On 12th March 2023, Bangladesh and England faced off in the second T20 of the five-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh was leading the series 1-0 after winning the first T20, and England was looking to level the series.
SUNDAY, 12 MARCH 2023
TIME: 4:00 AM ET
TIME: 9:00 AM GMT
England won the toss and elected to bat first. Their openers, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, got off to a solid start, putting on a 43-run partnership for the first wicket. However, Bangladesh managed to pick up the wicket of Roy in the sixth over, with Taskin Ahmed getting the breakthrough.
Bairstow continued to bat well and was well supported by Dawid Malan, who was playing his second T20 for England. The duo put on a 51-run partnership for the second wicket, and at the end of 10 overs, England was 94 for 1.
Bangladesh managed to pick up the wicket of Malan in the 11th over, with Mustafizur Rahman getting the breakthrough. However, Bairstow continued to bat well and brought up his half-century off just 31 balls.
England lost a couple of quick wickets in the middle overs, but Bairstow continued to bat aggressively and brought up his century off just 55 balls. He was eventually dismissed for a brilliant 102 off just 57 balls, which included 10 fours and 6 sixes.
England managed to score 214 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. For Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan were the pick of the bowlers, picking up two wickets each.
Chasing a target of 215, Bangladesh got off to a disastrous start, losing both their openers, Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das, in the first over. Both were dismissed by David Willey, who was playing his first T20 for England.
Bangladesh continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, with none of their batsmen being able to get going. Only Shakib Al Hasan managed to get a start, scoring 36 runs off 27 balls. The rest of the batsmen failed to contribute much, and Bangladesh was bowled out for just 120 runs in 15.3 overs. For England, David Willey and Adil Rashid were the pick of the bowlers, picking up three wickets each.
Overall, it was a dominating performance by England, with Bairstow’s century being the highlight of the match. Bangladesh, on the other hand, would be disappointed with their batting performance and will need to bounce back in the third T20 of the series.
One of the major reasons for Bangladesh’s loss was their poor start, losing both their openers in the first over. This put them on the back foot right from the start, and they were never able to recover from this setback.
Another reason for their loss was their inability to contain England’s batsmen. Apart from Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, none of the other bowlers were able to pick up wickets or contain the run flow. This allowed England to score a mammoth total of 214 runs, which was always going to be difficult to chase down.
Overall, England would be pleased with their performance and will look to carry this momentum into the rest of the series. On the other hand, Bangladesh will need to regroup and come up with a better plan if they are to win the series.
The third T20 of the series will be played on 12th March, and Bangladesh will be hoping to bounce back and take an unassailable lead in the series.