Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium pitch report: Chattogram pitch report for BAN vs IRE 1st T20 match

After thrashing England 3-0 at home during the T20I series, Bangladesh were always expected to run over Ireland as well during the recently concluded three-match ODI series at Sylhet.

Along the expected lines, they lifted the series 2-0 with some sense of authority. While they won the first ODI by a 183-run margin, they triumphed in the final ODI by 10 wickets. The second match had to be abandoned due to rain, but not before the hosts had piled on 349 runs on the board batting first.

The action of Ireland’s multi-format tour will move to Chattogram, where they now play a three-match T20I series against the hosts, the first of which will take place tomorrow (Monday).

Both these sides will take on each other in a T20I bilateral series after more than a decade. Bangladesh had lifted the three-match series 3-0, all of which took place at Belfast in 2012.

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium pitch report

The average score across the 13 T20 format matches which have taken place at Chattogram this year, has been 159.8 runs.

An afternoon start will ensure the best possible conditions for the batters during the first T20I tomorrow, but the pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium will assist the spinners overall, with the wicket likely to play a lot slower than the one witnessed during the ODI series.

“It [The pitch] will be slow and it will potentially have a bit of turn. I think we saw how the wicket played in the England series. We will just take a few pointers from there,” remarked Ireland left-arm spinner Ross Adair on the match eve.

All in all, one should expect an even contest with both bat and ball tomorrow, with the dew factor also out of the equation.

Ireland have beaten Bangladesh only one in T20Is

Ireland have faced Bangladesh only four times previously in the T20 format. Their solitary win over them had arrived in June 2009, during the T20 World Cup match at Nottingham.

Chasing the target of 138 runs, Ireland had won the match by 6 wickets, and ten deliveries to spare.