To win, Bangladesh would have needed to make history. They had to break all previous records for the highest run chase in T20s. But the Tigers couldn’t even come close, losing by a massive margin of 133 runs.
In the third and final T20 of the series today, Bangladesh faced India. Winning the toss and batting first, the hosts scored 297 runs for 6 wickets. In reply, Bangladesh could only manage 170 runs for 7 wickets, which was their highest total in the series.
Considering Bangladesh’s highest total is 215, chasing 298 was indeed a tall order. Additionally, the highest score any team has managed against India in T20s is 245, which drops to 225 when batting second. So, Bangladesh needed something miraculous.
India stopped at making history in Hyderabad, breaking all previous records. They posted the second-highest total in international T20 cricket, which is also India’s highest and the highest among Test-playing nations.
Winning the toss, India began their innings with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson adding 23 runs in the first two overs. Tanzim dismissed Abhishek (4) on the first ball of the third over. After that, it was all India’s game. They scored 82 runs in the Powerplay.
In the seventh over, Sanju Samson reached his fifty in just 22 balls. He then became even more aggressive, building a 100-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav in just 43 balls. India crossed the 150-run mark in just 10 overs.
Soon after, Sanju reached his maiden international century, taking only 40 balls to reach three figures, which is the second-fastest century for India and the sixth-fastest in international T20s. He eventually scored 111 runs with 11 fours and 8 sixes.
Sanju’s 173-run partnership with Suryakumar, which took just 70 balls, ended at 13.4 overs when Mustafizur dismissed him. In the next over, Mahmudullah Riyad claimed his final T20 wicket, dismissing Suryakumar for 75 off 35 balls.
Then, Riyan Parag and Hardik Pandya joined the run-fest, adding 70 runs in just 26 balls to help India post their highest T20 score. Parag scored 34 off 13 balls, and Hardik remained unbeaten with 47 off 18. Tanzim Sakib took 3 wickets but conceded 66 runs, setting a new record for the most runs conceded by a Bangladeshi bowler in T20s.
Rishad gave away 46 runs in just 2 overs. Taskin conceded 51, Mustafizur 52, and Sheikh Mehdi gave up 45 runs.
Chasing India’s record total, Bangladesh needed a flying start, but the opposite happened. The Tigers lost a wicket on the very first ball. Parvez Emon continued his poor form and was dismissed for a golden duck.
However, Liton Das and Tanzid Tamim added 35 runs in the next 18 balls. Tamim was dismissed for 15 off 12 balls. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto couldn’t play a significant innings either, as he was out for 14 off 11 balls. Bangladesh lost 3 wickets for 59 runs in 5.2 overs.
Liton Das and Towhid Hridoy provided some resistance, with Hridoy playing cautiously while Liton was more aggressive. But Liton’s innings ended at 42 runs off 25 balls. Their 53-run partnership in 38 balls was broken at 11.4 overs.
In his last T20 match, Mahmudullah couldn’t live up to expectations, getting out for just 8 runs off 9 balls, bowled by Mayank Yadav. The farewell wasn’t as pleasant for the experienced all-rounder.
Though he struggled in the first two matches, Hridoy found form in Hyderabad, scoring a fifty off 35 balls. He remained unbeaten on 63 from 42 balls. Thanks to him, Bangladesh crossed the 150-run mark for the first time in their last nine T20 matches.
Ravi Bishnoi took 3 wickets, while Mayank Yadav grabbed 2.
As a result, Bangladesh finished the India tour without a single victory. After being whitewashed in the two-match Test series, the same fate befell them in the T20 series. Mahmudullah’s farewell match also ended without a win for him.
