Porterfield smacks Tigers

CricInfo
Captain William Porterfield led from the front with a century as Ireland outplayed Bangladesh by seven wickets in the first one-dayer of the two-match series at Stormont in Belfast yesterday.
The left-hander struck 108 off 116 balls with seven boundaries and three sixes as Ireland reached 235 runs with five overs to spare, as they beat Bangladesh for the second time in three years.
It was a second successive heavy defeat for the Tigers after they crashed to a 144-run loss to England in the third and final one-dayer in Birmingham.
Porterfield shared 118 runs with Paul Stirling (52) for the first wicket and another 100 for the second wicket with Alex Cusack (45*).
Earlier, Junaed Siddiqui combined with Shakib Al Hasan to help Bangladesh overcome a poor start and post a competitive total. The hosts, led by their seamers, bowled determinedly in an attempt to build on their success in the World Cricket League Division One, giving their batsmen a realistic chance of securing a 1-0 lead.
Trent Johnston and Boyd Rankin did the early damage, snaring the openers within the first three overs. Imrul Kayes spooned a catch back to Johnston, and the in-form Tamim Iqbal nicked a widish Rankin delivery to slip. The temptation to poke proved costly for Jahurul Islam as well, who was snapped up in the cordon to make it 28 for 3
Siddiqui, however, appeared confident from the outset. He opened his account with a straight drive off Johnston and followed it up by easing Rankin elegantly through the covers. There were occasional moments of uncertainty, with him edging to the slips on the bounce, but he saw off a tense phase following the early dismissals with patience.
Siddiqui ended a period of quiet with a lofted drive off Kevin O’Brien, and Shakib got moving with a slashed boundary off Alex Cusack. Though the fours were few and far between, the pairhad little difficulty in rotating the strike and gradually pushing their team’s score towards respectability. The 107-run partnership came to an end when Paul Stirling induced Shakib to take a risk, and had him caught at long-off.
Siddiqui, however, remained unperturbed, caressing O’Brien for a boundary in the next over and found the ropes with two streaky edges against the same bowler.
The middle and lower-order batsmen chipped in with useful contributions as Siddiqui moved towards his century.
BRIEF SCORES
BANGLADESH: 234-9 in 50 overs (Junaed 100, Shakib 50; Rankin 3-43).
IRELAND: 235-3 in 45 overs (Porterfield 108, Stirling 52; Razzak 1-47).
Result: Ireland won by seven wickets.