Bangladesh edged closer to the Super 8s with a crucial 25-run victory over the Netherlands in a Group D clash on Wednesday. The Dutch team, competitive for much of the match, faltered in the final five overs with both bat and ball.
Chasing a target of 160, the Netherlands began steadily, with Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd adding 22 for the first wicket before Levitt fell for 18. Tanzim Hasan Sakib dismissed O’Dowd (12) in the last over of the powerplay, leaving the Netherlands at 36/2 after six overs. Vikramjit Singh provided a spark with a quickfire 26 off 16 balls before being stumped in the 10th over.
Skipper Scott Edwards and Sybrand Engelbrecht formed a 42-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The turning point came in the 15th over when Rishad Hossain dismissed Engelbrecht (33) and Bas de Leede (0) in quick succession. Edwards (25) was out in the 17th over, and the lower-order batters failed to contribute significantly, ending the innings at 134/8.
All six Bangladeshi bowlers, except Shakib Al Hasan, took wickets, with Rishad Hossain claiming three.
Earlier, Bangladesh had a shaky start after being asked to bat first. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (1) and Litton Das (1) fell cheaply to Aryan Dutt inside the powerplay. Tanzid Hasan played some elegant strokes and, with support from Shakib Al Hasan, added 48 runs before Tanzid (35) was dismissed in the ninth over. Towhid Hridoy (9) had a short stay at the crease.
Shakib Al Hasan anchored the innings from one end, with Mahmudullah Riyad (25) hitting some big shots before being caught in the deep. Shakib reached his fifty and, along with Jaker Ali (14*), provided a strong finish for Bangladesh. Shakib remained unbeaten on 64 off 46 balls, helping his team post a total of 159/5.
Aryan Dutt and Paul van Meekeren each took two wickets for the Netherlands, but their batters could not chase down the target, falling short by 25 runs.
