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Following his side's five-wicket win against Bangladesh, USA captain Monank Patel said that the team came hard at the opponents and tried not to give them a feeling that they were a walkover. He also lauded Corey Anderson, a former New Zealand all-rounder now playing for his side, for his experience and calmness.
Riding high on Corey Anderson and Harmeet Singh's valiant effort, cricketing upstarts US pulled off a major upset, defeating Bangladesh by 5 wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series here at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston on Tuesday. At a time the giants and recognised cricketing nations are gearing up for the highly-anticipated T20 World Cup, which is less than ten days away, the co-hosts of the marquee event pulled off an unprecedented victory over a decidedly stronger and much-fancied Bangladesh side. Speaking in the post-match presentation, USA skipper Monak said, "I am really happy with the way we played actually, winning the toss and bowling first. We came out hard to not give Bangladesh a feeling that we were a walkover. Credit goes to our spinners, the way they utilized the condition and bowled at the right areas. The bowling unit gave us crucial wickets. The way they bowled against the left and right combination (Bangladeshi Batters) throughout the 20 overs, we managed it well." "I think we need to improve our game while batting as we lost a few wickets in the middle. The way Harmeet and Corey finished the game, all credit to them. Corey (Anderson) brings a lot of experience, he knows how to stay calm under pressure and finish off big games. We want to carry all the positives from today and make sure the mistakes made today would not be repeated in the next few games," he added. Coming to the match, USA elected to bowl first after winning the toss. Towhid Hridoy (58 in 47 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Mahmudullah (31 in 22 balls, with two fours and a six) played crucial knocks to take Bangladesh to 153/6 in their 20 overs. Steven Taylor (2/9) was the top bowler for USA. In the run-chase, the hosts were struggling at 94/5 in 14.5 overs. But crucial knocks from Corey Anderson (34* in 25 balls, with two sixes) and Harmeet Singh (33* in 13 balls, with two fours and three sixes) helped USA secure a five-wicket win with three balls left. USA has a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. (ANI)
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