Bangladesh salvage pride with 10-wicket win over USA in T20I series finale

Bangladesh salvaged some pride by defeating the United States by 10 wickets in the final match of their three-game T20I series in Houston on Saturday. The victory came after the Americans had surprised their higher-ranked opponents by winning the first two games.

Mustafizur Rahman was the star for Bangladesh, taking a career-best 6-10 as the USA were restricted to a mere 104-9 in their 20 overs. The visitors then chased down the target in just 11.4 overs without losing a wicket.

The American innings started well with Shayan Jahangir and Andries Gous putting on 46 runs before Gous was caught by Soumya Sarkar off Shakib Al Hasan's bowling. Jahingir followed soon after, caught by Tanzim Hasan Sakib while attempting to pull a delivery from Mustafizur.

The hosts struggled to maintain their momentum, scoring only 14 runs while losing three more wickets. Mustafizur, bowling his second spell at the death, finished with his career-best T20I figures of 6-10.

Bangladesh's chase was comfortable, with Tanzid Hasan scoring 58 off 42 balls and Soumya contributing 43 off 28 deliveries. The American bowlers failed to exert any significant pressure on the Bangladeshi batsmen.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed satisfaction with his team's response to the two previous losses. "I think the boys showed a lot of character today. I think the plan we made before this match, everyone executed," he said.

He acknowledged the disappointment of losing the series but emphasized the importance of finishing on a positive note and gaining valuable experience ahead of the World Cup.

USA vice-captain Aaron Jones attributed the loss to poor shot selection by the American batsmen. The USA will play two warm-up games against Bangladesh and Nepal in Grand Prairie, Dallas, before facing Canada in the opening game of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Jones stressed the significance of these matches in finalizing the team's combination for the tournament.

Tags: #Bangladesh, #USA, #T20I, #Cricket, #MustafizurRahman