BAN vs IRE: Mushfiqur Rahim, Taijul Islam shine as Bangladesh beat Ireland by 7 wickets in one-off Test

Mushfiqur Rahim and Taijul Islam were the standout performers as Bangladesh beat Ireland by seven wickets in a one-off Test match at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka.

Starting Day 4 at 286/8, Ireland were quickly bundled up by Bangladesh, as the hosts claimed two wickets, giving away just six more runs. Andy McBrine ended Day 3 at 71 but could add just one more run before being cleaned up by Taijul Islam. Graham Hume was the last Irish wicket to fall after trying to keep the Bangladeshis at bay for a long time.

Ebadot Hussain provided the final breakthrough for the hosts, as he sent Hume back to the pavilion, after scoring 14 runs off 55 balls, as Ireland finished with 292 runs on the board, setting a 137-run target.

Despite the low target, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the hosts as Mark Adair castled wicket-keeping opening batter Litton Das on 23. McBrine also got into the thick of the action, getting rid of the Najmul Shanto soon after, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 43/2.

However, a well-paced partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim saw them go past the 100-run mark. Ben White provided Ireland’s third breakthrough, dismissing Iqbal, who scored 31 runs off 65 balls, hitting three boundaries in his innings.

Rahim then went on to complete his half-century, as he, along with Mominul Haque, guided Bangladesh to a comfortable seven-wicket win. Rahim remained unbeaten on 51, while Mominul scored 20 runs off 22 balls.

Rahim was adjudged the Player of the Match, having scored 126 runs in the first innings and an unbeaten 51 in the second. Taijul Islam was another standout player from the Bangladesh camp, claiming 9 wickets in the match. Islam finished with figures of 5/58 in the first innings and backed it up with 4/90 in the second.

As for Ireland, Harry Tector scored fifties in both innings, Loran Tucker smashed a brilliant century in their second innings, while McBrine scored 91 runs and picked 7 wickets against Bangladesh.