Mustafizur four-for trumps Adair's in thriller as Bangladesh take series 2-0

Bangladesh clinched the ODI series 2-0 with a stunning bowling performance against Ireland, particularly in the last ten overs to defend 274. Mustafizur Rahman took his tenth four-wicket haul in ODIs, but Hasan Mahmud bossed the last three overs, taking two wickets in the last over in which he successfully defended nine runs.

Ireland will rue how they batted in the last nine overs when they needed just 52 runs to level the series with seven wickets in hand. They were outdone by Tamim Iqbal's captaincy. First he brought on part-timer Najmul Hossain Shanto very late in the game to claim Harry Tector's wicket for 45. Then Tamim took a chance to finish Mustafizur by the 47th over, and the left-arm quick took three wickets in his last spell to repay his captain's faith.

Ireland couldn't take advantage of two big partnerships, but Mark Adair, whose four-wicket haul helped bowl out Bangladesh in 48.5 overs, could have finished the job with the bat. He struck two fours and a six in the last three overs, but with ten needed in the last over, he missed the scoop against Mahmud's slower ball and was bowled for 20 off 10. Andy McBrine edged the third ball to short third where Mrittunjoy Chowdhury took his second good catch on debut.

Ireland losing their last six wickets for 41 runs undid a lot of good work they did with bat and ball. Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker struck fifties while Adair took a four-wicket haul. Ireland's spinners combined to take four for 70 from their 16 overs.

Ireland lost their customary first wicket early, when Mustafizur had Stephen Doheny caught at second slip. Doheny's misery continued in the series, lasting 16 balls to score four runs this time. But it was Ireland's old firm - Stirling and Balbirnie - that got them out of trouble. Stirling struck Chowdhury for a six over cover, before blazing Mahmud with a pulled six.

The duo reached their fifties in consecutive overs, and brought up their seventh century stand in ODIs, the first Irish pair to do so. Their stand of 109 runs for the second wicket broke when Balbirnie tried to hit Ebadot Hossain for a six over deep square leg, where debutant Rony Talukdar took a good catch, and fell for 53 off 78. The other debutant took a better catch shortly afterwards. Stirling's outside edge against Mehidy Hasan Miraz nearly went over short third, but Chowdhury jumped high to complete the catch and send Stirling back for 60 off 73 balls.

Ireland then had their young guns in the middle. The in-form Tector and Tucker added 79 runs for the fourth wicket, in the following 10.4 overs. They timed the chase expertly, before a moment of inspiration broke the partnership. When Tamim brought on Shanto in the 42nd over, Tector holed out to long-on where Litton Das took a good diving catch. Tector, who struck 45 off 48 balls, became Shanto's first international wicket in his 69th match for Bangladesh.

Tamim then brought Mustafizur back with eight overs remaining, knowing that he won't have the death overs expert right at the end. Mustafizur rewarded his captain with three wickets in consecutive overs. Curtis Campher skied him to mid-off before George Dockrell smashed one straight to the substitute fielder Yasir Ali at cover, and Tucker was bowled for 50.

Tamim had started the game with a bit of luck when he was dropped on 1 by his counterpart Balbirnie at second slip in the third over. But there wasn't much luck for Talukdar in the next over; his full-blooded drive against Adair ended up as a limp edge to the wicketkeeper.

Ireland, though, were quite sloppy in the first powerplay, that included plenty of extras and even the odd misfield. But Balbirnie made amends in the 11th over when he caught a tougher chance to his right off Shanto's bat.

Without Shakib Al Hasan, out with a finger injury, Litton took up a temporary middle-order role. He added 70 runs for the third wicket with Tamim. Litton played mostly within himself, hitting a six and three fours in his 35 off 39 balls. His dismissal was an unusual one: backing away first, he got into a tangle trying to slog McBrine, ultimately giving mid-off an easy catch.

Dockrell got among the wickets next, when he bowled Towhid Hridoy who missed out on a cut while backing away. Between the two wickets, Tamim reached his fifty in the 27th over, working the ball around for mostly ones and twos in a a patient knock. Tamim, however, swung wildly at Dockrell in the 34th over, getting caught at short third for 69.

Despite the slightly dire situation, Mushfiqur and Mehidy held their own, rotating the strike and also finding the odd boundary. The pair added 75 runs for the sixth wicket, before Mushfiqur fell the ball after he struck his only six. McBrine had him lbw for 45, with less than five overs remaining.

Bangladesh's last five wickets fell for just 13 runs, bringing their long tail under the spotlight. After Mehidy fell for 37, Mahmud, Mustafizur and Chowdhury couldn't add much to the total.