USA upsets Bangladesh in the first Twenty20 International thanks to Harmeet’s powerful hitting and Anderson’s late cameo

Houston [USA], May 22: In the first Twenty20 International of the three-match series here at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, cricketing upstarts US pulled off a massive shock, beating Bangladesh by 5 wickets. They did so riding high on Corey Anderson and Harmeet Singh’s heroic performances.

Less than ten days remain before the much-awaited T20 World Cup, which the co-hosts of the major event are preparing for. The heavyweights and recognized cricketing countries pulled off an unprecedented triumph over a considerably stronger and much-fancied Bangladesh team.

Having restricted Bangladesh to 153/6 in the first session, the USA established a foundation to increase their chances of causing an upset.

In the first three overs, Steven Taylor and skipper Monank Patel quickly reached 27 runs.

However, Monank (12) was run out by the non-striker. When Andries Gous (23) came to bat, he quickly made runs until Rishad Hossain took his wicket.

Mustafizur Rahman defeated Taylor (28), who seemed to be poised for a lengthy stay at the wicket.

Anderson and Harmeet increased their expectations of victory as the seemingly promising pursuit began to unravel in the middle overs.

In the 17th over, Harmeet struck back-to-back sixes off Mustafizur, altering the course of the match.

In the eighteenth century, Harmeet produced a boundary-fest that saw Shoriful Islam fall on the receiving end. The second ball was a majestic six, while the last delivery ended in a boundary.

The last two overs need 24 runs to win, with 14 runs remaining in the over. In the following nine balls, Anderson took over and finished the game with two sixes and a boundary.

His last touches allowed the USA to defeat Bangladesh by five wickets.

Bangladesh played a mediocre inning earlier in the game after winning the toss and being sent to bat.

With a cautious strategy on the powerplay, Bangladesh was able to join at 37/2. Shakib Al Hasan fought till he was exhausted.

Motivated by his success in the just-finished Zimbabwe series, Towhid Hridoy (58) emerged as the batsman of the series.

In the last overs, Mahmudullah spearheaded the onslaught. However, USA bowlers limited Bangladesh to 153/6 by maintaining a tight line and length.