Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan finally smiled with the bat while leg-spinner Rishad Hossain got vital breakthroughs to keep the Tigers in the hunt for the Super 8 phase in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup.
Shakib scored his first half-century in 20 T20 Internationals to get Bangladesh to a defendable total of 159 before Rishad broke the steady Netherlands chase to script a 25-run win in Saint Vincent on Thursday.
With two wins in three games, the Tigers are now at No 2 spot in Group D.
Bangladesh will look forward to the game against Nepal this Monday at the same venue as a win will cement their place in the second round of the competition.
South Africa, with three victories and with a match to spare, have already qualified as toppers in the group.
After being put in to bat first, Shakib remained unbeaten on 64 to propel the Tigers to a respectable T20 total.
Shakib’s contribution for Bangladesh came at a crucial stage of the competition.
The clash against the Dutch was almost do-or-die for Bangladesh to remain in the race.
And for Shakib, the runs came amid big discussion of his value in the team.
Questions have been raised if Bangladesh’s best all-rounder should be rested.
There was concern with Shakib’s fitness ahead of the match. The left-handed batter was seen donning a cervical collar during the warm-up.
Bangladesh were invited to bat after the Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss.
The struggle with the top-order continued as skipper Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Das perished cheaply to put Bangladesh in trouble.
Shanto reverse-swept right-arm spinner Aryan Dutt but ended in the hands of the first slip, heading back to the dressing room after scoring just one run.
Liton also made only one run as he got removed also by Dutt in the fourth over.
Opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim held one end of the pitch and was joined by Shakib in the middle as the duo worked on the recovery.
The third wicket stand added 48 off 32 deliveries as young Tanzid played the role of the aggressor.
The left-handed batter struck a 26-ball 35 before throwing away a good start.
Tanzid looked for a pull but failed to make a clean connection and got caught at deep backward square leg for a simple catch.
Bangladesh lost one more wicket, that of Towhid Hridoy [nine], before seeing Shakib build the second-best partnership of the innings – 41 with Mahmudullah [25] for the fifth wicket stand.
Shakib in his 46-ball innings hammered nine boundaries and was later adjudged Player of the Match.
Defending the target, Bangladesh restricted the Netherlands to 134 for eight in 20 overs after Rishad played a vital part. The Dutch were o to a good start with the top-order chipping in with contributions in pursuit of the target.
The chase was cruising along at a good rate before wrist-spinner Rishad removed Sybrand Engelbrecht [33 o 22] to break the 42-run stand with Edwards for the fourth wicket.
This triggered a late debacle in the Dutch batting as the side deteriorated from 111 for four in the 15th over to 134 for eight at the end.
Rishad bagged two more wickets and eventually ended up with three, conceding 33 runs in four overs.
Right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed bagged two in four overs giving away 30 runs.
