Bangladesh stun world champions England in T20 series opener

(Reuters) - Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto scored a half-century before allrounder Shakib Al Hasan got the hosts over the line for a sixwicket win against Twenty20 world champions England in Chattogram yesterday to kick off their three-match series.

Put in to bat, England looked to be in control when openers Jos Buttler (67) and Phil Salt stitched together an 80-run partnership, but Buttler received little support after Salt was dismissed on 38 and the visitors were restricted to 1566.

Hasan Mahmud was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh as he took two wickets, while four of his team mates 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, scoring 34 off 24 in a calm knock under pressure to secure his side’s first-ever T20I win over England.

“The way we approached the game was fantastic, under the pump in the first ten overs but no-one panicked. Stuck to the plans,” Shakib said.

“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.