Emon hits 53-ball hundred as Bangladesh brush off UAE

Parvez Hossain Emon smashed a 53-ball hundred to lead Bangladesh to 191 for 7 and a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Big hits from UAE captain Muhammad Waseem, Rahul Chopra and Asif Khan helped UAE make a good fist of the chase, but clever death bowling from the IPL-bound Mustafizur Rahman sealed victory for Bangladesh.

Parvez's ton was only the second by a Bangladeshi in T20Is after Tamim Iqbal had scored an unbeaten 103 against Oman in the 2016 T20 World Cup. He set the Bangladesh record for most sixes in a T20I innings, hitting nine in his knock, beating Rishad Hossain's seven sixes against Sri Lanka last year.

UAE had Muhammad Jawadullah to thank for keeping Bangladesh under 200 as the left-arm quick took four wickets. He became only the second Associate bowler to take a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh. The first was Hong Kong's Nadeem Ahmed in the T20 World Cup in 2014.

UAE's batters put pressure on Bangladesh's attack, but a late collapse damaged their chase.

After Waseem's departure, Asif hit some massive sixes, giving Bangladesh a scare during his 21-ball 42. He took a liking to Mahedi Hasan, pasting him for three sixes down the ground in the 13th over. In all, Asif took the spinner for 23 off five balls at a strike rate of 460.

Wickets though kept falling at the other end. Chopra and Dhruv Parashar fell in successive overs, but Asif hit Mahmud for a straight six and four in the 17th over. Sanchit Sharma and Zubair fell in quick succession as well before Asif was the eighth UAE batter to be dismissed in the penultimate over. Game over for the hosts.

In a surprising move, Bangladesh had offspinner Mahedi operating with the new ball against the right-handed Waseem, who launched him for six first ball. In all, Mahedi gave away 19 runs in the second over.

Waseem then tore into Tanzim Ahmed, hammering him for a six and two fours in the third over, before UAE lost two wickets in the space of four balls. Waseem then attacked Tanvir Islam with sweeps, taking 14 off another over, and then reached his fifty off just 32 balls in the tenth over.

Chopra was also similarly aggressive and had an answer for everything that Hasan Mahmud threw at him, including a scooped six that took everyone by surprise. Chopra then struck Mustafizur for a superb boundary. The departures of Waseem and Chopra, though, dented UAE's chase.

Parvez offset the early dismissal of his opening partner Tanzid Hasan with a four and a six off Parashar in the third over. His second six, a belt over long-on against Matiullah Khan, went out of the Sharjah stadium. Parvez also lined up Sharma, hitting him for three straight sixes in his 18-run over.

The left-hander reached his fifty in the ninth over, with a straight four against the legspinner Haider Ali, before Parashar removed Towhid Hridoy to break a 58-run third wicket stand. After a short period without boundaries, Parvez resumed the big hitting in the 14th over. There was a short break from boundaries, before Parvez resumed the big-hitting the 14th over. It was his only of his nine sixes that wasn't hit down the ground as Parvez struck Zuhaib Zubair for a six over square-leg.

Jakler Ali also struck Zubair for a six but he fell off the next ball, caught at long-on, for 13. Parvez though kept swinging at the other end, hitting Zubair for his eighth six, breaking the Bangladesh record for most sixes in a T20I innings.

He survived an easy dismissal on 84 when he was caught down the ground but the bowler Matiullah had overstepped. Parvez struck his ninth six to move into 96 and went onto bring up his century in the penultimate over of the first innings, with a quick single, before falling the next ball.

The six-hitting mayhem, however, stopped whenever Jawadullah came into the attack. He conceded just one boundary in his four overs, picking up wickets at every opportunity. Jawadullah removed the Bangladesh captain Litton Das, yorking him with his first delivery. He then removed Mahedi, Bangladesh's new vice-captain, in the 12th over. Mahedi was late to Jawadullah's hard length, falling caught behind for two. The dangerous Shamim Hossain was his next victim, given lbw swinging across the line, before Jawadullah signed off with Parvez's wicket in the last over. To his credit, Jawadullah only gave away six runs in the 20th over of Bangladesh's innings, but his spell was not enough for UAE to topple Bangladesh.