Tanzid Hasan Tamim delivered a standout all-round performance as Bangladesh sealed the T20I series against Ireland 2-1 with an emphatic eight-wicket win in the final match in Chattogram on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old not only anchored the chase with an unbeaten fifty but also etched his name into the T20I record books with a rare five-catch haul.
Ireland's first five wickets did not offer him any chances but once the ball started coming his way, it kept coming. Tanzid held on to all five catches that followed, each a routine take but together good enough to place him alongside two other record holders.
Before him, only Maldives' Wedage Malinda (vs Qatar, 2023) and Sweden's Sedik Sahak (vs Isle of Man, 2024) had taken five catches in a T20I innings. Tanzid is now the third fielder to achieve the feat.
Two of his catches came off Mustafizur Rahman's bowling, while he completed one each from Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, and Mohammad Saifuddin.
For Bangladesh, the previous record was three catches in a T20I innings -- shared by as many as 11 players -- making Tanzid's effort a new national benchmark.
While none of the chances were particularly demanding, the sequence displayed his alertness and, to an extent, the luck of being in the right place repeatedly. That luck continued into the chase.
Set a modest target of 117, Tanzid dominated proceedings with a fluent, unbeaten 55 off 36 balls -- his 11th T20I fifty -- smashing four fours and three sixes. He brought up the milestone with a clean hit over the ropes off his 35th delivery and guided Bangladesh home in 13.4 overs. His partnerships with Saif Hassan at the top and later with Parvez Hossain Emon ensured a comfortable finish.
Speaking after the match, Tanzid said the team's series victory mattered most.
"First of all, Alhamdulillah, we won the series, and I took five catches. That was very interesting. My teammates and I are enjoying that one. When we finished the first innings, they were all talking about this, and I feel very happy for that."
Reflecting on the chase, he added: "I tried to bat according to the ball. When Saif Hassan and I got a good start, and then Parvez Hossain Emon came in, we talked about batting till the end and finishing the match."
