On Monday, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the UAE won the second Twenty20 International by two wickets. It tied the three-match series 1-1 after Bangladesh failed to defend 205 runs in the penultimate ball of the match, setting a new chase record.
Bangladesh appeared to be in control when the hosts needed 29 runs off the final 12 balls. Alishan Sharafu was removed by Shoriful Islam on the opening ball, presumably completing the Tigers’ victory.
However, Shoriful gave up 17 runs in the final five balls, five of which were overthrown after the left-armer squandered a simple opportunity to be run out.
When Tanzim Hasan arrived to give the final over, he conceded eight runs off his first two deliveries after giving up 43 runs in his first three overs.
On the third delivery, he dismissed Dhruv Parashar, but the hosts scored four runs in the next two valid deliveries to secure a historic victory—their only four against a full-member country; the others came against Ireland, Afghanistan, and New Zealand.
Bangladesh suffered significant losses due to their unprofessional fielding throughout the innings and their inexperienced bowling when the dew arrived.
However, the UAE dominated the first ten overs of their chase, with Muhammad Zohaib and captain Muhammad Waseem scoring 107 runs in the opening stand.
After hitting 38 off 34, Zohaib cut one to give Tanvir Islam the breakthrough in the eleventh over.
In the following over, Rishad dismissed Rahul Chopra; if Hridoy had not dropped the catch in that over, he may have also put Waseem on 64.
Waseem added 38 more runs off 22 balls with Asif Khan, ensuring Bangladesh paid the price.
However, wicketkeeper Jaker Ali’s diving catch of Waseem, who scored 82 off 42, allowed Shoriful to dismiss him, bringing Bangladesh back into the match.
However, Haider Ali (15* off 9) and Dhruv Parashar (11 off 7) refused to back down, and the hosts continued to battle. They wanted to make it a night that would go down in history for the hosts, who had never chased more than 179.
Bangladesh’s innings earlier had a similar pattern to the opening game. The sole distinction was that they reached the 200-mark this time because of a more effective powerplay.
Tanzid Hasan gave Bangladesh, who had made four changes to their eleven, a strong start by hitting two fours and a six off Matiullah Khan in the opening over.
Tanzid added 66 runs in the powerplay with captain Liton Das, who opened the innings in place of Parvez Hossain, who was sidelined by an injury scar.
Even with the fielding restriction, left-hander Tanzid could still find the gaps, reaching fifty in twenty-five balls. After hitting eight fours and three sixes in his 59 off 33, he eventually fell to debutant Saghir Khan.
With Liton, Tanzid contributed 90 runs to the opening stand, the seventh-highest total in Bangladesh.
Despite getting two reprieves, Liton was removed for 40 off 32 in the 13th over, failing to build on his early start.
In the middle overs, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who returned to the eleven, contributed 35 and 38 runs with Liton and Towhid Hridoy, respectively, to keep the scoreboard moving. However, Shanto only scored six runs in the second one.
Jaker’s cameo of 18 off just six balls and Hridoy’s 45 off 24 helped Bangladesh cross the 200-mark.
However, that ultimately proved to be insufficient.
