Bangladesh beat England by six wickets to record their first-ever T20 win over the world champions.
Bangladesh have recorded a six-wicket win over England to stun the world champions in the first Twenty20 international in the southern coastal city of Chattogram.
Najmul Hossain Shanto’s half-century and captain Shakib Al Hasan’s 34 runs from 24 balls guided the hosts to their first-ever T20 international win over England on Thursday.
Put in to bat, England looked to be in control when openers Jos Buttler (67) and Phil Salt put together an 80-run partnership, but Buttler received little support after Salt was dismissed on 38 and the visitors were restricted to 156-6 at the end of their 20 overs.
Hasan Mahmud was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh as he took two wickets, while four of his teammates claimed a wicket apiece.
After a brief opening stand between Litton Das and Rony Talukdar, Shanto (51) combined with debutant Towhid Hridoy for 65 runs to give Bangladesh some momentum, but the pair were then dismissed in consecutive overs as the chase looked in danger of being derailed.
Shakib, who was the hero in Bangladesh’s one-day international win over England earlier this week, came to their rescue once again on a slow pitch and played a calm knock under pressure to take his side over the line.
“The way we approached the game was fantastic, under the pump in the first 10 overs but no one panicked. Stuck to the plans,” Shakib said after the match.
“In T20, when you don’t think too much you tend to play well. Hopefully, we can keep this in the dressing room. This is a great start for the World Cup in 2024 in West Indies.”
The second T20I will be played in Mirpur on Sunday, followed by the third game on Tuesday at the same venue.
