Mehidy, Mosaddek help Bangladesh take series 2-0

Rizwan’s unbeaten fifty in vain as UAE fall short by 32 runs

Bangladesh 169 for 5 (Miraz 46, Mosaddek 27, Aayan 2-33) beat UAE 137 for 5 (Rizwan 51*, Hameed 42, Mosaddek 2-8) by 32 runs

Bangladesh predictably clinched a hastily arranged two-match T20I series against the UAE, beating the hosts by 32 runs in the second match in Dubai. The visitors would be relieved with two wins in a season of thin fixtures, but the UAE will also be encouraged by their performances in those matches.

Basil Hameed and skipper Chundangapoyil Rizwan, well behind the eight, added 90 runs, a T20I record for the fifth wicket in UAE, after slumping to 29 for 4 in the seventh over. Hameed made 42 off 40 balls with four boundaries while Rizwan played his first fifty in the format and hit some sharp shots between his four boundaries which included two sixes.

For Bangladesh, Mosaddek Hossain took two wickets while Taskin Ahmed produced a fantastic spell of 1 for 22, including 12 wickets.

During their innings, Mehidy Hasan Miraz top-scored with 46, but none of the other batsmen could make a real impact after the start.

Aggressive batters fall softly

Bangladesh were generally a bit more assertive during this innings than their timid start in the first game. But still the intent of the batsmen did not translate into good starts. Sabbir Rahman hit a four and a six before being lbw and bowled the round in the fourth over. Litton Das, on his comeback trail after missing the Asia Cup, looked fine as he hit four boundaries in his first 19 balls, but then his graceful square cut came to point.

Afif Hossain followed a similar path, hitting a career-best unbeaten 77 in the last match. He flicked one towards square leg and played a half shot to Aayan Azal Khan full-toss. Karthik Meiyappan took a brilliant catch but it looked like a huge waste of a wicket for Afif.

Miraz keeps faith

The good news for Bangladesh is how Mehidy chose to open the batting. His 46 off 37 balls included five fours, but his pace in the innings should be encouraging for the management team. After allowing Sabbir, Litton and Afif to dominate, he took the mantle as Mosaddek took some time to settle.

Mehidy has also developed several shots that help him score regularly during and after power plays. The cut and stroke plays loose in the air, but when the field is spread out, the percentage shots play quite well.

Keeping Bangladesh to 43 runs in the last five matches could take heart from captain Rizwan and coach Robin Singh. Zahoor Khan, who replaced Junaid Siddique in this game, gave away 30 runs in three of those overs, but more importantly, he thwarted Nurul Hasan and Yasir Ali several times with his change of pace.

Zawar Farid and Meiyappan also bowled well at the end of the innings, making sure they preyed on Bangladesh’s lack of intent. The visitors finished with just two sixes and a four in the last 30 balls, although they looked well set at 126 for 4 after 15 overs.

Bangladesh take four early

Chirag Suri, the UAE’s top run-scorer in the first match, failed to connect properly for two overs before finally skipping one to cover. Bowler Nasum Ahmed completed an easy catch as UAE started to stutter. After hitting two sixes off Nasum, Muhammad Waseem was trapped lbw by Taskin in the sixth over before things got worse for the home side.

Mosaddek removed Aryan Lakra and Vritya Aravind off successive balls in his first over to reduce UAE to 29 for 4 in the seventh over. Lakra covered Mohammad Saifuddin while Aravind missed a delivery that spun back towards his stumps as he was coming back to the ball.

Rizwan, Hameed dig deep

Bangladesh could have closed the deal, but they allowed the game to turn sour. It meant that Hameed and Rizwan rebuilt the UAE innings and added 90 runs in the next 11.5 overs. Yasir Ali helped them on their way by dropping Rizwan for 13 on the deep square boundary.

But the pair bounced hard for the ones and twos, adding to the scoring with a number of boundaries. Hameed’s four boundaries included a risky ramp shot off the stumps against Saifuddin. Rizwan reached his fifty with a raucous cover run in the penultimate over, but there was too much work left for him.