HOUSTON: Skipper Monank Patel’s anchoring 42-run knock, followed by Ali Khan’s three wickets led the United States of America (USA) to edge past Bangladesh in the second T20I of the three-match series here on Thursday.
The victory marked USA’s first bilateral T20I series win over a Test-playing nation as they went 2-0 up with a game to spare.
The home side, one of the hosts of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2024, scheduled to commence on June 1, registered an upset victory over Bangladesh in the series opener on Tuesday.
Put into bat first, USA registered a formidable total of 144/6 on the board, courtesy of Patel’s sensible knock.
Opening batter Steven Taylor and Patel gave the home side a decent start as the pair added 44 runs for the first wicket before the former perished in the seventh over.
Taylor remained a notable run-getter for the USA with a 28-ball 31, peppered with three boundaries and two sixes.
The home side then sustained another blow to their batting expedition as Andries Gous fell for a golden duck.
Patel then received subtle support in the form of Aaron Jones and the duo pulled the home side out of trouble.
Patel and Jones added 60 runs in 9.2 overs before Mustafizur Rahman got rid of the former, who scored a scratchy 35 off 34 deliveries.
Patel then put together a brief 17-run partnership with Corey Anderson (11) before both perished in the penultimate over.
Monank Patel remained the top-scorer for the USA with a 38-ball 42, which featured four boundaries and a six.
For Bangladesh, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam bagged two wickets each.
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Set to chase 145, Bangladesh fell narrowly short of a series-levelling victory as they bowled out for 138 in 19.3 overs.
The touring side had a shaky start to the pursuit as Soumya Sarkar perished for a golden duck on the fourth delivery of the innings.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto joined Tanzid Hasan for a brief 29-run partnership until Jasdeep Singh cleaned up the opener in the fifth over with 30 runs on the board.
Shanto then joined forces with Towhid Hridoy and knitted a crucial partnership for Bangladesh.
They added 48 runs for the third wicket before Shanto had an agonizing end to his fighting knock, getting run out in the 11th over.
The Bangladesh captain remained the top-scorer for his side with a gutsy 36 off 34 deliveries, laced up with two fours and a six.
Hridoy followed in Shanto’s footsteps two overs later, falling victim to Anderson after scoring 25.
Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan then took the reigns of Bangladesh run-chase and he had brought the touring side in touching distance of a must-win victory as they needed 21 runs off 18 deliveries with four wickets in hand.
But, Shakib fell victim to Ali Khan on the first delivery of the 18th over after playing an important 30-run knock.
His dismissal opened the floodgates for Bangladesh and the USA bowlers banked on the opportunity to run through the touring side’s batting tail to seal a narrow six-run victory.
Ali Khan led the bowling charge for the USA with three wickets, followed by Saurabh Netravalkar and Shadley van Schalkwyk, who bagged two wickets each.
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