Bangladesh handed England only their subsequent 3-0 loss in a T20I bilateral chain with a 16-run win in the third game in Dhaka. Despite being a dead rubber, the hosts fought back superbly by engineering a batting cave-in after the visitors were 100 for one after 13 overs, hunting 159 to win.
The crux of England’s batting subside saw them drop five wickets for 28 runs in five overs, which propelled their demand run rate from eight to 12 per over. Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler had placed them in the driver’s chair with their rapid second-wicket partnership, but once Mustafizur Rahman bankrupt their stand, England slid quickly.
Litton Das hit his ninth T20I fifty to help Bangladesh to a mediocre 158 for two total in 20 overs. Litton and Najmul Hossain Shanto added 84 races for the second wicket, but they couldn’t fully press on in the last five overs, making only 27 runs for the drop of Litton. England’s bowler’s brawl back well helped nicely when their batters gave them a solid start to the chase.
Malan bookends tour with runs.
England lost Phil Salt in the early over when Tanvir Islam grew the fourth Bangladesh spinner to unbolt the bowling in T20Is on debut. Salt’s wrestle against left-arm spin continued on this tour, having undergone the type of career five times across six innings in two formats.
Malan, however, bookended the trip with essential knocks. He made the unbowed 114 in the first ODI on March 1, the innings that removed England to a hard-fought beating. Malan made 53 in this game, cuffing six fours and two sixes in his 47-ball delay. He strikes his sixes, hoicking over long-on and expansive over fine leg, adding fours from a few sweetly-timed flicks, cuts, and the cover drive.
Buttler aided him with faster scoring. He struck balls straight, hitting six and two fours over the ground, apart from two fours via midwicket. England was cruising till the 13th over with the second-wicket pair, and a leisurely pursuit looked in the offing.
Wickets bring back the hosts.
But it all changed when Mustafizur caught Malan behind to pluck up his 100th wicket in T20Is. He is the second Bangladesh to extend this landmark, after Shakib Al Hasan. When Buttler was rushing out the next ball, the home lane sensed a comeback, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck the electoral from point and then ran towards long-off to celebrate.
Taskin Ahmed struck twice in his last over, the 17th of the innings, when he took off Moeen Ali and Ben Duckett, England’s previous place batting pair. Moeen holed out to the cavernous midwicket boundary, where Mehidy extracted a simple catch. Taskin then sent Duckett’s off-stump for a mount as England strayed 5 for 28 runs in 31 balls.
Litton raises the tempo.
Finally, Litton got his much-awaited big total in white-ball cricket. His last notable knock in T20Is was the bubbly 60 instead of India in the T20 World Cup. He didn’t do copious in the ODIs against India and England, which was disheartening following his stellar 2022. But over five years, a significant result from Litton has always glanced around the corner. And so it replaces Dhaka in the previous game.
Litton tramped his authority in the 55-run gap stand with Rony Talukdar. His older partner, Rony, blazes away to get 24 off 22 balls, counting a terrible drop catch by Rehan Ahmed at little third man. After the middle stage, Litton obtains into the flow, first bang Chris Jordan for two fours, dragged and lofted over mid-off.
Ben Duckett lost him on 51 at deep midwicket, after which he got two borders off Jofra Archer, one a top fringe and once more a haul six. The creme de la creme was his interior-out loft in case Adil Rashid was in the 15th over. Bangladesh was motoring along at this stage and looked like getting a 175-plus total.
England reins back the scoring.
Litton and Shanto totalled 84 runs for the second wicket, but about the time of Litton’s discharge, England had brought back the win rate for about two-and-a-half overs. Shakib was striving to time the ball and instantly along with Shanto. The pair started to gape for more percentage shots rather than using the entire profile of the bat.
Credit to the England fast bowlers who climb via their variations very well. Jordan, Archer and Sam Curran returned the visitors by capitulating just 27 runs in the last five overs.
Shanto, who looked ominous before Litton’s dismissal with a couple of sixes, beat the only boundary during this stage but couldn’t find further limitations in the remaining overs. Shakib, too, couldn’t press on final the great base. Perhaps the pitch slowed, but the England fast bowlers brought their A-game in the dying overs. But their thrash needed help to get the job done.
