BAN vs ENG, 3rd T20I: Bangladesh 158 for 2 (Litton 73, Shanto 47*, Jordan 1-21) beat England 142 for 6 (Malan 53, Buttler 40, Taskin 2-26) by 16 runs

With a 16-run victory in the third game in Dhaka, Bangladesh prevented England from suffering their second 3-0 defeat in a bilateral T20I series. Despite the fact that this was a dead rubber, the hosts did a fantastic job of fighting back by orchestrating a batting collapse after the visitors were 100 for 1 after 13 overs and chasing 159 to win.

England’s batting collapse came to a head when they lost five wickets for 28 runs in five overs, increasing their required run rate from 8 to 12. With their quick partnership for the second wicket, Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler had put them in control, but when Mustafizur Rahman ended their partnership, England fell quickly.

Before that, Litton Das scored his ninth fifty in a Twenty20 International to help Bangladesh reach 158 for 2 in 20 overs. Litton and Najmul Hossain Shanto added 84 runs for the second wicket, but they were unable to keep up in the final five overs and only scored 27 runs, resulting in Litton’s death. Britain’s bowlers retaliated well, which was well aided when their hitters gave them a solid beginning to the pursuit.

Malan bookends tour with runs

When Tanvir Islam, the fourth Bangladesh spinner to open the bowling in T20Is, made his debut, England lost Phil Salt in the first over. On this tour, Salt continued to struggle with left-arm spin, getting out to it five times in six innings across two formats.

However, Malan ended the tour with significant blows. On March 1, he struck an unbeaten 114 in the first ODI, leading England to a hard-fought victory. In his 47-ball stint, Malan hit six fours and two sixes to earn 53 runs in this game. He hit sixes hoicking over long-on and sweeping over fine leg, and he also hit fours from the cover drive and a few perfectly timed flicks and cuts.

He was helped by Buttler’s faster scoring. Except for two fours through midwicket, he hit balls straight, hitting a six and two fours down the ground. With the second-wicket pair together, England controlled the score until the 13th over, and a straightforward chase appeared likely.

Wickets bring back the hosts

However, everything changed when Mustafizur had Malan gotten behind, to get his 100th wicket in T20Is. After Shakib Al Hasan, he is the second Bangladeshi to achieve this milestone. The visitors anticipated a comeback when Buttler was run out on the following ball. Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck the stumps from point, and afterward ran off towards long-off to celebrate.

In the 17th over of his innings, Taskin Ahmed struck twice and bowled out England’s last known batting tandem, Moeen Ali and Ben Duckett. Mehidy made a straightforward catch when Moeen holed out to the deep midwicket boundary. England lost 5 for 28 runs in 31 balls after Taskin sent Duckett’s off stump flying.

Litton raises the tempo

White-ball cricket’s long-awaited big score finally arrived for Litton. His last critical thump in T20Is was the shimmering 60 against India in the T20 World Cup. After a stellar 2022, his performance in the one-day internationals against India and England was particularly disappointing. However, Litton has always appeared to be on the verge of scoring a significant goal over the past five years. In the final game, the same thing took place in Dhaka.

In the initial 55-run partnership with Rony Talukdar, Litton established his authority. His more seasoned accomplice, Rony, streaked away to get 24 off 22 balls, including a stunning dropped get by Rehan Ahmed at diminutive third man. After the halfway point, Litton got into the flow by hitting Chris Jordan for two fours, pulled, and lofted over mid-off.

After Ben Duckett dropped him at deep midwicket on 51, he got two boundaries from Jofra Archer: a top edge and a pulled six. His inside-out loft against Adil Rashid in the 15th over was the best. Bangladesh were motoring along at this stage, and looked like getting a 175 or more all out at this stage.

England rein back the scoring

Litton and Shanto added 84 runs for the second wicket, but England had brought the scoring rate back for about two and a half overs by the time Litton was out. Shakib and Shanto suddenly began to look for percentage shots rather than using the entire bat face because Shakib was having trouble timing the ball.

The England fast bowlers deserve credit for successfully navigating their variations. In the final five overs, Sam Curran, Jordan, and Archer only gave up 27 runs, bringing the visitors back.

Prior to Litton’s dismissal with a couple of sixes, Shanto appeared in ominous form. During this phase, he hit the only boundary, but in the subsequent overs, he was unable to hit any more boundaries. Despite the excellent base, Shakib was unable to continue. The England fast bowlers really brought their A-game in the final overs, despite the pitch slowing down. However, their batters were ineffective.