Bangladesh vs Ireland, 1st ODI at Sylhet, BAN v IRE, Mar 18 2023 - Match Result

A clinical performance by Bangladesh on a new-look pitch. Ireland had their moments but couldn't string them together to gather momentum or gain an advantage. Can the hosts complete a series win or can the visitors come back to create parity? Join us on Monday to find out. Goodbye for now from me, Ekanth, my co-commentators, Shamya Dasgupta and Sreshth Shah, and our scorer, Thilak.

Aktar: "Mustafiz will have to do exceptionally well to get a spot in playing eleven instead of Hasan and Ebadot since Taskin is number one choice."

Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh Captain: We batted exceptionally. Wasn't the best wicket to bat in our first 20 overs. Shakib was brilliant. Mushy's innings made the difference, shoutout to him. Very pleased with the way we bowled under lights. I think the wicket was great but could have been better in the first 20-25 overs, when it was on the slower side. But these sporting wickets will help us. He's been doing it for the last 17 years. People forget that there will be ups and downs, he's been amazing. Ebadot is world-class. Special mention to Nasum. He doesn't play too many ODIs but has been brilliant when he in in.

Towhid Hridoy, POTM: Missing the hundred hurts a bit but I am happy to have gotten a great start. I felt good. Shakib bhai gave me a lot of confidence. I just tried execute my plan.

Andy Balbirnie, Ireland Captain: At the halfway stage, we weren't too disappointed. The wicket was the best to bat on when we started but those 4-5 wickets cost us. We don't want to use lack of experience as an excuse but they did look in rhythm and played very well. But the beauty of it is we will get another chance on Monday. We want to compete but do better than we did today, especially with the bat.

9:02pm: Bangladesh have their biggest ODI win of all time. They checked off all boxes with bat and ball. Hridoy and Shakib were brilliant, they set up the win. Stirling and Doheny started well but Ebadot and Taskin got to the party and never gave the visitors a sniff after that. Their consistent pace and ability to hit a good length or go back to a hard length challenged batters' edges and made scoring difficult. Ireland would be disappointed with their collapse after a good opening stand. Dockrell offered some resistance but apart from Campher, got very little support. Lots of soul searching remains for them between this and in two days.

Titas: "Mushfiq the keeper is reborn!" He equals the most number of dismissals for Bangladesh, he currently holds the record, notes Athar Ali Khan on air

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