Online Desk: Having given the license to be fearless and aggressive, openers Liton Das and Rony Talukdar gave Bangladesh a rapid start in their first of the three-match T20I series against Ireland at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.

Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha said that he is trying to create a positive atmosphere in the Tigers’ dressing room by letting the players know that they have the freedom to be aggressive in their game without having to worry about the repercussions. And the players seem to have imbibed the ideology as Liton and Rony combined to score the fastest fifty for the opening stand at the venue. Bangladesh crossed the fifty-run mark in the fifth over and amassed a total of 81 for no loss in the Powerplay — the highest for Bangladesh in the first six overs in T20Is. The previous highest score in the powerplay in T20Is for Bangladesh was when Liton and Tamim combined to score 74 runs in the first six overs against Sri Lanka in the Nidahas Trophy in 2018.

Liton was unafraid to use his feet in the very first over. He stepped out of the crease and took on Harry Tector, hitting the off-spinner for the first six of the game over long-on. Even though Liton failed to time the shot perfectly, it did not stop him from trying as his attempted pick-up shot off a Mark Adair delivery ended up getting a top edge and running away to the boundary in the very next over.

Rony Talukder, meanwhile, looked to be in more control of his shots as he stood firm and whacked away a short delivery from Adair for a maximum over midwicket. Rony also welcomed Craig Young by making room against the pacer and taking the aerial route to slice him for a boundary over backward point.

Liton also put away Young for a six and a boundary off successive deliveries as Bangladesh amassed 16 runs in the fourth over. However, the biggest over of the powerplay was when Rony smashed Adair for a six and followed it up with three consecutive boundaries in the sixth over to help Bangladesh amass 20 runs in the over.