Tigers keep hopes alive

There were nerves and mounting fear of an elimination from the first round, but there was no shortage of excitement or drama as Bangladesh kept their hopes of qualifying for the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup alive by beating hosts Oman by 26 runs at the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium in Muscat yesterday.

The Tigers were helped by Shakib Al Hasan's all-round performance, which featured a crucial 29-ball 42 during an important 80-run third-wicket partnership with Naim Sheikh and his bowling figures of three wickets for 28 runs.

The left-hander's involvement throughout the game was substantial and the manner in which he continued to provide input before and after every over was something that caught the eye everyone present.

Oman came out all guns blazing in chase of a rather modest 154-run target and started the innings by scoring 12 off the first over from Taskin Ahmed. Despite Mustafizur Rahman trapping opener Aqib Ilyas leg before in the second over, the hosts did not shy away from utilising the Powerplay.

Bangladesh also had themselves to blame, with skipper Mahmudullah Riyad dropping a simple catch from Jatinder Singh, who was on 10 and had top-edged Mustafizur early in the innings.

After that reprieve, Jatinder and Kashyap Prajapati struck boundaries in every over before the latter became Mustafizur's second victim after scoring 21 off 18 balls. But Oman were well in the game after reaching 47 for two after the Powerplay.

Jatinder struck a six and a four to Shakib just after the Powerplay and the momentum looked like it was slowly swinging in the hosts' favour.

The Bangladeshi players also deserve credit for holding their nerve despite Oman reaching 80 for two after eleven overs and requiring 74 off 54 balls with eight wickets in hand.

The crowd was cheering the home side as the hosts sensed a famous victory before Mustafizur took a brilliant catch running towards his left on the boundary line to dismiss skipper Zeeshan Maqsood for 12 off the bowling of Mahedi Hasan.

Bangladesh slowly tightened their grip afterwards and Shakib got some getting revenge by removing Jatinder. The right-hander was caught at deep square leg while going for a sweep after scoring 40 off 33 balls, a knock that included four boundaries and a six.

It was then that the Bangladeshi supporters drowned out the small home crowd and Shakib put the final nail in the coffin by dismissing Ayaan Khan and Naseem Khushi off consecutive deliveries in the 17th over. The Tigers eventually restricted Oman to 127 for nine in 20 overs.

Earlier, Bangladesh did not make the best of starts after electing to bat. Liton Das failed to make the most of a reprieve early on in the innings and was leg before on six by Bilal Khan.

The Bangladesh team management came up with a totally different strategy and shuffled the batting order. Mahedi Hasan came in at number three and failed and the Tigers could reach only 29 for 2 in the Powerplay.

It was then that Naim and Shakib came together and seized momentum for the Tigers, adding 80 off 53 balls for the third wicket. At that point, it looked that Bangladesh could go on to post somewhere near 170, but after Shakib was run out for a 29-ball 42, the hosts began to make inroads.

Nurul Hasan and Afif Hossain came in at number five and six respectively but were unable to make an impact before a tired Naim was dismissed for a 50-ball 64 which included four sixes and three fours.

Mushfiqur Rahim was surprisingly demoted to number eight for the first time since 2016 and he also failed to make an impact, departing for six.

Bangladesh will have to win their last group match against Papua New Guinea on Thursday but even that will not confirm a berth in the Super 12. They must also await the result of the other games between Scotland and Oman as net run rate will play a vital role.