In a shocking turn of events before the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh suffered an unexpected series loss against the ragtag, novice USA team.
On Thursday, the USA defeated Bangladesh by six runs in the second of the three-match T20I series in Houston. While the first match's loss was considered an upset, the second defeat confirmed the USA's upward trajectory and raised serious concerns about Bangladesh's core setup in T20Is.
With this victory, the USA clinched the three-match series giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead. Who knows, if they can pull off a full-on whitewash in the third match.
Batting first after losing the toss, the USA posted a below-par total of 144 runs. Captain Monank Patel top-scored with a steady 42, while Steven Taylor contributed a valuable 31.
For Bangladesh, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, and Rishad Hossain each claimed two wickets.
Bangladesh's chase faltered from the start, losing Soumya Sarkar for a duck in the first over, mirroring his underwhelming performance in the first match.
Despite a 36 from Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has also been struggling with poor form, and contributions from Towhid Hridoy (25) and Shakib Al Hasan (30), Bangladesh failed to maintain the required run rate.
The team lost their last five wickets for a mere 14 runs.
Ali Khan emerged as the USA's hero, taking three crucial wickets in the death overs to restrict Bangladesh to 138 all out in 19.3 overs.
The USA's bowling attack, spearheaded by Ali Khan and Saurabh Netravalkar, displayed exceptional discipline and variety, proving too challenging for the experienced Bangladeshi batting line-up.
