Sports Reporter:
Tamim Iqbal scored 69 runs and Mushfiqur Rahim contributed 45 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 274 in 48.5 overs in the third ODI of the three-match series against Ireland on Sunday.
Although Bangladesh looked set to reach 300, some quick wickets— five wickets in 13 runs— toward the end of the innings prevented them from achieving their target. Bangladesh’s biggest partnership came on the sixth wicket when Mushfiqur and Mehdiy Hasan Miraz added 72 runs on the board.
Ireland won the toss and chose to bowl first at County Ground, Chelmsford. Bangladesh began their in-nings well, with opener Tamim leading from the front. He scored a fifty after nine innings. However, he fell for 69 runs off 82 balls with 8 fours and a six, caught by Craig Young off the bowling of George Dockrell.
Debutant Rony Talukdar was the first wicket to fall for Bangladesh, dismissed by Tucker for 4 runs. Najmul Hossain Shanto scored a useful 35 runs off 32 balls, but was caught by Balbirnie off the bowling of Craig Young. The middle-order batsmen Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy also contributed with scores of 35 and 13 runs respectively, but both were dismissed by Mark Adair. Litton looked set to build a big innings, but he failed to carry on.
Mushfiqur scored 45 runs off 54 balls but was eventually dismissed lbw by Andy McBrine. The onus was on him to accelerate the scoring rate towards the end of the innings, but he was given out lbw after a review went against him. Mehidy Hasan Miraz also played an important role, scoring 37 runs off 39 balls before being caught by Craig Young off the bowling of Mark Adair.
Mrittunjoy Chowdhury played a crucial cameo towards the end of the innings, scoring an eaten 10 runs off just 8 balls, helping Bangladesh reach a total of 274 runs.
Mark Adair was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland, finishing with figures of 4 for 40 in his 8.4 overs. Andy McBrine and George Dockrell also bagged two wickets each for Ireland.
Bangladesh won the second ODI by chasing down a total of more than 300 runs, with Shanto scoring his maiden ODI century, while the first match was washed out due to rain. A victory in this match would secure the series for the Tigers.
