Opener Imrul Kayes continued his good form with a scintillating half-century as Bangladesh A shared the honours in the T20 series against the visiting England Lions with an 11-run victory in the second and final game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Riding on Imrul’s 62, the home side posted 166 for six in 20 overs and then restricted their opponents to 155 for seven to sign off their campaign against the English side with an exciting win. England Lions trounced the home team in the first match by 32 runs at the same venue on Sunday.
After some lacklustre performances for the national team Imrul rediscovered his form in the ongoing Premier Division Cricket League and carried it into the A team to help the second string side win the five-match one-day series 3-2 and level the two-match T20 series.
The southpaw batsman showed his big-hitting ability during his 47-ball 62 as the left-hander clobbered three big sixes and four boundaries but credit must also be given to number seven batsman Shabbir Rahman, whose whirlwind unbeaten knock of 24 off 11 balls boosted the home side to a fighting total.
Shabbir smote two fours and a six while Jahurul Islam (27) and Alok Kapali (23) were the other notable scorers.
Nathan Buck picked up three wickets conceding 22 runs in the allotted four overs.
In reply, England Lions made a disastrous start when they lost both openers in the first over and the third wicket falling with only 14 runs on the board. But captain James Taylor joined Thomas Maynard to repair the damage and kept their team in contention.
The pair added 87 runs for the fourth wicket before spinner Shuvagoto Hom removed Maynard for 68 from 52 balls with nine fours and a six, while Taylor added 43 off 36 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and a six.
England Lions required 31 runs off the last two over but Alauddin Babu kept his cool, despite conceding two boundaries in the first two balls, to give ten runs in the penultimate over and then left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo completed the job in the final over.
Imrul Kayes was adjudged man of the match. “I had the confidence in myself and as I said I needed only one good innings to get back my form. It was really a bad experience for me as I had to toil to get a premier division team and it might have also helped me to try my best,” said Imrul.
SCORES IN BRIEF
BANGLADESH A: 166-6 in 20 overs (Imrul 62, Nazimuddin 12, Jahurul 27, Shuvagoto Hom 6, Kapali 23, Mithun 1, Shabbir 24 not out, Shuvo 1 not out; Brooks 1-38, Buck 3-22, Borthwick 1-42)
ENGLAND LIONS: 155-7 in 20 overs (Roy 0, Hales 1, Maynard 68, Baristow 5, Taylor 43, Buttler 12, Borthwick 5 not out, Briggs 10, Brooks 6 not out; Mosharraf 2-22, Shuvo 1-29, Babu 2-39, Shuvagoto 1-10)
Result: Bangladesh A won by 11 runs.
-With The Daily Star input
