A clinical performance from bowlers helped Bangladesh defeat Oman by 26 runs to stay alive in the race for the T20 World Cup finish. They defeated Oman in their second fixture after losing to Scotland in the opening contest.
Mustafzur Rahman picked as many as 4 wickets while allrounder Shakib Al Hasan scalped 3 wickets and contributed 42 runs for Bangladesh in the do-or-die contest. Oman’s Jatinder Singh looked impressive for 40 runs but other batsmen failed to leave a mark. Kashyap Prajapati was second best with 21 runs. Mohd Naim also slammed 64 runs off 50 balls against Oman to help Bangladesh put a score of 153 in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing 154, Oman lost its opener Aqib Ilyas (6) in the second over of the innings. Jatinder Singh and Kashyap Prajapati then put on 34 runs for the second wicket, but the partnership ended in the 6th over as Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Prajapati (21), reducing Oman to 47/2. Jatinder then rallied Oman’s innings alongside skipper Zeeshan Maqsood and at the halfway mark, the score read 70/2, still needing 84 more runs to win from 60 balls. Both batters stitched together a 34-run stand for the third wicket, but as soon as Oman started to gain an upper hand, Bangladesh stormed right back as Mahedi Hasan dismissed Maqsood (12). Soon after, Jatinder (40) was dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan and Oman was reduced to 90/4.
Oman kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and in the end, Bangladesh registered a victory by 26 runs to keep their hopes alive of progressing to the Super 12 stage.
Earlier, Mohammad Naim and Shakib Al Hasan played knocks of 64 and 42 respectively as Bangladesh posted a score of 153. Opting to bat first, Bangladesh did not get off to an ideal start as the side lost its opener Liton Das (6) in the third over of the innings. Bilal had Das caught right plumb in front of the wickets. Soon after, Mahedi Hasan was dismissed for a duck by Fayyaz Butt and Bangladesh was reduced to 21/2 in the 5th over.
Mohammad Naim and Shakib then got together at the crease and the duo revived the innings for Bangladesh. The duo put on 80 runs for the third wicket, but as soon as Bangladesh started to gain an upper hand, Oman managed to dismiss Shakib (42) via a run-out. After Shakib’s dismissal, Bangladesh lost the wickets of Nurul Hasan (3), Afifi Hossain (1) and Naim (64) in quick succession and Bangladesh was reduced to 122/6 in the 17th over. However, in the end, Mahmudullah (17) ensured that Bangladesh posts a total of more than the 150-run mark.
Earlier in the day, Richie Berrington’s 70-run knock and a spirited bowling performance helped Scotland defeat Papua New Guinea (PNG) by 17 runs in Group B.
