Bangladesh’s chances of making the Super 8 stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup received a huge boost following their 25-run victory against the Netherlands at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent on Thursday (June 13). Shakib Al Hasan’s timely return to form (64* off 46) and Rishad Hossain (3-33) continuing his fine bowling show in this tournament helped Bangladesh defend a total of 159. Meanwhile, with the game yielding a result, Sri Lanka were knocked out of contention for the next stage of the competition.
What made the difference?
Bangladesh’s death overs batting and Rishad Hossain’s fine spell. Bangladesh had managed only 105 in 15 overs before they upped the ante in the death. A steady half-century from Shakib Al Hasan and cameos from Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali helped them pick up 54 runs in the last five overs. The Netherlands chase looked solid until Rishad’s strikes in his last two overs changed the complexion of the game, and the ever-reliable Mustafizur Rahman didn’t give an inch.
BANGLADESH
Powerplay: Bangladesh positive despite early wickets
Phase score – 54/2 [RR: 9.00, 4s/6s: 8/1]
The decision to bring in Aryan Dutt in place of Teja Nidamanuru paid off for the Netherlands as the offspinner had Najmul Hossain Shanto caught off a reverse sweep in the second over. After a quiet start, Tanzid Hasan got going with a six and two fours off Vivian Kingma in an 18-run third over. Litton Das’s attempted slogsweep resulted in Dutt bagging his second wicket, thanks to a sensational catch from Sybrand Engelbrecht who sprinted, put in the dive and held on to the ball with outstretched hands. Tanzid Hasan, meanwhile, continued to be positive, pulling Dutt for a four and Shakib Al Hasan also got into the act with a cover drive for a boundary off Paul van Meekeren. Shakib took on Logan van Beek in the sixth over, scoring four boundaries, as the 19-run overpowered Bangladesh to their third highest powerplay score in T20 World Cups.
Middle overs: Netherlands pull things back
Phase score: 51/2 [RR: 5.66, 4s/6s: 5/0]
Tanzid struck two fours off Bas de Leede in his opening over but after a quiet over from Dutt, the opener was dismissed by van Meekeren looking to pull against the wind. The Netherlands did well to bring down the scoring rate, conceding only 22 in the four overs after the powerplay. Shakib hit a four off Tim Pringle but Dutt continued to keep it tight, giving away only five off his last over to finish with 2 for 17. Pringle then accounted for the wicket of Towhid Hridoy as Bangladesh slipped to 89/4. Shakib and Mahmudullah picked up a four apiece but the Netherlands kept the scoring rate in check in the middle overs.
Death overs: Shakib fifty, cameos ensure a positive finish
Phase score: 54/1 [RR: 10.80; 4s/6s: 2/6]
Shakib slowed down as he neared his fifty but Mahmudullah ensured Bangladesh did not lag in the death overs, striking a six off van Beek, followed by a six and a four off Pringle. Shakib eventually reached his first fifty in his last 20 T20I innings but van Meekeren bagged the important wicket of Mahmudullah and conceded only four runs in the 18th over. But there were five boundaries struck in the last two overs – three by Jaker Ali off van Beek in the 19th and two by Shakib off de Leede in the 20th – with 26 runs coming off them.
NETHERLANDS
Powerplay: Bangladesh keep Netherlands in check
Phase score – 36/2 [RR: 6.00, 4s/6s: 6/1]
Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd helped the Netherlands make a steady start in the chase, with the former playing the aggressor’s role as he struck 2 fours and a six in the first four overs. Levitt also survived a direct hit but he eventually departed, slicing a catch to point off Taskin Ahmed in the fifth over. O’Dowd then managed two fours but his outing ended in the sixth over when Tanzim Hasan Sakib held on to the ball that was smashed back at him. Engelbrecht ended the over with a four but the run-rate of six meant the Netherlands had a lot of work to do.
Middle overs: Netherlands make good progress
Phase score – 75/3 [RR: 8.33, 4s/6s: 5/4]
Vikramjit Singh took a liking to the spinners, striking two sixes in an over off Shakib before clearing the fence off Rishad Hossain. Engelbrecht provided good support from the other end as they put on a brisk 37 run stand but that came to an end when Vikramjit was stumped off Mahmudullah in the 10th over. In the same over, Scott Edwards struck a four as the Netherlands moved to 73/3 at the halfway stage of the innings, only two less than what Bangladesh had managed at the same stage for the same number of wickets. The Netherlands edged ahead slightly, thanks to Engelbrecht’s six and a four off Shakib and Edwards’s regular boundaries. But Rishad provided a double strike in the 15th over, getting Engelbrecht and de Leede in quick succession to continue the game of cat and mouse.
Death overs: Rishad, Mustafizur deliver victory
Phase score – 23/3 [RR: 4.60, 4s/6s: 1/1]
With 49 needed for the Netherlands off the last five overs, Shakib delivered an important over, conceding only five runs in the 16th. The pressure got to skipper Edwards who looked to swipe an off-cutter from Mustafizur across the line but got a top-edge. The left-armer also gave away only one run, leaving the Dutch with an uphill task of getting 43 in three overs. Rishad added van Beek’s scalp and despite being hit for a six by Dutt, he finished with good figures. The Netherlands needed 36 off the last two but fell well short of the target, with Mustafizur conceding only 12 runs from his 4 overs.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 159/5 in 20 overs (Shakib Al Hasan 64*, Tanzid Hasan 35; Paul van Meekeren 2-25, van Meekeren 2-17) beat Netherlands 134/8 in 20 overs (Sybrand Engelbrecht 33, Vikramjit Singh 26; Vikramjit Singh 3-33, Taskin Ahmed 2-30) by 25 runs.
What next for the teams?
Netherlands’ net run rate has entered the negative and has left them with a must-win situation, needing a big victory at that, when they take on Sri Lanka in St Lucia on June 16, and also hope that Bangladesh lose their last game. On the same day, Bangladesh face off against Nepal in St Vincent and a win will guarantee them a Super 8 berth immaterial of the Netherlands-Sri Lanka result.
