Bangladesh set to chase 171 to keep series alive

Bangla Press Desk:  Ireland finished on 170 for six, leaving Bangladesh needing 171 to save the series in the second T20I at the Bir Shrestha Shahid Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Cricket Stadium. Ireland unleashed a flurry of fours and sixes from the outset, hammering Bangladesh’s bowlers and racing towards a formidable total. At one stage, it appeared Liton Das and his side might need to chase more than the previous match’s 181. However, Bangladesh pulled things back in the middle overs, keeping the target within reach.

Ireland signalled intent immediately, taking 13 off Shak Mahedi Hasan's first over and 14 off Nasum Ahmed’s. A brief floodlight failure halted play for 10 minutes, but the assault continued as they powered to 75 in the Powerplay – their third-highest in T20s and their best against Bangladesh. Lorcan Tucker top-scored with a composed 41 off 32 balls, while Tim Tector contributed 38 off 25 and Paul Stirling added a rapid 29 off 14 in the early surge.

Bangladesh made three changes to their playing XI, leaving out Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, and Shoriful Islam, while Mohammad Saifuddin, Nurul Hossain Sohan, and Shak Mahedi Hasan returned to the side.

BP/SP