Ireland bowl out Bangladesh for 205

by **Admin** Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:04 pm

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

DHAKA: Ireland bowled out Bangladesh for a modest 205 runs in their Group B clash on Friday as a sell-out home crowd of 25,000 looked on in stunned silence.

Seamer Andre Botha picked up three wickets and George Dockrell and Trent Johnston claimed two each after the home side elected to take first strike on a slow pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Wickets tumbled at regular intervals in a match Bangladesh had targeted as a must-win after they lost their first match to India by 87 runs at the same venue last week.

The hosts made a blistering start, racing to 49 without loss by the end of the fifth over, 37 of those runs coming from the blade of Tamim Iqbal.

But the advantage was soon lost as four wickets fell for 33 runs in the next 10 overs.

Imrul Kayes was stumped brilliantly by Niall O'Brien off a John Mooney wide, Junaid Siddique was run out by a direct throw from Ed Joyce and Tamim holed out to point off Botha.

Tamim, who top-scored with 70 against India, began by taking 10 runs in Boyd Rankin's opening over and stroked seven boundaries in his 44 off 43 balls.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan had made a fluent 16 when he patted the ball back to bowler Botha after being dropped by his Irish counterpart William Porterfield at point in the previous over.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan lifted the hosts with a 61-run stand for the fifth wicket but Bangladesh then suffered twin blows at the hands of left-arm spinner Dockrell.

The 18-year-old dismissed Rahim (36) and former captain Mohammad Ashraful (one) in successive overs, both batsmen falling to catches by Andrew White at fine-leg with ill-timed sweep shots.

Ashraful, Bangladesh's most successful one-day batsman with 3,360 runs in 164 matches, had been brought in to bolster the batting after being omitted against India.

Raqibul ran himself out for 38 to reduce the hosts to 159-7 in the 39th over, but Naeem Islam boosted the total with a defiant 29 towards the end.