In the third and last match of the Ireland tour of Bangladesh 2023 T20I series, Ireland defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets to avoid a series whitewash.
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first but their batting lineup failed to make a substantial impact. Despite a valiant knock of 51 runs off 42 balls by Shamim Hossain Patwari, Bangladesh could only manage to score 124 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 19.2 overs. Mark Adair and Matthew Humphreys took three and two wickets, respectively, for Ireland.
In reply, Ireland got off to a flying start thanks to Paul Stirling’s brilliant innings of 77 off 41 balls, which included 10 fours and 4 sixes. Although Ireland lost three wickets in the process, they comfortably chased down the target in just 14 overs, reaching 126 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. For Bangladesh, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Rishad Hossain grabbed a wicket each.
Stirling was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his impressive innings, which helped Ireland win the game. Despite losing the final T20I, Bangladesh won the series 2-1, having won the first two matches convincingly. The two teams will now face each other in a one-off Test match starting on Tuesday, April 4 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
“This was set up by the bowlers. All five bowlers deserve this award. Full credit to them. To come back from what we’ve been through in the last two weeks. Shows the character. We’ll only improve the more we play. Feel like we got better as tour went on. It’s been a few years since we last played a Test. Everyone’s excited,” said Stirling in the post-match presentation.
