Enough from me. That was some good fun, a low-scoring thriller that Bangladesh edged to record a series win over the world champions. There’s still one left to play on Tuesday, and the hosts will be gunning for a famous whitewash. Join us again for that one. Go well!
Updated
A bit of Jofra heat to enjoy:
The SPEED of Jofra Archer! Bowling at almost 92mph 😳🔥 pic.twitter.com/BySNawJfVZ
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 12, 2023
Shanto is the Mr White (?) Most Valuable Player of the Match, which is somehow different to the Player of the Match award – that one predictably goes to Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Updated
The big plus for England today:
Jofra Archer has been absolutely sensational today. Told us yesterday that he wasn't going to bend his back in Bangladesh, but he's been in the 90mphs very regularly.
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) March 12, 2023
He’s a regular at the death but that was a tough ask of Jordan to bowl his first over of the day with the game on the line. Still, that was a thrilling finish, aided by Archer resurrecting England with two electric overs. Kudos to Shanto, battling hard on a very difficult pitch, hanging in there with an unbeaten 46.
Bangladesh win by four wickets
Jordan, in for his first over of the day, is pulled away by Shanto behind square for four. And just like that, all the pressure is released – Ahmed misfields at fine leg off the very next delivery, fumbling the one-handed pick-up and that turns one into two for Bangladesh. Another pull brings one and Taskin then thumps the ball over extra cover for four. And then another boundary through the offside – Bangladesh win the match and series!
Updated
18th over: Bangladesh 105-6 (Ahmed 0, Shanto 39) Archer finishes with an 87mph bumper, closing with figures of 3-13 from his four overs. What a bowler.
WICKET! Afif b Archer 2 (Bangladesh 105-6)
Shanto, still soldiering on, pulls Archer for one to bring Afif on strike. The left-hander runs the ball down to third man for a single and a dot follows. Shanto settles for one off his next delivery before Archer sends the stumps flying with a 92mph delivery! Afif made room for a whack into the off side, but that is just way too quick! Oh boy, it really is so good to see Jofra Archer back bowling like this.
Updated
17th over: Bangladesh 102-5 (Afif 1, Shanto 37) Five off the over and another wicket down for England – it’s getting squeaky out there.
WICKET! Shakib c Jordan b Moeen 0 (Bangladesh 100-5)
Moeen continues and, after a dot, Shanto bunts the ball into the leg-side to race away for a couple. Shakib then tries to go inside-out over extra cover but he can only chip the ball into the hands of Chris Jordan at wide long-off. GAME ON!
Updated
16th over: Bangladesh 97-4 (Shanto 33, Shakib 0) Archer ramps it up to 150kph for Shakib’s first delivery! Just two runs off the over and a wicket, too – Bangladesh need 21 runs off the last four overs.
WICKET! Mehidy c Rashid b Archer 20 (Bangladesh 97-4)
Archer returns as Buttler searches for a saviour. And maybe there is still hope! Archer goes short and rushes Mehidy, who can only lob it up to Rashid at short midwicket.
15th over: Bangladesh 95-3 (Mehidy 19, Shanto 32) Mehidy gets on one knee and sweeps Moeen over square leg for six, and that’s not even the best shot of the over – Shanto goes on to reverse-scoop Moeen behind square on the leg side for four. Bangladesh need 23 from 30 balls.
14th over: Bangladesh 83-3 (Shanto 27, Mehidy 12) Mehidy brings out the flair, skipping down the pitch to go inside-out over extra cover for six. Just a bit outrageous, that. Shanto is struck after missing a sweep, but it looks as if impact is outside off stump. England go up for a review but no dice – it’s umpire’s call on impact. And then a beautiful, ripping, shredding leg-break from Rashid goes through Shanto but, painfully, over the stumps and past Buttler to run away to the boundary. Bangladesh should take the game from here.
Updated
13th over: Bangladesh 71-3 (Shanto 26, Mehidy 5) Tidy from Ahmed, but Bangladesh continue to keep the scoreboard ticking over – that’s all they need to do.
12th over: Bangladesh 66-3 (Shanto 22, Mehidy 3) Rashid twirls away, conceding three singles and a couple of wides before finishing with a warning: his leg-break spins big past Mehidy’s forward prod.
11th over: Bangladesh 61-3 (Shanto 20, Mehidy 2) Mehidy, the star with the ball, now has a job to do with the bat.
WICKET! Hridoy c Woakes b Ahmed 17 (Bangladesh 56-3)
Rehan Ahmed bowls for the first time in T20I cricket… and he picks up a wicket with a half-tracker! It was very, very wide and very, very short, and Hridoy cuts it to Woakes at backward point.
Updated
10th over: Bangladesh 55-2 (Hridoy 17, Shanto 17) Rashid tosses it up and Hridoy whacks it down the ground for four. His next boundary is better-looking – the right-hander goes inside-out over extra cover. Hridoy doesn’t get a proper hold of the final ball of the over, and he’s fuming at himself for some reason. Relax chief, you’re batting pretty well out here. Bangladesh need 63 off 60 balls.
9th over: Bangladesh 45-2 (Hridoy 8, Shanto 16) Shanto tries to take Moeen down the ground but can’t get the timing on it, settling instead for a single to long-on. The off-spinner races through the over as Bangladesh settle for a handful of singles. Timing the ball seems a nightmare at the moment, with the ball holding up in the surface and turning miles, too.
8th over: Bangladesh 41-2 (Shanto 14, Hridoy 6) Rashid is next up, giving the ball some decent airtime. Hridoy whips the ball through the leg side for a couple before Rashid shows off the googly, which the right-hander clips for one. Five off it, which is perfectly fine for Bangladesh.
7th over: Bangladesh 36-2 (Hridoy 3, Shanto 12) Here’s the game, as England turn to spin after the end of the powerplay. It’s Moeen Ali who gets dibs, and there’s definitely some turn for him to play with. Shanto tries the reverse sweep, but it comes off the toe of the bat – the spin on the ball flummoxes Woakes at cover, allowing for a single.
6th over: Bangladesh 32-2 (Hridoy 1, Shanto 10) Archer looks in good rhythm, mixing up rib-ticklers with cutting slower balls – but Shanto does get a boundary away to keep Bangladesh ticking over.
WICKET! Rony c Moeen b Archer 9 (Bangladesh 27-2)
Rony tries to swat Archer to the leg side but he can’t get a proper hold of the rising delivery, popping up a catch to the running Moeen at short midwicket.
Updated
5th over: Bangladesh 27-1 (Rony 9, Shanto 6) Curran continues, mixing up his lengths to keep Bangladesh’s batters guessing. Just six off it.
4th over: Bangladesh 21-1 (Rony 7, Shanto 3) Archer replaces Woakes and brings out a slower-ball bouncer – Rony swats it away for a single. When Rony returns, Archer delivers a sharp delivery that flies through a gap between the stumps and the batter, who had shuffled to the leg side. A steady start from the paceman.
3rd over: Bangladesh 17-1 (Rony 6, Shanto 1) A very tidy over from Curran, picking up the wicket of Litton and keeping the damage to just two runs.
WICKET! Litton c Salt b Curran 9 (Bangladesh 16-1)
Curran strikes! He goes short and Litton pulls straight to Phil Salt at deep backward square.
Updated
2nd over: Bangladesh 15-0 (Rony 5, Litton 9) Woakes takes the ball from the other end and is a little too short and straight to Litton – the batter pulls hard behind square for four.
Updated
1st over: Bangladesh 7-0 (Rony 5, Litton 2) A bit of swing on offer for Curran as he tries to rip one through the right-hander’s defence. An off-cutter gets the outside edge of Rony, but the ball runs away for four past the diving Jos Buttler.
Updated
Sam Curran has the new ball. Let’s play!
Nasser Hussain is in the Sky studio and he’s not best pleased by England’s performance with the bat, particularly the decision to tinker with the batting line-up – he would’ve stuck with Jos up top.
Bangladesh need 118 to win the second T20I
It’s a torrid final over for England as Archer too is run out at the non-striker’s end – three runs and three wickets from that final set. Having been 50-1 at the end of the powerplay, England’s batting crumbled on a very tricky pitch. There’s some sharp turn in this surface, leaping bounce, too, and England are still in this if their bowlers turn up today. Mehidy was magical for his side, picking up four wickets and barely going for any.
WICKET! Ahmed run out Litton/Mustafizur (England 117-9)
Rashid flicks to the leg side for a single but Ahmed can’t get the next couple of deliveries away – he’s particularly flummoxed by the slower-ball bouncer. A wide follows, and Rashid calls through for a single – but Ahmed is miles away as Bangladesh complete the run out at the non-striker’s end.
WICKET! Duckett c Shanto b Mustafizur 28 (England 114-8)
A brilliant diving grab from Shanto as he sprints in from mid-on to just behind the stumps to hold on. Duckett couldn’t get the timing right on a swipe off Mustafizur, with a top-edge flying high into the air.
19th over: England 114-7 (Duckett 28, Ahmed 11) Wonderful from Ahmed as he comes down the pitch and goes inside-out over extra cover for four off the bowling of Shakib. Two singles follow before Ahmed closes the over with a couple.
18th over: England 105-7 (Duckett 26, Ahmed 4) Mustafizur returns to surprise Rehan Ahmed with an off-cutter that leaps off the surface before flying into the keeper’s gloves. The young debutant chews up four dots but then cross-bats a slower ball ball over mid-on for four.
WICKET! Jordan c Talukdar b Mehidy 3 (England 100-7)
Duckett cuts hard to deep extra cover for a couple before Jordan launches the ball straight into the hands of deep midwicket. The masterful Mehidy finishes with outstanding figures of 4-12.
17th over: England 100-7 (Duckett 26, Ahmed 0)
Updated
16th over: England 95-6 (Duckett 22, Jordan 2) Shakib finally returns, having been granted the cherished gift of a right-hander at the crease. It’s another good over for the hosts as England take just three off it.
Tom V d Gucht writes in: “I love how the test team have been revolutionising the longer format with Bazball whilst Mott seems to be developing Irani-ball: removing specialist batters and replacing them with not-quite all Rounders”
15th over: England 92-6 (Jordan 1, Duckett 21) Chris Jordan is the new batter, Mehidy has 3-7 after three overs, and England, well, they’re all over the place.
WICKET! Woakes st Litton b Mehidy 0 (England 91-6)
Oh, this is so, so good from Mehidy. It’s a spitting off-break to Woakes, who prods forward but can’t get his bat anywhere near it. The ball leaps at Litton’s chest, and he eventually holds on to the ball before completing the stumping. Gorgeous bowling, that.
Updated
WICKET! Curran st Litton b Mehidy 12 (England 91-4)
Curran comes down the wicket to Mehidy and tries to launch a cut, but doesn’t get anything on it – Litton holds on behind the stumps and completes the stumping.
Updated
14th over: England 91-4 (Curran 12, Duckett 21) Afif Hossain is Bangladesh’s eighth bowler of the day! Shakib is trying to squeeze out as much off-spin as he can against the two left-handers. Duckett and Curran continue to run hard, picking up seven off the over.
13th over: England 84-4 (Duckett 17, Curran 10) Taskin returns to complete his work for the day, and Duckett unleashes a cracking cut shot behind square to pick up another boundary. Another cut follows but there’s a man on the rope behind deep point to limit the damage.
12th over: England 76-4 (Duckett 11, Curran 9) Shanto begins with a full toss that Duckett spanks away to long-on for four. Five singles follow to make it a decent over for England. Ollie Pope, by the way, is a nice, fresh voice on comms.
11th over: England 67-4 (Curran 7, Duckett 4) Curran bunts Mehidy down to long-on for a single before Duckett unfurls the reverse sweep to pick up one for himself. The singles continue as the pair stay patient, playing themselves in on this pitch.
10th over: England 63-4 (Curran 5, Duckett 2) Sam Curran walks out at six and gets a gift first up – it’s short from Hasan and he cuts hard for four.
WICKET! Moeen c sub b Mehidy 15 (England 57-4)
With two left-handers out in the middle, Shakib takes himself off and brings on Mehidy’s off-breaks. Interesting to see how Duckett fares here – he loves sweeping but this bouncy pitch might make that method tricky.
And just as I type that, Moeen sweeps straight into the hands of the man at deep midwicket. England are in a pickle.
9th over: England 57-4 (Duckett 1, Curran 0)
Updated
WICKET! Buttler b Hasan 4 (England 55-3)
Buttler nails a pull shot off Hasan Mahmud to pick up a couple. The England skipper then tries to scoop the ball over the keeper’s head but the extra bounce means he can’t get anything on it. And then a stunning yorker sends Buttler on his way! Full, quick and too good for one of the best batters in the world. A ripper!
8th over: England 55-3 (Moeen 14, Duckett 0)
Updated
7th over: England 51-2 (Buttler 1, Moeen 13) Buttler finally makes his way out to the middle as Shakib begins with a top over.
WICKET! Salt c&b Shakib 25 (England 50-2)
The skipper strikes! It’s short from Shakib, but Salt’s attempted cut ends up gifting a catch to the bowler. A bit of extra bounce looks to have done Salt there, ensuring that he didn’t get the required timing on the stroke.
Updated
6th over: England 50-1 (Salt 25, Moeen 13) The first bit of spin today as Nasum Ahmed gets his left-arm twirlers moving. He’s a bit too short with his second delivery and Salt cuts hard for four, courtesy of a misfield at cover. Moeen finishes the over with a staggering stroke, sweeping behind square leg for six.
5th over: England 37-1 (Moeen 6, Salt 19) Top shot from Salt – he comes down the pitch to Taskin, makes room and slaps the ball through extra cover for four. The bowler responds with a yorker that’s speared down the leg side. Another yorker follows – this one’s accurate, with Salt forced to jam the bat down and protect his poles.
4th over: England 29-1 (Salt 13, Moeen 5) Tidy start this from Bangladesh, with England trying to get to grips with the leaping bounce this wicket is offering. After three dots, Moeen gets off strike with a leg bye. Salt then eases the pressure with a pull behind square for six! Cracking shot.
3rd over: England 21-1 (Moeen 5, Salt 6) Very interesting. It’s Moeen Ali, not Jos Buttler at No.3. He gets off the mark with a bit of luck – a waft outside off results in an edge that flies over slip and runs away for four. There’s plenty of carry on this pitch. Moeen just about gets home for a single to close the over.
WICKET! Malan c Mahmud b Taskin 5 (England 16-1)
And the crowd roars! Malan swipes at a fullish delivery from Taskin but can only produce a thick edge that flies high and safely into the hands of third man.
Updated
2nd over: England 16-0 (Malan 5, Salt 6) The Fizz takes the other end and gets Salt’s outside edge – but the ball runs away to the third-man boundary for four. After a couple of dots, Salt then clips through square leg for one. Malan pokes outside off and edges one, but the ball stays low, dropping short of the man at slip.
1st over: England 10-0 (Salt 1, Malan 4) Taskin Ahmed takes the new ball and gets a bit of shape away from the right-hander. Salt clips to the leg side for a single before a yorker strikes Malan’s boot and travels down to the fine-leg boundary for four byes. Malan then plays a nice pull shot for his first proper four of the day.
Right then, it’s Malan and Salt to open up! So Buttler has put himself on the naughty step at three.
Another box ticked off:
Rehan Ahmed completes the set, receiving his T20I cap at 18 years, 211 days old 🧢
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 12, 2023
The first teenager to play a men's T20I for England 👏#BANvENG pic.twitter.com/veLqJorS20
Ollie Pope’s in the studio, chatting to Atherton and Ward about his winter. The highlight of the last few months? He picks out that incredible win at Rawalpindi, and you can’t blame him – what a game.
Bangladesh XI:
Rony Talukdar, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman
England XI:
Jos Buttler is listed at three – a bit of experimentation?
🏏 We’ve lost the toss and are batting first!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 12, 2023
And… @RehanAhmed__16 becomes the youngest ever England men’s T20 player! 🏴
Congratulations, Rehan - go and smash it 👏
🤝 @IGcom pic.twitter.com/v0tNoBBY9T
Jofra Archer continues his comeback after a long, torrid spell on the sidelines. Here’s what he had to say the other day.
Bangladesh win the toss and choose to bowl first
Shakib wins it and England will bat first once again. Ahmed is in for Mark Wood, while Bangladesh have picked all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Preamble
Morning, folks, and welcome to the OBO for the second T20I between Bangladesh and England!
The hosts took the series opener, cruising to a six-wicket win with a couple of overs to spare. Najmul Hossain Shanto was the MVP, slapping 51 off just 30 balls in the successful chase of 157.
England need to bounce back, and they’ve decided to turn to the wunderkind – yep, Rehan Ahmed has received his T20I cap and will make his debut today. In the space of three months he’s become an all-format international. He’s 18. Eighteen!
I’ll be here to keep you company over the next few hours – drop me an email/slide into my DMs/fill me in on your hopes, dreams, life ambitions. Go well!
