Bangladesh’s Dominant Bowling Performance Takes Them to Super Eight in T20 World Cup 2024
Bangladesh overcame the odds to defend their low total of 106 against Nepal, securing a spot in the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Bangladesh advanced to the Super Eight stage with a slightly tight victory over Nepal thanks to a blistering opening spell from Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Nepal’s bowling display in Kingstown put a Full Member side on tenterhooks for the second straight game, but Bangladesh’s quick bowlers destroyed their batting order.
Nepal 85 (Malla 27, Tanzim 4-7, Mustafizur 3-7) was defeated by Bangladesh 106 (Shakib 17, Kami 2-10, Lamichhane 2-17, Paudel 2-20, airee 2-22) by a margin of 21 runs.
Bangla seemed unlikely to win, much less an easy one, after being bowled out for 106. Nepal would have liked their prospects of winning their first match against a Full Member side after coming within two runs of chasing down a slightly greater target against South Africa. However, Tanzim smashed through their top order with astounding figures of 4-2-7-4, reducing Nepal to 26 for 5.
Mustafizur Rahman gave a masterclass in death bowling when Nepal required 30 off 24 to enable Bangladesh pull off the lowest successful defense in a men’s T20 World Cup, even if the low asking rate indicated Nepal could still have a chance.
When Tanzim hit thrice in his second over, which was the third of the innings, Nepal was in serious difficulty from the start. Anil Sah toe-ended his attempt to mid-off after Kushal Bhurtel missed a low full ball that swung away late to cut the off stump.
In the following over, Taskin Ahmed set up a few of opportunities, and Tanzim capitalized on the pressure when Rohit Paudel hit a short, wide delivery that went straight to backward point. In the over, Tanzim came dangerously close to scoring again, but Sundeep Jora’s leading edge eluded the bowler. After thereafter, Mustafizur managed to catch Aasif Sheikh hiding, capping off a brilliant power play for Bangladesh.
In the seventh over, Tanzim was bowled out and took his fourth wicket, catching Jora at gully. His 21 dot balls were the most by a bowler in a men’s T20 World Cup match. He also produced a double-wicket maiden and a wicket maiden.
There was a 23-ball boundary drought from the beginning of the eighth over, with legspinner Rishad Hossain finding particularly good turn. After finally hitting Rishad for four with the fourth ball of the eleventh over, Dipendra Singh Airee enabled Nepal to reach fifty in the subsequent over.
For Nepal, Malla and Airee combined, but in the 16th over, Malla took a different approach and slog-swept Mahmudullah for the team’s first six runs of the innings. After one ball, he gave him a wonderful leg-side shove for a four, extending their fifty-run partnership. To defeat the final four, they needed to win by thirty.
Mustafizur, who was bowling two of those four overs, broke the growing stand with a back-of-length cutter that was sailed over mid-off. It was a good move by Najmul Hossain Shanto to buckle under it, racing back and hanging on to a precarious opportunity. There was just a single run off the over.
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After Airee hit a six over point, Nepal attacked Taskin, but the bowler conceded only one more run in the next five deliveries while also sending Gulsan Jha back. After that, Mustafizur bowled five dots in a row while Airee continued to swing but was unable to make contact. In the penultimate over, Airee managed to edge behind and make a wicket maiden, despite his best efforts to knock the final ball of the over for a single.
Before the match, Shakib Al Hasan had not taken a wicket in the tournament. He took the final two wickets to complete a hat-trick for the side. Additionally, Bangladesh won three games in a T20 World Cup for the first time ever. Tanzid Hasan top-edged a short ball for a return catch to the fast bowler, setting up Sompal Kami to strike first for Nepal, who elected to bowl. In the subsequent over, Airee exploited the captain of Bangladesh’s defence, dismissing Shanto as the following victim.Â
Having been given a third consecutive over, Kami got Litton to top-edge a pull off a short ball that wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh came down to catch. Bangladesh’s top order, who have only scored 122 runs in their four group stage games, had a bad run of form.
Bangladesh finished the powerplay at 31 for 4, stalling after Towhid Hridoy, their strongest batsman in the competition, smashed two fours but top-edged an attempted slog sweep off Paudel.
Together with Shakib, Mahmudullah attempted to rally for Bangladesh by hitting two clean boundaries off Sandeep Lamichhane. However, he was given out for an unsubstantiated run in the ninth over, when the non-striker was bowled out.
Shakib and Jaker Ali attempted to fortify themselves, but Paudel made another breakthrough by getting rid of Shakib. Lamichhane then bowled Tanzim and Jake with incorrect balls, threatening to bowl Bangladesh out before 100 runs.
However, Bangladesh added 31 runs for the final two wickets, thanks to Taskin and Rishad Hossain, to reach 106.
