Bangladesh v Ireland – Shafiul Islam takes 4 - ICC World Cup 2011 recap
The ninth match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, 2011 was played between Bangladesh and Ireland on 25th February, 2011 at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh.
The clash of the two sides known for creating upsets in the World Cup was engaging and entertaining. In the first innings, the Irish bowlers ripped through http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747’s batting order, but the Bengali Tigers fought back and won the match by 27 runs.
Bangladesh skipper, Shakib Al Hasan, won the toss and decided to bat first, after learning from the mistake of choosing to field first in their opening game against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 on 19th February, which Bangladesh lost.
The packed crowd at Mirpur erupted as Bangladesh started off their batting at lightning speed. The Tigers’ openers, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tamim-Iqbal-c2640, and, Imrul Kayes, were confident and in fluent form as they flayed a quick fire 53 off the first 6.3 overs of the first innings.
The openers looked all set for a lucrative partnership for their side but there was a stutter in store for the home crowd. Kayes, who scored 12 runs off 12 balls, lost his wicket as he was dismissed by John Mooney. He was more of an onlooker as Tamim was doing the most damage.
However, the Irish found their breakthrough as they dismissed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Junaid-Siddique-c1749 in a run-out (3 off 8 balls).
Tamim was next up to walk back to the pavilion. He had smashed seven hits to the fence to reach his stroke filled 44 off 43 balls. He was caught by William Porterfield off Andre Botha. Tamim was also the highest scoring batsman for his side.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mushfiqur-Rahim-c2045 (36 off 66 balls) tired to steady his side along with captain, Shakib’s, support.
The Bengali captain was at the crease as he tried to stabilize his side, hitting three fours but was caught and bowled by Botha for 16 off 20 balls. Bangladesh were reeling on 147 for the loss of four wickets in 15.2 overs.
Mushfiqur and Raqibul http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990 added a 61-runs fifth wicket stand to bring the team back on track. However, Mushfiqur was caught by Andrew White off George Dockrell’s delivery.
Ireland’s intelligent tactic of reducing the pace on the ball slowly in the early session worked well as the Tigers top-order was broke down.
Raqibul Hasan (38 off 69 balls) struggled to cross 150 as successive wickets left the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bengal-c771 Tigers restricted on 159 runs for the loss of seven wickets at 38.1 overs.
Naeem Islam (29 off 38 balls) and Abdur Razzak (11 off 16 balls) managed to set a score of 205 for Ireland to chase.
The Irish bowlers and fielders held their strong ring around the batsmen as Botha remained the top bowler, taking three wickets for 32 in his spell of nine overs. Dockrell and Trent Johnston claimed two wickets each.
Chasing 205 did not seem to be a daunting task for the Irish men as skipper, William Porterfield, (20 off 31 balls), started off confidently. But Shakib turned to the spin-duo of Abdur Razzak and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Naeem-Islam-c2053.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421 soon got the breakthrough when Paul Stirling (9 off 10 balls) yorked himself while coming down the track and was stumped by Mushfiqur.
Soon Porterfield returned back to the pavilion when he was dismissed by Shakib. Experienced player, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ed-Joyce-c1417, tried to revive some confidence in the side but after facing 35 balls, he only managed to score 16 runs and was removed by Mohammad Ashraful.
Ashraful struck again when he dismissed White for 10 runs off 27 balls. Ashraful broke into celebration as the crowd erupted in cheers for the home team as if they had won the match, even though it was 93 for the loss of four wickets.
Ireland slowly crossed the 100 mark but Shakib took the most crucial wicket of Niall O’Brien. Niall's tense run-chase included singles but after a solid 38 from 52 balls, he was walking back to the dressing room as Tamim snapped up a brilliant low catch.
Bangladesh inched closer to a win as the other O’Brien brother, Kevin, was also tricked into pulling Shafiul Islam’s short ball straight to Suharwadi Shuvo at square leg.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751 were 151 for the loss of six wickets in 36.4 overs and from then onwards, Shafiul, with the support of a very loud and encouraging home crowd, cleaned up the lower order after removing Botha (22 off 36 balls) and it was all over for the Irishmen.
Shafiul bowled his best figures taking four wickets for 21 runs in eight overs. High-scorer Tamim Iqbal was awarded the man-of-the-match trophy.
Bangladesh are on a high after registering a hard-fought first win in the ICC 2011 World Cup, whereas Ireland must work on their batting order for their upcoming challenge against England next week.
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