Shakib and Hossain seal Bangladesh's win over Netherlands; Shanto's men inch closer to Super 8 berth in T20 World Cup

Bangladesh’s clash with Netherlands on Thursday was a crucial one. Both teams lost close battles to South Africa but also had two points each on the board. With the Proteas already through to the Super 8 stage from Group D, and Sri Lanka and Nepal languishing at the bottom, it was an opportunity to take a big step towards qualification.

It was Bangladesh who held their nerves in the end to close out a 25-run victory. After an unbeaten half-century from Shakib Al Hasan took them to 159/5, a three-wicket haul by leg-spinner Rishad Hossain ensured the Dutch were restricted to 134/8.

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Netherlands were off to a strong start in the chase as Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd hit a string of boundaries. Despite the openers falling in quick succession, Vikramjit Singh kept the momentum going and struck Shakib for consecutive sixes. The left-hander perished for a 16-ball 26 before Sybrand Engelbrecht (33 off 22) and skipper Scott Edwards added a 42-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Needing 49 runs to win off 33 balls with six wickets in hand, the Dutch seemed to be marching towards a famous win. But that’s when Hossain removed Engelbrecht and Bas de Leede in a span of three deliveries to set Bangladesh on their way.

Mustafizur Rahman got rid of Edwards (25 off 23) soon after and went on to complete a fine spell of 1/12. Hossain (3/33) was the standout bowler as Netherlands could only score 23 runs in the last five overs.

Earlier, the Dutch found themselves in a promising position after opting to bowl as Bangladesh reached 35/2 in five overs.

Off-spinner Aryan Dutt took the new ball and struck with his first ball as skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto played a reverse sweep straight to Vikramjit at slip. Litton Das was also sent packing by Dutt, with Engelbrecht pulling off a sensational running catch in the deep.

Shakib, however, took control from there and added a 48-run partnership for the third wicket with opener Tanzid Hasan (35 off 26). The former skipper was confident from the outset and played some typically classy strokes either side of the wicket. He was dismissed for single-digit scores in his first two games but looked fluent this time. He posted a 41-run stand with Mahmudullah (25 off 21) and remained unbeaten on 64 off 46 balls with nine fours.

Dutt (2/17) and Paul van Meekeren (2/15 bowled impressive spells but Netherlands were left with too stiff a target in the end.