Ireland Achieves 3-0 T20 Series Sweep Against Bangladesh

Ireland secured a penultimate-ball victory in Sylhet, concluding the third T20 international, thanks to three consecutive boundaries from Laura Delany in the final over. The match, held at Sylhet Stadium, saw Bangladesh score 123-7 in 20 overs, with Mostary contributing 45 runs and Sharmin Akter 34. Orla Prendergast took 4-22 and Aimee Maguire 2-25 for Ireland. In response, Ireland reached 124-6 in 19.5 overs, with Delany scoring an unbeaten 36 and Amy Hunter 28. Khan claimed 2-17 for Bangladesh. Ireland won the game by four wickets. With this final game’s penultimate-ball triumph, Ireland achieved a 3-0 series sweep against Bangladesh in the Twenty20 international matches held in Sylhet. Bangladesh, playing on home ground, appeared poised to secure a consolation victory in the match on Monday. However, former captain Laura Delany struck three consecutive boundaries in the last over, enabling the visiting team to claim a four-wicket win. Orla Prendergast delivered a career-best bowling performance, taking 4-22, which was instrumental in limiting Bangladesh to a total of 123-7 after Ireland’s captain, Gaby Lewis, had won the coin toss. Bangladesh seemed on track for a substantial score, having reached 104-1 by the 14th over, largely due to a 71-run collaboration between Sobhana Mostary, who scored 45, and Sharmin Akter, who contributed 34. Nevertheless, Aimee Maguire broke this partnership by dismissing both batters. Prendergast then proceeded to secure three additional wickets, capping off the T20 series with another notable bowling display, building on her previous figures of 3-24 and 3-13. During Ireland’s chase, Gaby Lewis (21) and Amy Hunter (28) established an opening partnership of 55 runs within the first eight overs, with 47 of those runs coming during the powerplay. Subsequently, Jannatul Ferdus removed Hunter from play, and the quick departures of Lewis, Leah Paul, and Prendergast left the visiting side at 70-4. A 33-run stand between Delany and Rebecca Stokell helped stabilize Ireland’s innings. Despite this, Bangladesh appeared to be in a commanding position at the beginning of the final over, with the tourists needing 15 runs to win. Nonetheless, Delany struck three consecutive boundaries off Shorna Akter, securing the win. This victory allowed the Irish team to conclude their white-ball tour with a clean sweep in the T20 series, which followed Bangladesh’s earlier triumph in the one-day international games by an identical margin. Delany expressed her delight at contributing to Ireland’s win, especially after having missed the white-ball series against England in September due to an ankle injury sustained in August against Sri Lanka. The former Ireland captain stated, “It’s just brilliant to be back in amongst the girls. I was injured there for a bit. It’s an amazing team to be part of.” She added, “I’m pretty delighted with how that last over went but more so delighted for the team. We played some really good cricket in this T20 series and to finish it off with a win today just shows everyone what we’re capable of.” Ireland’s next engagement will be a trip to India in January for a series of three one-day internationals.