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Tigers whitewash Ireland

Sunday, 23 March 2008


Riding on a brilliant maiden century by opener Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh beat Ireland by 79 runs in the third match at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla Stadium Saturday and whitewash the visitors in the 3-day Ispahani ODI Series, reports UNB.
Batting first after winning the toss, Bangladesh posted a huge total of 293 for 7 in stipulated 50 overs. Openers Tamim Iqbal and Shahriar Nafees gave a solid start to the hosts contributing 109 runs. Tamim scored match highest 129 runs off 204 balls with 15 fours and a six, while Shahriar Nafees made 54 runs off 56 balls with nine fours.
Lower order batsman Mahmudullah hammered unbeaten 49 runs off 44 balls with four boundaries, while skipper Mohammad Ashraful added 22 runs off 36 balls hitting two fours. Langford-Smith captured three wickets for 53 runs, while AR Cusack and KJ O'Brien bagged two wickets each for 30 and 58 runs respectively.
Chasing the mammoth target of 293, Ireland faced initial batting jolt and were all out for 214 in 45.3 overs with middle order batsman NJ O'Brien scoring innings highest 70 runs off 74 balls for his team with four fours and a six. R Strydom made 37 off 57 balls that featured a boundary and an over boundary while opener WTS Poterfield added 18 runs off 27 balls that included two fours.
KJ O' Brien (18), EJG Morgan (12) and AR Cusask (11) were the other notabled. Spinners Sakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak claimed two wickets each for 46 and 50 runs Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mahmudullah took one wicket each for 32 and 41 runs.
Tamim was adjudged man of the match, while Shahriar named man of the series for his disciplined performance.