A brilliant 83-run knock from Liton Das up front and a five-wicket haul from skipper Shakib Al Hasan saw Bangladesh breeze past Ireland in the second Twenty20 International of their three-match series in Chattogram to win by 77 runs and clinch the series 2-0.
Due to rain, the match was cut short by three overs but that was not enough to stop Bangladesh go beyond 200 in consecutive matches.
Batting first, Bangladesh put on 202-3, courtesy of Liton’s 83 alongside Rony Talukdar’s 44 and Shakib’s unbeaten 38.
Liton’s 83, during which he reached the quickest-ever fifty by a Bangladesh batter as he reached his off just 18 balls, breaking Mohammad Ashraful’s 16-year-old record, saw him hit 10 fours and three sixes as he toyed with the Irish bowlers.
He, along with Rony Talukdar, who scored 44 off 23 balls, handed Bangladesh a 124-run opening stand in just 9.2 overs, their highest in the format.
After Rony and Liton were dismissed within the span of three overs, skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy kept up the good work as they added 61 runs in 29 balls before the latter fell in the penultimate delivery of the innings.
Shakib stayed unbeaten on 38 off 24 balls, while Towhid scored 24 off 13.
In reply, Ireland lost skipper Paul Stirling in the very first ball as Taskin Ahmed found his edge and Liton took a blinder.
Then, Shakib picked five in quick time, picking his second five-wicket haul in the format and reducing Ireland to 43-6.
Curtis Campher fought a lone battle as he scored 50 off 31 balls before Taskin rattled his stumps with a brilliant yorker.
Before that, Hasan Mahmud picked up one and Taskin had also gotten rid of Fionne Hand.
Ireland ended on 125-9 to hand Bangladesh a 77-run win, their second-biggest win considering margin of runs.
