Ahead of the T20 World Cup Bangladesh toured the USA for three T20I series which commenced on Tuesday at Prairie View Cricket Complex, Houston, Texas. Hosts USA were facing Bangladesh for the first time but felt they were more experienced than Bangladesh. The USA defeated Bangladesh for the first time in history of a T20I match.
Bangladesh who were in form as they defeated Zimbabwe in their home series by 4-1 so they had picked form and now this time they have a challenge of USA ahead of them.
Bangladesh’s poor form continues
USA had won the toss and opted to bowl first which proved to be beneficial for them. Openers again failed to give a solid start and lost the wicket in powerplay, Bangladesh scored just 37 runs and lost two wickets. Later Towhid Hridoy stood from one end and scored 58 runs and Mahmudullah too scored 31 runs and contributed well enough to reach the score of 153, rest none of the batters could contribute. Skipper Najimul Hossain Shanto scored just 3 runs.
USA was good at bowling
After winning the toss USA was in the driving seat from starting and bowling was quite good despite playing for the first time against Bangladesh. Every bowler bowled good spells but Ali Khan was quite expensive and conceded 49 runs rest others bowled economical spells. Former Kiwi player Corey Anderson was included in the squad and he also bowled pretty well. So, they restricted Bangladesh to 153.
USA showed class with the bat
So, the target for the USA was 154, and gave a decent yet steady start in the powerplay, lost just on a wicket, and scored 43 runs. Former Kiwi player Corey Anderson scored 34 runs while Harmeet Singh scored 33 runs for which he was adjourned as Man Of The Match. The USA had a god at the office in both departments so they deserved to win this match and took a 1-0 lead in the 3T20I series.
Flop bowling by Bangladesh
A forgetful day for Bangladesh as they had a nightmare in batting and so they didn’t perform well in bowling either. Mustafizur Rahman despite conceding runs picked up 2 wickets. Shakib Al Hasan bowled an economical spell but went empty in his spell. Bangladesh needs to work in both of their areas and needs to have clarity while playing whether it’s batting or bowling skipper Najimul Hossain Shanto should rotate their bowlers perfectly or else they might face danger in the World Cup.
Also Read: USA vs BAN: USA Look To Play Spoilsport In Bangladesh’s World Cup Preparations