Ireland 178 allout (KJ O'Brien 37, Shafiul 4/21) lost to Bangladesh 205 (Botha 3-32, Johnston 3-40) Bangladesh win by 27 runs Brave effort from Ireland, proved the value of good Associate teams, they bowled superbly on a wicket tailor-made for their take-the-pace-off bowlers. Bangladesh were hugely disappointing with the bat, especially given the start Tamim gave them. George Dockrell was a star for Ireland with his left-arm-spin but Bangladesh rallied and scrapped hard to pull of the victory. Shafiul Islam finished with four but it was the spinners who took the early wickets to leave Ireland struggling.
Bangladesh's battery of slow bowlers mounted a spirited defence of their substandard total of 205, claiming four key wickets in the first 25 overs to reduce Ireland to 95 for 4 at the halfway mark of their run-chase. However, with the experienced campaigner Niall O'Brien still entrenched on 35, the Irish remained favourites to come out on top in a fascinating and potentially crucial Group B encounter at Mirpur.
Following on from the success of Ireland's slower bowlers, in particular the spinner George Dockrell, Bangladesh responded in kind, giving a solitary over to their seamer Shafiul Islam before turning to the spin pairing of Abdur Razzak and Naeem Islam. The tactic paid dividends in the sixth over of the innings, when Paul Stirling yorked himself while advancing to Razzak, and was stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim as the ball dribbled off the pads and past his off stump.
With the pressure intense in spite of the small target, Ireland's captain, Will Porterfield, set himself to make the most of every scoring opportunity. He had launched the innings in confident style with a second-ball drive off Shafiul through point, and he added a second four when Naeem dropped short at the end of his third over. But Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh's captain and senior spinner, struck with his first delivery, as Porterfield attempted a flick off the back foot, and instead popped a simple catch to Raqibul Hasan at short midwicket.
O'Brien, however, was the right man to enter the fray. He was the hero of a tense run-chase in Jamaica four years ago, when Ireland stunned Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup, and two fours in the same Shakib over were the perfect tonic for his team's frayed nerves. In partnership with the England veteran, Ed Joyce, he picked off the singles and gnawed away at the target, before Joyce, on 16, attempted to drive against the spin, and popped a simple chance to Mohammad Ashraful.
Ashraful celebrated as if the match was already won, which it self-evidently was not at 75 for 3 in the 19th over. However, the belief in the Bangladesh team was picked up on by the crowd, and the roof was raised six overs later, when Andrew White, on 10, played a lazy pushed drive from deep in the crease to be bowled through the gate. It was a dismissal that increased the Irish jitters ten-fold, but with O'Brien still strong, the match was still theirs for the taking.
49.2 overs Bangladesh 205 (Botha 3-32, Johnston 3-40) v Ireland
A plucky Irish fielding display, allied to some disciplined medium-pace and a performance of intense skill and composure from the teenaged spinner, George Dockrell, allowed Ireland to douse Bangladesh's ardour following a fusillade of early boundaries from Tamim Iqbal, and wrest the initiative in their crucial Group B encounter at Mirpur. By the halfway mark of the contest, Ireland had given themselves every chance of another notable World Cup victory, after restricting Bangladesh to 205 all out in 49.2 overs.
There will be many higher-profile fixtures than this in the coming weeks, but few could prove as pivotal to the fortunes of two teams who exceeded expectations four years ago in reaching the Super Eights in the Caribbean, but whose hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals this time around could well hinge on how they fare against one another.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Bangladesh looked set to inflict on Ireland the same sort of total that they themselves succumbed to against India in last week's tournament opener, with Tamim doing his best impersonation of Virender Sehwag to scorch seven rapid boundaries, including a cut and a drive in Boyd Rankin's first over, and a flick of the wrists to dispatch Trent Johnston's fifth ball through midwicket. After four overs, they were seemingly in total control on 41 for 0 , but Ireland are a more resourceful side than meets the eye, and the early decision to reduce the pace on the ball slowly but surely changed the tide of the contest.
With Johnston and John Mooney settling into the disciplined line-and-length that was a feature of Ireland's 2007 campaign, their flash of inspiration arrived in the seventh over, when Imrul Kayes overbalanced while trying to flick a wide through fine leg, and Niall O'Brien timed his stumping to perfection to send the opener on his way for a run-a-ball 12. And it was also on Mooney's watch that the second breakthrough came, although the fault lay entirely with the new batsman, Junaid Siddique, who took on the bullet arm of Ed Joyce at cover, and paid the price for a lazy piece of running as the shy removed the bails with his bat fractionally short of the crease (61 for 2).
Tamim by now had settled into a holding pattern. At the start of the innings he had whistled along to 37 from his first 24 balls, but thereafter he chiselled a further 7 from 19, as Mooney in particular kept him honest with a nagging length and a well-set field, with short cover in place to discourage excessive flamboyance. It was Andre Botha, however, who claimed the prize scalp, as Tamim wafted lazily at a rare wide delivery, and the skipper Will Porterfield stooped forward at point to snaffle a vital catch.
Shakib Al Hasan responded with some aplomb, leaning into a sweet straight drive to kick-start his innings, before adding a further brace of fours as Mooney strayed onto his pads and the extra pace of Rankin offered him a cut-able length outside off. But he failed to capitalise on what ought to have been a costly reprieve, when Porterfield failed to sight another chance at point, and let the opportunity spill through his fingers. Two deliveries later, however, he pushed too early as a Botha delivery held up in the deck, and a simple return catch left Bangladesh in deep trouble on 86 for 4 in the 16th over.
That set the stage for Dockrell, who entered the attack soon afterwards, and lived up to his billing with an exemplary spell of 2 for 23 in ten overs that featured lots of flight and more than a touch of turn. None of Bangladesh's batsmen felt remotely comfortable coming down the pitch to his looping hand-grenades, and his two dismissals were almost entirely identical. Mushfiqur Rahim had helped to shore up the Bangladeshi innings with a 61-run stand for the fifth wicket with Raqibul Hasan, but he gave his wicket away limply with a lofted paddle to Andrew White at short backward square. One over later, the erratic Mohammad Ashraful chose the same route back to the pavilion.
At 151 for 6 with 15 overs remaining, the onus was on Bangladesh to bat out their 50 overs, come what may. Raqibul, who had batted with a maturity that had been lacking this time last year when he chose to retire in a fit of pique ahead of England's tour, looked primed to be the man to take them to the close, but he fell victim to yet another sharp piece of groundwork, this time from White, who swooped one-handed from mid-on and underarmed a direct-hit into the stumps.
When Shafiul Islam fell lbw for 2 to give Botha a richly deserved third wicket, it was left to Naeem Islam to shore up the lower order with 29 from 38 balls. A packed Mirpur crowd, who had been stunned into silence almost from the departure of Tamim, belatedly found its voice when Abdur Razzak successfully reviewed an lbw decision off Rankin, but Johnston ensured his reprieve was temporary when he tweaked a slower ball past an ambitious swipe, to have him bowled for 11.
Rankin, whose composure seemed rattled by the UDRS decision, let his final over go for 11 including three wides, way down the leg side, as Bangladesh reached their 200 with seven deliveries remaining, but Johnston wrapped up the innings with four balls to spare, removing Naeem via another misjudged sweep to short fine leg.
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