Ireland had less than 48 hours to try and work out how to play quality left arm spin after Bangladesh won the first Twenty 20 international at Stormont by an emphatic 71 runs.

Elias Sunny took five for 13, the ever best figures by a Bangladesh player in the shortest form of the game, to bamboozle the home batsmen who hoped, and probably prayed, that the spin specialists could not adapt to Irish conditions.

But in only the third game of their tour, on a cold evening in Belfast, they not only adapted but went through their impressive repertoire to leave the Irish players with much to ponder ahead of the second and third games in the series, on the same square.

It wasn't just about the Bangladesh bowling. Their batsmen, inserted after William Porterfield won the toss, entertained the crowd, which included a substantial number of visiting supporters, and at one stage Mahmadullah and Ziaur Rahman hit four successive sixes, off Paul Stirling and Max Sorensen.

It was already looking ominous for Ireland, after Tamim's run-a-ball 31 and Shakib "s 57 off 33, when Rahman came to the wicket at at 120 for four in the 15th over but his remarkable assault brought 40 runs off his own bat from just 17 balls. He hit five sixes in all as Bangladesh scored 69 in the last five overs.

Boyd Rankin, playing only his third game since the World Twenty20 Qualifying final in March, not surprisingly took a while to get up to match speed and even Alex Cusack could not find a length to contain the rampant batsmen. George Dockrell was always missing this game because of his Under 19 commitments and he will also be a big boost in the remaining games.

Sorensen was again preferred to Tim Murtagh in the shortest form of the game and made the breakthrough in his first over but he too was soon looking over his shoulder much too often.

Porterfield and Paul Stirling raced off with 25 in the first two overs of the reply, but that was against pace. Spin led to the captain's downfall in the fourth over and when Stirling ran himself out in the next, the middle order was exposed to the magicians. They failed miserably and only Gary Wilson's defiant 41, with four fours and a six - albeit with the game already lost - with good support from Sorensen, got Ireland up to the respectability of three figures.