Lancashire CC’s Jos Buttler could not prevent a third England batting collapse in their final T20 game against Bangladesh.
The loss means the home side has completed a historic whitewash against the reigning world champions.
Bangladesh batted first, getting off to a good start and finishing the powerplay 46-0 after eighteen-year-old Rehan Ahmed dropped Rony Talukdar on 17.
Adil Rashid broke the opening stand in the eighth over, taking Talukdar’s wicket for 24 runs.
Litton Das was dropped on 51 by Ben Duckett before going on to add another 22 runs before Chris Jordan got his man in the 17th over.
Najmul Hossain Shanto played a brilliant role, hitting a rapid 47 from 36 but the introduction of captain Shakib Al Hasan slowed the scoring, with the home side getting just 19 runs from the final three overs.
England’s response started poorly, with Lancashire’s Phil Salt losing his wicket for nought after he was stumped in the first over.
Buttler and Dawid Malan soon steadied the ship, guiding England to 100-1 in what looked to be a game-winning partnership.
It wasn’t to be as both men were out in consecutive balls in the 14th over, Malan caught on 53, and Buttler run out for 40.
What happened next was a sight all too familiar on this tour, an England batting collapse.
From 100-1 at the start of the 14th, the visitors had fallen to 128-6 by the 19th.
With the required run rate beginning to soar, England stumbled to a poor 142-6 at the end of their 20 overs.
Buttler’s England side never truly looked comfortable in this series, a far cry from the world cup winning outfit of only four months ago.
England’s next game will be the four-day test match against Ireland on June 1st before the Ashes start just a couple of weeks later.
(Featured Image – Jos Buttler, pic by permission from Lancashire CCC)
