Shakib guides Bangladesh to victory over Netherlands
Bangladesh move step closer to Super 8s with win over Netherlands
- Published
Bangladesh took a big step towards qualification for the T20 World Cup Super 8s as they beat the Netherlands by 25 runs in St Vincent.
Shakib Al Hasan struck an unbeaten 64 from 46 balls to guide his side to 159, rebuilding the innings after they lost two early wickets to the bowling of Aryan Dutt.
In reply, the Dutch initially kept up with the required run-rate, with Vikram Singh hitting three sixes in a spirited 26 before being stumped by Litton Das.
Young leg-spinner Rishad Hossain then took the wickets of Sybrand Engelbrecht and Bas de Leede in the 15th over to stall the chase at 111-5, with the Netherlands making just 23 runs from the final five overs.
The win sees Bangladesh move two points clear of their opponents in Group D, knowing a win against Nepal on Monday (01:30 BST) will definitely secure their place in the second round.
The Dutch must hope that Bangladesh lose that fixture, and that they can win and achieve a big run-rate swing against bottom-placed Sri Lanka.
- Published18 June
- Published13 June
Veteran Shakib returns to form
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Shakib came into the match in poor form, having made single-figure scores in Bangladesh's first two matches of the tournament.
The 37-year-old came to the crease in the fourth over at the Arnos Vale Stadium after a spectacular diving catch from Engelbrecht dismissed Das and reduced Bangladesh to 23-2.
He pushed through a quiet middle over period before accelerating alongside Mahmudullah and then Jaker Ali, with whom he struck 29 from the final 15 balls of the innings.
The late flourish provided some late excitement for a crowd who were enjoying the first international match in St Vincent in almost a decade.
Taking to the field, the veteran all-rounder conceded consecutive sixes to Singh in his second over, but returned tidy figures of 0-29 from his four overs.
However it was 21-year-old spinner Rishad who was the star of the Bangladesh bowling display, removing Englebrecht and De Leede to snuff out Dutch hopes of victory, before dismissing Logan van Beek with a smart caught and bowled.