Opener Litton Das smashed the fastest half-century by a Bangladesh batter in T20Is on Wednesday.
Litton accomplished this landmark during Bangladesh’s second T20I of the three-match series against Ireland at Chattogram. After Bangladesh were put to bat, Litton Das had a lucky reprieve in the fourth over when George Dockrell shelled a catch in the deep off Mark Adair and conceded a six. Das followed it up with back-to-back boundaries and never looked back from there.
In the next over, he hit Fionn Hand for two fours and a six to edge close to a fifty. He completed the half-century next over off a mere 18 balls, making it the fastest fifty by a Bangladesh player in T20Is.
Mohammad Ashraful had hit a 20-ball fifty for Bangladesh against West Indies in the inaugural ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in South Africa back in 2007, then a record for Bangladesh.
Das had came close to breaking the record last year when he made a 21-ball fifty against India in Adelaide in the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
At the other end, Rony Talukdar offered Das good company, racing to 40 of 19 balls with two sixes in the Gareth Delany over.
Like with the first T20I, the Bangladesh openers once again set the tone with a fiery stand. On Monday, the duo put on 81 in the Powerplay overs, the highest score for them in the first six overs of T20Is.
They nearly matched the feat in this match too with 73 runs coming in the first six overs. Das eventually fell for 83, which came off 41 balls, as he edged a delivery from Benjamin White to the wicketkeeper. His knock consisted of 10 fours and three sixes, and his runs came at a strike rate of 202.43.
Bangladesh put on a total of 202/3 in 17 overs of the rain-hit match. Talukdar scored 44 off 23 balls, a knock that consisted of three fours and two sixes. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan stayed unbeaten on 38 of 24 balls, a knock consisting of three fours and two maximums. Towhid Hridoy played an entertaining cameo of 24 in 13 balls, with three fours and a six. Najmul Hossain Shanto was unbeaten on two runs.
Ben White (2/28) and Mark Adair (1/52) were among the wickets for Ireland.
Bangladesh won the first T20I by 22 runs as per DLS Method.
Previously, Bangladesh had won the three-match ODI series against the Ireland 2-0 after the second match failed to produce a result due to rain.
The third and final T20I will be played on March 31 at Chattogram. Both sides will also play a Test from April 4.
