Ireland beat Bangladesh in T20 World Cup

Niall and Kevin’s scintillating knocks fashioned Ireland’s six-wicket victory over Bangladesh and propelled them to the Super Eight stage of the ICC Twenty20 Championship, here today. Niall blasted a 25-ball 40, studded with three fours and as many sixes while Kevin fired an unbeaten 17-ball 39, smashing four fours and a couple of sixes to help Ireland reach the target with 10 balls to spare. Earlier, all-rounder Trent Johnston’s three-wicket haul restricted Bangladesh to 137 for eight in their Group A match. Niall stitched a 55-run partnership for the first wicket with skipper William Porterfield (23) to lay the foundation of the win before the left-handed batsman was dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan in the 10th over.

Ireland then lost two quick wickets in Porterfield and GC Wilson (10) before Kevin steadied the ship and forged a 49-run stand in 24 balls with John Mooney (17), to set the tone for a deserved victory. For Bangladesh, Mashrafe Mortaza took two wickets for 30 runs, while Shakib and Abdur Razzak bagged one each. Earlier, Johnston ripped through the Bangladesh top-order, removing opener Junaid Siddique (13), skipper Mohammad Ashraful (14) and Shakib (7) after Ireland skipper Porterfield had won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat.

Bangladesh were in dire straits at 94 for seven before Mortaza cracked a quick fire 16-ball 33, laced with one four and two sixes, to prop the tally. Needing a win to keep their hopes alive in the tournament after their disastrous start against India in the opening match, Bangladesh struggled as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and if it wasn’t for Mortaza’s late charge, things could have been even more embarrassing. Alex Cusack bowled the last over which yielded 20 invaluable runs for Bangladesh with Mortaza twice clearing the ropes for two huge sixes.