Bangladesh beat Netherlands by 25 runs in Group D of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, St. Vincent on Thursday.

Inserted into bat by Dutch captain Scott Edwards, Bangladesh posted 159 runs courtesy of an unbeaten 64 runs from veteran Shakib Al Hasan. Tanzid Hasan and Mahmudullah scored 35 and 25, respectively, to support the innings.

In reply, Netherlands could only manage 134 for eight and fell to its second reverse of the tournament.

The win got Bangladesh to four points in Group D and strengthened it’s bid to make the Super 8 stage.

However, after losing two wickets, the Dutch got back in the game with Vikramjit Singh and Sybrand Engelbrecht combining for 37-run before the former departed after scoring 26 runs on 16 balls.

After losing the wicket, Engelbrecht (33 off 22) and skipper Scott Edwards (25 off 23) scored but their knocks were not enough as the Dutch kept on losing wickets and eventually concluded their innings at 134-8 in 20 overs.

For Bangladesh, Rishad Hossain starred with the ball as he took three wickets, Taskin Ahmed got two while Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Mahmudullah picked one wickets each.

Earlier in the first innings, after being asked to bat first, Bangladesh didn’t have a great start as they lost two wickets inside the first four overs with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Das walking back to the pavilion without scoring in double digits.

However, Tanzid Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan built a 48-run partnership which was crucial for Bangladesh as they got the much-needed stability. Tanzid played a quick knock, scoring 35 off 26 with six boundaries before losing his wicket to Paul van Meekeren.

Shakib stayed on the pitch and he was supported greatly by Mahmudullah (25 off 21) down the order. Jaker Ali’s quick seven-ball 14-run cameo helped Bangladesh conclude their innings at 159-5 in the allocated overs.

Shakib top-scored for the Tigers with 64 runs on 46 balls. Meanwhile, for the Netherlands, Aryan Dutt and Van Meekeren bagged two wickets each while Tim Pringle managed to get one.

The Netherlands defeated Nepal in their previous T20 World Cup match while Bangladesh overcame Sri Lanka. Both teams have two points each and a win today would strengthen their chances of making it to the tournament's Super 8.

BDST: 1004 HRS, JUNE 14, 2024
MSK