USA Pulls Off Surprising Win Against Bangladesh In T20 World Cup 2024 Series Opener

Harmeet Singh and Corey Anderson starred as T20 World Cup 2024 co-hosts USA pulled off a major upset, beating Bangladesh by 5 wickets in the three-match series opener at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston on Tuesday (May 21).

After an all-round bowling effort led by Steven Taylor (2 for 9 in 3 overs) helped restrict Bangladesh to 153/6 in the first innings, the USA gave themselves a platform to bolster their chances of pulling off an upset.

The opening pair of Taylor and captain Monank Patel raced to 27 runs in the first three overs. But Monank (12) got run out at the non-striker's end. Andries Gous (23) arrived at the crease and scored runs at a brisk pace before losing his wicket to Rishad Hossain.

Middle Overs Challenge

Taylor (28) looked well set for an extended stay on the crease but Mustafizur Rahman got better of the batter. As the promising-looking chase started to go astray in the middle overs, Anderson (34* off 25 balls) and Harmeet (33* off 13 balls) raised hopes of a win.

Harmeet Singh's Game-Changing Performance

Harmeet changed the complexion of the game with back-to-back sixes off Mustafizur in the 17th over. In the 18th over, Shoriful Islam was at the receiving end as Harmeet smashed a six off the second ball followed by a boundary off the final delivery.

Final Overs Drama

With 14 runs coming in 18th over, the equation came down to 24 runs needed off 12 balls. And from there, Anderson took on the role of a finisher and saw the team home in the next nine balls with two sixes and a boundary.

Crucial Partnership Seals Victory

Anderson and Harmeet stitched together a crucial stand of an unbeaten 62 off 28 balls to seal a 5-wicket win for the USA over Bangladesh in the first of the three-match series.

Bangladesh's Innings Recap

Earlier, put into bat, Bangladesh started decently, but lost both openers Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar in quick succession, while skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan also fell quickly.

Towhid Hridoy's Fighting Stand

However, Towhid Hridoy (58 off 47 balls) shared a fighting 67-run stand with Mahmudullah (31 off 22 balls) to take Bangladesh closer to 150 before Jaker Ali's 5-ball 9 took them to 153/6, which may have seemed like a challenging total. But USA proved them wrong.

Upcoming Matches

Now, Shanto and Bangladesh will look to bounce back and level the series when they take on hosts USA at the same venue in Houston on Thursday (May 23) before the final game of the series on Saturday (May 25).