Rain halts play as Bangladesh cross 200
A blistering opening stand between Liton Das and Rony Talukdar, and a rapid maiden T20I fifty from the latter saw Bangladesh cross the 200-run mark only for the fourth time in the shortest format before rain halted play during the Tigers' first T20I against Ireland at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.
Bangladesh shattered a number of records as they moved to 207 for five in 19.2 overs -- their third-highest total in T20Is. And as things stand, this is going to be the end of Bangladesh's innings with the target for Ireland now to be assessed via DLS. However, 215 for five against Sri Lanka in Nidahas Trophy in 2018 in Colombo and 211 for four against West Indies in Mirpur the same year are the top two totals for Bangladesh in the shortest format.
With head coach Chandika Hathurusingha all for aggressive and fearless cricket, Liton and Rony came out all guns blazing after Bangladesh were asked to bat. The duo starred in a 91-run opening stand.
Both Liton and Rony looked to take on the bowlers from the very beginning, with the former, despite looking a bit reckless, smashing the first maximum of the game in the very first over. Rony, meanwhile, played almost a flawless innings to bring up a 24-ball fifty -- his first fifty in the format.
Rony also starred with Liton in Bangladesh's highest score in the powerplay in T20Is as the duo amassed 81 for no loss in the first six overs. He reached his fifty in the ninth over when he smashed Ben White for consecutive boundaries off the final two deliveries of the over. Bangladesh also crossed the hundred-run mark at the same time, hitting the three-figure mark in just 8.5 overs to record the fastest 100 for the team in the format.
Liton was the first one to depart today as his 23-ball 47, laced with four boundaries and three maximums, came to an end in the eighth over when he mistimed a Craig Young delivery and was caught at mid-off.
Rony then had fruitful partnerships of 27 and 36 runs with Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shamim Hossain, respectively, before his 38-ball 67 came to an end in the 14th over.
Since then, the rest of the Bangladesh batters only tried to keep up the scoring rate and make the best use of the foundation laid by Rony and Liton. Shamim Hossain, who had replaced Afif Hossain in the side during the Tigers' previous series, against England earlier this month, was the most successful in that regard as he added 30 off 20 deliveries.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan, coming down at number six, made his intentions clear when he smashed a Mark Adair delivery for a straight boundary off the very first ball of his innings in the 17th over. Shakib, who smashed a total of three boundaries, remained unbeaten on 20 off 13 deliveries.