Al Amerat: Bangladesh kept alive their hopes of advancing to the Super 12s stage with a nervy 26-run win over co-hosts Oman in a Group B match of the T20 World Cup on Tuesday.
Opener Mohammad Naim struck a fine half-century to help Bangladesh set a 154-run target before bowlers led by pacer Mustafizur Rahman (4/36) restricted Oman to 127 for 9.
Both Oman and Bangladesh have a win each and will vie for the only remaining spot to qualify for the Super 12 stage. Scotland, who beat Papua New Guinea earlier in the day, have already qualified from the group. While Oman will take on Scotland, Bangladesh next play Papua New Guinea.
Chasing a challenging target, Jatinder Singh (40 off 33 balls) provided a solid start for Oman with Kashyap Prajapati (21), but the other batters struggled. Bangladesh dropped several catches, but under tremendous pressure, they held their nerves. Thanks to some astute captaincy by skipper Mahmudullah and fine bowling by spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Mahedi Hasan, they made a strong comeback. Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman took four wickets.
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Oman needed 54 runs in the last five overs. But with boundaries drying up and the required run rate continuously rising, Oman batters became desperate and went for the big shots, losing their wickets in the process. Shakib, who starred with the bat, pitched in with the ball also and ended with impressive figures of 3/28 while Mahedi Hassan and Mohammad Saifuddin took a wicket each.
Opting to bat in a must-game win, Bangladesh, who lost their tournament opener to Scotland, struggled to 29/2 in the powerplay. Naim (64 off 51) and Shakib (42 off 29) shared an 81-run stand to give the side the much-needed momentum. Dropped catches and sloppy fielding added to Oman’s woes. While Fayyaz Butt pulled off a stunning catch of his bowling to get rid of Mahedi Hasan, Oman dropped three catches.
Naim, playing his first game of the tournament, hit four sixes and three boundaries while Shakib’s innings was studded with six fours. However, a brilliant piece of fielding from Aqib Ilyas helped run out Shakib. The co-hosts seized the momentum, snaring six wickets while giving away 41 runs in the last five overs. Pacers Fayyaz Butt (3/30), Kaleemullah (2/30) and Bilal Khan (3/18) shared eight wickets, while left-arm spinner Zeeshan Maqsood accounted for one.
In the end, Bangladesh had enough firepower to snuff out Oman’s chase.
