Bangladesh took a big step towards reaching the Super Ten of World Twenty20 convincingly crushing Nepal by eight wickets in the qualifier at Chittagong on Tuesday. The Tigers stormed to the top of the Group A to take a two-point lead and bettered their net run rate with some scintillating batting. Put into bat first at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Nepal posted a below-par 126 for 5 in their 20 overs riding on skipper Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar. In reply, chasing a hardly challenging target of 127, the Tigers reached their target without breaking a sweat with 27 balls to spare against the Associate Member nation. After a slow start by the Nepalese openers Subash Khakurel and Sagar Pun, things got worse when they slid to 39 for 3 in the seventh over. Pacer Al-Amin Hossain, adjudged man of the match, struck twice in three balls to reduce the hosts’ opponents. Play was held up for a few minutes because of dew on the surface in the outfield after the 10th over. The Tigers’ skipper Mushfiqur Rahim fumbled twice behind the wickets to miss two stumping chances off consecutive deliveries in the 14th over bowled by Shakib Al Hasan. Khadka (41), who topscored for his side, and Vesawker (40) paired for a fighting 85-run fourth wicket stand to rescue the innings and lift their side. They were both dismissed in final seven balls of their innings. Nepal were not allowed to break free at any stage as Bangladesh bowlers kept a tight check on the run-rate to restrict them to below-par score. The Associate nation finished their innings without hitting a single six. Al-Amin finished with 2 for 17 in four overs. He bowled 17 dot balls and a terrific final over giving away just two runs. Farhad and Mashrafe bagged a wicket each for the Tigers. The Tigers flew off the blocks with Tamim Iqbal and Anamul quelling any home nerves with an opening partnership of 63. Tamim got back in the eighth over, scoring 30. Anamul was run out for 42 in the 11th as Sabbir Rahman ignored his call at the other end. However, Sabbir made amends with an unbeaten 21. Anamul was the topscorer of the match with a quickfire 42 off 33 balls in a dominant display. He slammed five boundaries and two sixes. After Anamul’s departure, Shakib took charge and was in a hurry to see his team through. He clouted 37 off just 18 balls hitting four sixes and a four. Shakib hit the winning runs in the most emphatic fashion, a six over long-on, with 27 balls to spare to bring the Tigers inches close to their primary target of proceeding to the main draw of the competition. The Nepalese bowlers, specially their spinners who were undone by the dew, were disciplined but helpless in the face of assault by Bangladeshi batsmen. A victory over winless Hong Kong on Thursday will see Bangladesh join India, Pakistan, Australia and West Indies in Group 2. Nepal, who beat Hong Kong on Sunday, need to defeat Afghanistan in their final match to have any chance of progressing.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 02:50:45 +0000
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