Bangladesh has secured their first-ever victory against world champions England in a T20 match, beating them by six wickets with two overs to spare in the first of three T20s on Thursday. The victory was led by Najmul Hossain’s 30-ball 51, who batted from the fourth over to the 13th, and captain Shakib Al Hasan completed the victory with the winning boundary through deep backward point in an unbeaten 34 off 24.
England was put to bat first, and skipper Jos Buttler and Phil Salt gave them an ominous start. Buttler struck 67 off 42 with four fours and as many sixes while Salt hit 38. They formed an 80-run partnership before left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed made the breakthrough by removing Salt. Buttler survived on 19 and was dismissed amid a collapse of four wickets for 12 runs. England took just 26 runs from the last powerplay.
“We were in a position to kick on, but we were 20 runs short,” Buttler said. “Low bounce and a little slow but the pitch stayed consistent throughout the game. Bangladesh took the game on and put us under pressure.”
Bangladesh limited England to 156-6 in their innings, and then the hosts made a brisk start to the chase. Rony Talukdar returned after eight years to play only his second game and made 21 off 14, bringing in Najmul. Najmul responded with four straight boundaries against fast bowler Mark Wood. He brought up his third T20 fifty with a single off offspinner Moeen Ali, and Wood returned to rattle his stumps.
“I was not too worried about losing wickets,” Najmul said.
Shakib took over steering the side on a slow pitch and managed it serenely in Bangladesh’s first T20 win over England.
“The way we approached the game was fantastic, under the pump in the first 10 overs, but no one panicked,” Shakib said.
Hasan Mahmud led with 2-26 from his four overs, and the victory against England will undoubtedly be a boost to the Bangladeshi team. England, however, will have to regroup before their next match on Sunday in Dhaka.
Bangladesh’s victory was a significant milestone in their cricket history. The team had previously failed to secure a win against England in all seven of their T20 meetings, and their victory came as a welcome relief for the country’s cricket fans. Bangladesh’s T20 captain Shakib Al Hasan hailed his side’s fantastic approach to the game, saying that they were not in panic despite being under the pump in the first 10 overs. He further added that he was happy to see the young players like Najmul Hossain and Rony Talukdar perform well and contribute to the team’s victory.
The match started with England opting to bat first. The England team came out all guns blazing, and the openers Buttler and Salt gave the visitors a quick start. The duo formed an 80-run partnership before Nasum Ahmed made a breakthrough by removing Salt. Buttler continued his assault and played a stunning knock of 67 off 42 balls with four fours and as many sixes. However, the English batsmen failed to capitalize on the start, and they lost their way towards the end of their innings. They scored only 26 runs in the last powerplay and lost four wickets for 12 runs.
Bangladesh’s chase got off to a brisk start as Rony Talukdar, who returned to play after eight years, scored a quickfire 21 off 14 balls. Najmul Hossain then took charge of the innings and smashed four consecutive boundaries against Mark Wood.
