He is playing his first tournament since suffering serious injuries in a car accident in December 2022 that kept him out of last year's IPL as well as the 50-overs World Cup in India
Bangladesh-Ireland tri-nation series opener rained out
Persistent rain has washed out the opening game of the tri-nation series between Bangladesh and Ireland, dampening the start of the Tigers’ campaign to prepare for the Champions Trophy.
Published : 12 May 2017, 10:37 AM
Updated : 12 May 2017, 04:18 PM
Bangladesh were 157 for 4 in 31.1 overs, riding on a gritty half-century from Tamim Iqbal (64 not out) when rain swept in at Dublin’s Malahide on Friday.
Ireland made early inroads to leave Bangladesh innings in shambles on 70-4 at one stage. But Tamim anchored the innings and paired up with Mahmudullah (43 not out) to add 87 runs for the fifth wicket to take his team out of the woods.
The stylish left-handed opener’s 88-ball knock, which contained eight boundaries, shone through as he adeptly cruised to his 35th half-century while taking minimal risks.
Asked to bat first on a green top after a rain-delayed start, Bangladesh were off to shaky start.
Irish seamer Peter Chase put the top order to the sword by taking out Soumya Sarkar (5), Sabbir Rahman (0) and Shakib Al Hasan (14) while lynchpin Mushfiqur Rahim also perished for (13).
Soumya’s footwork let him down when he was caught behind in the second over before Sabbir, who scored a century in the warm-up game, swung wildly to be caught in Chase’s next over.
Mushfiqur looked in good touch when he cut Barry McCarthy for back-to-back boundaries in the last over of the Powerplay. But McCarthy got his man in his next over when another cut went wrong for the diminutive wicketkeeper-batsman, ending his 39-run partnership with Tamim.
Chase soon dismissed Shakib, the stand-in captain in place of suspended Mashrafe, with a wider delivery. Tamim and Mahmudullah then took charge.
The pair showed excellent composure under pressure but played their natural game to keep milking runs on either side of the wicket.
Mahmudullah released the pressure with a six off spinner George Dockrell as the duo gradually put Bangladesh in a good position before rain had the final say.
Bangladesh will take on New Zealand in their next match on Wednesday.
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