Ireland receives very little continuous rain. Sometimes it rains, sometimes the sky is covered with clouds, the mischief of the wind, the next the sight of the sun. This is Ireland. On Wednesday, the weather in Bangladesh was dressed like Ireland. Most of the day was cloudy. Sometimes it rains—the glow of the sun. But when the match starts, the cricketing atmosphere is completely Bangladeshi.

After Liton Das’s record-breaking fifty, Shakib Al Hasan’s 77 runs for five wickets won the T20 series with one match in hand. This is Bangladesh’s second-highest win in this format in terms of runs. And by taking five wickets for the second time in the international T20, Shakib achieved the honor of becoming the highest wicket-taker bowler in the shortest format of cricket, surpassing Team Southee. He is the man of the match. Liton was instrumental in winning the match with three catches behind the wicket after scoring 83 off 41 balls. This is the first time Bangladesh has won five consecutive matches in T20. The weather played a little joke with the second T20 in Chittagong.

The game is scheduled to start at 2 pm. The first drop of rain fell after the toss. When the rain stopped after 40 minutes, the umpires announced the start of the match at 3:15 PM. After a while, it started raining again. The 17-over match starts at 3:40 PM. Then? A storm erupted at Zahoor Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Not Kalbaisakhi, the Lytton-Roney storm. In the devastating batting of these two, Bangladesh crossed 50 in 3.3 overs in just 21 balls. Which is Bangladesh’s fastest in T20 international matches. This is the first time Bangladesh’s opening pair have built a fifty-plus run partnership for the third time in a row. What happened next was, in short, magic. It’s magic. Lytton completed his fifty off just 18 balls. Another glimpse of his top form was seen today. This is the fastest half-century for Bangladesh in any edition.

Mohammad Ashraful went to the back bench. The previous record was Ashraful’s 20-ball fifty against the West Indies in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Lytton-Roney’s opening pair broke 124 runs in 9.2 overs. It is the highest for Bangladesh in T20 international matches. The previous highest opening partnership was Mohammad Naeem and Soumya Sarkar against Zimbabwe with 102 in July 2021. Bangladesh scored the team’s fastest hundred in just 43 balls due to the duo of the two openers. Ronnie Talukder returns to the dressing room after taking a catch from Edair at long-on. White was the bowler. 23 balls 44 Ronnie’s capital. Three fours and two sixes. Strike rate 191.3. In the 12th over, Liton, who completed his fifty without playing a single dot ball, returned with a catch behind the wicket after punching a ball well outside the door. He scored 83 runs at a strike rate of 202.43 with 10 fours and three sixes. 41 balls were laid. Litton could have gone back to 16 runs in the fourth over. George Dockrell couldn’t keep up with his bullet speed pull shots. The pair hit 13 fours and five sixes. Breaks many records. Still, the four-sixth rain continued. In the 13th over, Shakib hit Harry Tector for a four and a six. Bangladesh scored the fastest 150 runs in the international T20. A ball before completing the 17th over, Tawhid Hriday was dismissed for 24 off 13 balls (three fours and a six). Strike rate 184.61. Bangladesh 202 for three wickets in 17 overs.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan 38* off 24 balls (three fours and two sixes). Shakib and Hriday added 61 runs for the third wicket. Chasing a mountain of 203 runs, Ireland lost six wickets for 43 runs. Later, Curtis Kampfer’s fifty (50 runs from 30 balls) reduced the visitors to 125 for nine in the stipulated 17 overs. Along with Shakib’s five wickets, Taskin Ahmed took three wickets for 27 runs.
(scorecard on game page)