Bangladesh stun world champions England for first time in T20

Bangladesh beat England by six wickets to record their first ever T20 win over the world champions.

Bangladesh have recorded a six-wicket win over England to stun the world champions in the first Twenty20 international in the southern coastal town of Chattogram.

Najmul Hossain Shanto’s half century and captain Shakib Al Hasan’s 34 runs from 24 balls led the hosts to their first ever T20 international win over England on Thursday.

At bat, England appeared to be in control as openers Jos Buttler (67) and Phil Salt formed an 80-run partnership, but Buttler received little support after Salt was dismissed on 38 and the visitors were limited to 156-6 at the end of the their 20 overs.

Hasan Mahmud was the bowlers’ choice for Bangladesh as he took two wickets as four of his teammates claimed a wicket each.

After a short opening stand between Litton Das and Rony Talukdar, Shanto (51) combined with debutant Towhid Hridoy for 65 runs to give Bangladesh some momentum, but the pair were then dismissed in successive overs as the chase threatened to derail.

Shakib, who was the hero in Bangladesh’s one-day international victory over England earlier this week, came to their rescue again on a slow pitch and played calmly under pressure to get his side over the line.

“The way we approached the game was fantastic, under the pump in the first 10 overs, but nobody panicked. Stick to the plans,” Shakib said after the game.

“If you don’t think too much in T20, you usually play well. Hopefully we can hold this in the locker room. This is a great start for the 2024 World Cup in the West Indies.”

The second T20I will be played in Mirpur on Sunday, followed by the third game on Tuesday at the same venue.