Matthew Humphreys, Harry Tector fashion early lead for Ireland

Following a dismal Test series, where they went down to Bangladesh 2-0, Ireland made a positive start to the T20I series by claiming a 39-run win at Chattogram in the first of three T20Is. Harry Tector's 69 not-out helped Ireland post a formidable total before Matthew Humphreys' four-wicket haul held Bangladesh at bay despite Towhid Hridoy's fighting 83 not-out.

After being asked to bat first, Ireland's openers made a strong start and shared a 40-run stand. Paul Stirling struck Shoriful Islam for two fours in the first over while Tim Tector struck him for three boundaries in a row when he returned to bowl an 18-run third over. Stirling fell against the run of play in the fifth over after miscuing a pull shot against Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

The Tector brothers, Tim and Harry, combined to keep Ireland's momentum going. They struck a six and four of Rishad Hossain just after the PowerPlay but the leg-spinner would have his revenge as he dismissed Tim an over later. Harry continued to keep his foot on the pedal and was ably supported by Lorcan Tucker, Curtis Campher and George Dockrell. Ireland finished strong on 181/4 with Harry striking Tanzim for two sixes in the final over.

Bangladesh's start with the bat was in stark contrast to their opponents as they ended up losing four wickets inside the PowerPlay while managing just 20 runs. Humphreys inflicted damage early by dismissing Tanzid Hasan in the very first over. Skipper Liton Das fell in the next, while Parvez Hossain Emon and Saif Hassan failed to make a mark as well.

Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali kept Bangladesh's fight alive with the latter striking Gareth Delany for two sixes just before drinks. However, the rest of Bangladesh's order just crumbled after Jaker fell in the 12th over. Humphreys returned to bowl his final over in the 13th and accounted for three Bangladeshi batters ensuring that the hosts never recovered thereafter. Hridoy kept fighting but it was a lone battle. Bangladesh eventually finished on 142/9 in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Ireland 181/4 in 20 overs (Harry Tector 69*, Tim Tector 32; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 2-41) beat Bangladesh 142/9 in 20 overs (Towhid Hridoy 83*; Matthew Humphreys 4-13, Barry McCarthy 3-23) by 39 runs