Bangladesh whitewash England

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MIRPUR, Bangladesh, March 14, (AP): Bangladesh whitewashed world champion England in their Twenty20 series by winning the third game by 16 runs on Tuesday. Opener Liton Das hit a careerbest 73 and Najmul Hossain Shanto 47 not out for Bangladesh to put up 158-2 on a slow Mirpur pitch. Dawid Malan and skipper Jos Buttler had England on track to avoid being swept until their dismissals in consecutive deliveries. England slumped to 142-6. Bangladesh earned its first T20 sweep of major opposition, while England was swept for only the third time after Australia in 2014 and South Africa in 2016. “We talked about showing character ahead of the series and that’s what we showed,” Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said. “We were put into a tough position but won the game. That’s the thing that will give us the confidence as we build a team for the 2024 T20 World Cup.”

Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam, on debut, struck with his third ball when he removed opener Phil Salt for a duck. Then Malan hit a 47-ball 53 with six fours and two sixes and put on a 95- run stand with Buttler, who appeared to be in supreme touch with 40 off 31, including four fours and a six. But Malan edged behind to give pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman his 100th T20 wicket, and Mehidy Hasan ran out Buttler with a direct hit from point. England collapsed from there, trying to maintain the asking run rate. “Our fielding was top notch. Those two wickets in two balls changed the game completely,” Shakib said.

England coach Mathew Mott agreed. “The turning point was the run out, it was an amazing piece of fielding,” Mott said. “You’d back yourself with Jos set at the back end there, got his eye in, and was ready to go. It really turned the game. “We lost two wickets in the over. I thought we had enough of a platform that, if one of those two batted through, we would have given it a big shake at the back end.” Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed took 2-26 to receive man of the match and, when England needed an unlikely 27 off the last over, Hasan Mahmud conceded just two boundaries. England also bowled superbly at the death, giving up only 27 runs in five overs to Bangladesh, and only one four. But Bangladesh capitalized on dropped catches to build a competitive total.

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