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Saifuddin’s late heroics seal last-over thriller as Bangladesh level series 1–1 vs Ireland

Kaushik Kashyap

Bangladesh beat Ireland in 2nd T20I. [Source - Fancode]Bangladesh beat Ireland in 2nd T20I. [Source - Fancode]

On the back of Mahedi Hasan’s heroics with the ball and the batters holding their nerve in the tense final moments, Bangladesh defeated Ireland by four wickets in the 2nd T20I of the three-match series. The hard-fought win levels the series 1–1 and sets up a tantalising decider on Tuesday.

Here, we take a look at the entire highlights of the 2nd T20I of the three-match T20I series between Bangladesh and Ireland as it panned out at the Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium, Chattogram on Saturday, November 29.

Ireland blaze early but Mahedi’s triple strike pulls Bangladesh back

After choosing to bat, Ireland exploded out of the blocks with a fiery 75 in the powerplay, though they lost Paul Stirling towards the end. Both he and Tim Tector attacked relentlessly, putting Bangladesh’s attack under pressure which except Tanzim Hasan Sakib had a difficult start.

The host, however, responded sharply, getting back control through Mahedi Hasan’s timely breakthroughs post powerplay. His wickets in tandem dragged Ireland’s momentum down, allowing the hosts to choke the scoring. The middle overs saw only 59 runs as Bangladesh’s discipline brought them right back into the contest.

Ireland regained some rhythm late, adding 36 in the final four overs to post a competitive 170/6, with Lorcan Tucker (41 off 32) top-scoring. Mahedi’s superb spell, finishing with 3 for 25, stood out as the key effort that brought back Bangladesh’s innings control.

Bangladesh survive Irish pressure as Saifuddin delivers late

Chasing 171, Bangladesh began brightly despite the early loss of Tanzid Hasan. Parvez Hossain Emon and Litton Das stitched a steady stand to keep the innings moving. But after the powerplay, the scoring slowed, and Parvez fell just before the halfway stage.

After the tenth over, Litton Das shifted gears, guiding the chase and reaching a composed half-century. Ireland, searching desperately for breakthroughs, struck back by removing Litton (57 off37) ahead of the slog overs, and Saif Hassan departed soon after, tightening the contest heading into the final phase.

Ireland kept things tight with regular wickets, reducing the equation to 16 from the final two overs. Though Mark Adair removed Nurul Hasan early in the penultimate over, Mohammad Saifuddin’s two crucial big hits yielded 13 runs, leaving three needed in the last over and Bangladesh eventually sealed the chase to level the series.