeshi pacers. Mustafiz, Hasan, and Taskin Ahmed bowled brilliantly at the death to give Bangladesh a chance in the match.
For Bangladesh, Hasan was the peak of the bowlers, finishing with 2-26, while Shakib, Nasum, Mustafiz, and Taskin picked up one wicket each.
The second and third matches of the series will be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on March 12 and 14, respectively.
