UAE seal historic T20I series win against Bangladesh

Bangladesh suffered their second T20I series defeat against associate nations when they lost the third and final match of a T20 series against UAE by seven wickets in Sharjah on Wednesday.

Having won the first match by 27 runs, Bangladesh lost the second match by two wickets before the latest defeat in a match which was later added to the schedule.

Alishan Sharafu's unbeaten 65 and 45 not out from Asif Khan propelled the hosts to a comfortable seven-wicket victory with five balls to spare.

Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Sakib and Rishad Hossain took a wicket each for the visitors, who simply didn't have enough runs on the board against a fearless UAE team, who looked much the better of the two sides during this series.

The Tigers had earlier lost a T20 series 2-1 away to USA last year ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Earlier, Jaker Ali Anik struck 34-ball 41 while Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam made valuable contributions as Bangladesh recovered from early setback and posted a modest total of 162-9 against UAE in the series-deciding third and final T20I at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Sent in to bat, Bangladesh were left struggling at 84-8 in 14 overs before Jaker and Mahmud shared a crucial 44-run stand for the ninth wicket to take Bangladesh's score close to the 130-run mark.

Although Jaker lost his wicket to Saghir Khan in the penultimate over, Hasan and Shoriful added 34 runs in the last 10 balls which included 26 runs in the final over to power Bangladesh to a decent total.

Muhammad Waseem, who had to bear the burnt of hitting in the final over, failed to complete his over for bowling two beamers and Alishan Sharafu had to step in to bowl the final delivery.

Hasan remained not out on 26 off 15 balls while Shoriful made an unbeaten seven-ball 16 .

Earlier, off-spinner Dhruv Parashar gave the hosts the first breakthrough as he handed first match centurion Parvez Hossain Emon a golden duck in the second over before left-arm spinner Haider Ali took two wickets of Liton Das (14) and Towhid Hridoy (0) in space of three deliveries in his opening over.

Haider, the most successful bowler in the innings finishing with 3-7 in his allotted four overs, then bowled Mahedi Hasan (two) in his next over before opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who was looking solid in the innings, was bowled by pacer Raja Akif Ullah Khan after making 18-ball 40 to leave Bangladesh in complete distress.

Shamim Hossain then fell a prey to pacer Matiullah Khan after making just nine runs while Rishad Hossain (0) and Tanzim Hasan Sakib (six) also failed to contribute much leaving the visitors in all sorts of trouble before the late blitz from Jaker and tailenders.

Apart from Haider's imposing bowling performance, Matiullah and Saghir also took two wickets for the hosts.

UAE on top as Tigers suffer batting collapse

UAE bowlers rattled Bangladesh top-order in the series-deciding third and final T20I as they left the visitors struggling at 57-5 in seven overs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today.

Off-spinner Dhruv Parashar gave the hosts first breakthrough as he handed first match centurion Parvez Hossain Emon a golden duck in the second over before left-arm spinner Haider Ali took two wickets of Liton Das (14) and Towhid Hridoy (0) in space of three deliveries in his first over.

Haider then bowled Mahedi Hasan (two) in his next over before opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who was looking solid in the innings, was bowled by pacer Raja Akif Ullah Khan after making 18-ball 40 to leave Bangladesh in complete distress in the series-decider after they were sent into bat first.

.......

Bangladesh were asked to bat first in the third and decisive T20I of the three-match series against hosts UAE at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today. 

Bangladesh made three changes from their two-wicket defeat in the second game as they brought in Parvez Hossain Emon, Mahedi Hasan and Hasan Mahmud in places of Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tanvir Islam and Nahid Rana.

Meanwhile, the hosts also made two changes as they dropped Aryansh Sharma and Muhammad Jawadullah and included Ethan D'souza and Raja Akif Ullah Khan in their playing XI.

After winning the first match by 27 runs, Bangladesh suffered a two-wicket defeat in the second game, which was a historic result for UAE as they beat Bangladesh for the first time in a T20I after losing the previous four.

With the series tied 1-1, UAE will look to create more history by winning their first-ever series against a Test-playing nation, while Bangladesh will hope to avoid further humiliation against a side who are ranked six places below ninth-ranked Bangladesh in T20Is.

However, the series was originally scheduled to be a two-match series, with the Emirates Cricket Board later accepting the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) proposal to extend the series by a game.  
 

PLAYING XI:

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Liton Das (c), Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Mahedi Hasan and Hasan Mahmud

UAE: Muhammad Waseem (c), Raja Akif Ullah Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Rahul Chopra, Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Muhammad Zohaib, Haider Ali, Ethan D'souza, Matiullah Khan and Saghir Khan.