
Bangladesh beat Ireland by five points in Sunday’s ODI final to secure a 2-0 series win at Chelmsford.
Tigers captain Tamim Iqbal hit 69 and Mushfiqur Rahim added 45 as they were knocked out for 274 with Mark Adair taking 4-40.
Paul Stirling (60) and skipper Andrew Balbirnie (53) put in 109 for the second wicket as the Irish chased the target.
However, they came close with Mustafizur Rahman claiming 4-44.
Ireland entered the series needing a 3-0 win to keep hopes of World Cup qualification alive, but hopes were dashed after the opening game failed.
Bangladesh won game two by three wickets and it was another close fight that went down to the last ball.
Ireland opted to field first but Bangladesh got off to a good start and went 159-3, with Tamin providing a strong opener while Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das both reached 35.
Mehidy Hasan’s 44 and 37 from Mushfiqur kept Bangladesh on course for a decent tally, although they were sent off with seven balls remaining.
Adair was the choice of the Irish attack while George Dockrell and Andy McBrine both took two wickets.
Ireland lost Stephen Doheny (five) early in their response but the Stirling-Balbirnie partnership got them back on track and they were helped by mid-order runs from Harry Tector (45) and Lorcan Tucker (50).
But from a promising 225-3, the wickets began to plummet and even a late flurry from Adair (20) was not enough to save the Irish from defeat.
Hasan Mahmud backed Mustafizur with 2-44 as Bangladesh took a narrow win.