Tigers record massive win of 77 runs to seal T20I series against Ireland

The Tigers beat the visitors by 77 runs thanks to Shakib Al Hasan's fifer after a fantastic batting effort to win the T20 series. This is their second-biggest win in T20I cricket (by margin of runs).

Ireland looked very much out of the game from the start of their chase of 203 runs. They lost their skipper Paul Stirling in the very first ball of the innings to Taskin Ahmed. 

It was all Shakib Al Hasan after that. 

He came in to bowl the second over and he picked up a wicket in his first delivery as well. And Ireland could never fight back from that. 

The visitors were reduced to 40 for four after the batting powerplay where Shakib took three wickets to equal Tim Southee's record for most T20I wickets. 

The southpaw became the sole highest wicket-taker in T20Is by picking up his fourth wicket in the match in the sixth over. He picked up his second fifer in T20I cricket in the same over. He finished his spell with five wickets conceding only 22 runs. 

Mark Adair and Curtis Campher then built a 31-run partnership for the seventh wicket but it only helped reduce the deficit. Campher scored the majority of the runs before Adair became Hasan Mahmud's first victim. 

Campher reached was removed by Taskin soon after he reached his fifty. The Irish were eventually restricted to 125/9 and Shakib and Co sealed yet another T20I series victory. 

Shakib was the star bowler with the second fifer of his T20I career. Taskin bagged three and Hasan Mahmud picked up the other wicket.

Earlier, The Tigers posted a mammoth 202/3 in the allotted 17 overs thanks to a blistering opening partnership and Shakib, Hridoy's cameos at the end. This is the first time Bangladesh went past 200 in two consecutive matches in T20Is.

Plenty of team and individual records was broken in the innings The Tigers reached their fastest team 50 (3.3 overs) and 100 (7.1 overs). Litton and Rony built the highest opening stand for Bangladesh (124 runs) breaking Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Naim's 102-run record. Litton reached the quickest fifty by a Bangladeshi batter (18 balls) breaking Mohammad Ashraful's 20-ball fifty which stood for almost 16 years.

Both the openers hit a boundary each in the second over before Rony Talukdar struck a fortunate boundary in the third over. Litton Das hit a maximum in the same over to take Bangladesh over 30 before the third over was complete. Rony had a few mishits early in the innings and survived a shout of catch as the ball landed in no man's land.

Litton was in a mood. He had a life at the deep square in the fourth over which landed over the boundary ropes for a maximum. And in the next delivery, he added insult to the wound by swinging the ball through to the midwicket for a 'rocket' boundary.

He reached his ninth T20I half-century in the sixth over, of course, breaking the 16-year-old record.

But Rony missed his second T20I fifty just by six runs, getting dismissed for 44 off 23 balls. His innings was largely overshadowed by his partner, Litton.

Litton was very much on the course to reach his maiden T20I hundred, the second for Bangladesh after Tamim Iqbal, but he kind of threw it away what could have been a 'Lit-ton' trying to play a wide delivery and getting caught behind for 83 off 41 balls. He hit 10 boundaries and three maximums all over the ground in his majestic innings. 

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan came in to bat at number three and played some fine shots down the ground. Towhid Hridoy joined him in the party with a huge six through the wide-long on area.

The duo kept on going and built a 61-run partnership in only 29 balls. Shakib remained unbeaten on 38 runs hitting three fours and two maximums. His partner, Hridoy, batted at a strike rate of 184.61 as he was dismissed in the penultimate delivery of the innings.

Ben White was the pick of the bowler for the visitors picking up a brace for 27 in his four overs. Mark Adair picked up the other wicket but he conceded 52 runs in his four overs.