Sports Correspondent: Bangladesh put up a remarkable performance to seal another historic feat as they crushed England by 16 runs in the third and final T20 game to sweep three-match series at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Opener Liton Das hit his career-best 73 while Najmul Hossain Shanto continued his rich vein of form with 47 not out to lift Bangladesh to 158-2 on slow Mirpur pitch.
With Bangladesh scoring just 27 runs in the last five overs, it looked they were well short of 20/25 runs but the team showed their capability of making up the mistakes somehow, a thing that skipper Shakib Al Hasan wanted from this new look side.
The hunger for victory was evidenced in their body language as they put up an electrifying fielding performance that proved to be eventual difference between the two sides.
When England dropped two catches and showed anomaly in ground fielding, Bangladesh were absolutely up to the mark.
England lost the first game by six wickets and second one by four wickets to stand on the brink of being whitewashed. But they indeed were on course of avoiding the whitewash as opener Dawid Malan and skipper Jos Buttler looked scoring easier one.
But Bangladesh grabbed the wicket of those two batters in consecutive two deliveries and sparked a collapse from nowhere to finally restrict England to 142-6. By doing so, they swept a T20 series for the first time against top flight opposition.
Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam, who made his debut, got success in his just third ball, removing opener Phil Salt for a duck to give Bangladesh a good start in defending the total.
Malan who struck 47 ball-53 with six fours and two sixes put on 95-run with Buttler for the second wicket to make England heavily favourite to win the game.
Pace bowler Mustrafizur Rahman broke through when Malan edged him behind the wicket for the bowler’s 100th wicket.
The match defining moment came after that as Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran Buttler out with a direct hit from the point.
Buttler who appeared to be in supreme touch made 40 off 31 with four fours and one six.
His dismissal sparked a collapse with Bangladeshi bowlers making inroads at regular intervals.
Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, who had figures of 2-26, ripped through middle order, claiming the wicket of Ben Duckett (11) and Mooen Ali (9).
A fine display of death bowling then ensured Bangladesh’s victory, what turned out to be a historic feat ultimately.
After being sent to bat first, Liton and Rony combined for 55 runs for their opening stand before the latter gave a return catch to leg-spinner Adil Rashid, in his attempt to play reverse sweep.
Shanto and Liton kept the English bowlers at bay, playing with caution and aggression that served them well.
Liton however reached his ninth fifty in this format off 41 balls with a single off leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed.
He tried to up the ante and unfurled some powerful sweep shots around the wicket to make the England spinners, who bowled with tight length, disarray.
Inform Shanto on the other hand hardly missed any opportunity of treating any loose deliveries in disdain.
As Bangladesh looked destined to go close anywhere near to 200-run mark, Chris Jordan broke through with wicket of Liton. He hit 10 fours and one six in his 57-ball innings.
Liton’s dismissal proved to be costly as for a new batter, it was tough to get going in this wicket.
However Shanto who was well set in the crease, failed to rotate the scoreboard as Bangladesh finished with a below par target. But at the end, it mattered little.
