Bangladesh confirmed a berth in the Super 10 round of the 2016 World Twenty20 after defeating Oman by 54 runs (Duckworth/Lewis method) in their third and final qualifier yesterday. The Tigers finished at the summit of Group A following two wins in three matches.
Bangladesh will now fly off to Kolkata via Delhi today and undergo a practice session on the same day before taking on Pakistan at Eden Gardens in their first Super 10 game this Wednesday. Hosts India, New Zealand and Australia are the other three teams in the group.
Bangladesh had all the elements in place to win the game against Oman. Riding on opening batsman Tamim Iqbal’s maiden T20I hundred, the Tigers had posted 180 runs for the loss of two wickets to break Oman’s confidence.
Later, the Bangladesh bowlers kept picking up wickets at regular intervals only to be interrupted in their pursuit of a quick win by rain. Oman’s innings was disturbed twice due to rain, thus presenting the Associate side with two revised targets. The confusing and tough chase was never met as the Bangladesh cricketers left the field with a bright smile on their faces, having restricted the minnows to just 65/9. Left-arm spinner Shakib al Hasan led the pack with four scalps in three overs giving away only 15 runs.
Earlier, opener Tamim’s first T20I hundred, complemented by Sabbir Rahman’s 26-ball 44 saw Bangladesh dominate the Oman bowlers in a must-win fixture.
Tamim’s unbeaten 103 off 63 balls is the maiden hundred in the format for a Bangladesh batsman. The southpaw also emerged as the first Tigers batsman to score 1000 runs in T20Is. The milestone was reached in his 49th innings.
With 233 runs in three matches, Tamim is now the highest scorer in the 2016 World T20 while yesterday’s century is also the first ton in the sixth edition of the global showpiece event.
Both Bangladesh and Oman needed to win the game in order to move to the Super 10 round. But it was the Tigers who elevated themselves to the driving seat, frustrating the opposition bowlers for the majority of the innings on their way to a huge total.
The start was slow as openers Tamim and Soumya Sarkar initially took time to settle down, scoring only 24 runs in the first five overs. Soumya had struggled in this match too but had put enough effort to let the in-form Tamim do his job.
Soumya soon departed after scoring 12 runs in 22 deliveries. The dismissal though enabled the Bangladesh innings to gain some momentum as Sabbir joined Tamim in the middle. The duo posted 97 runs for the second wicket in 9.1 overs at an average of 10.65 runs per over. Sabbir was going strong until he was dismissed on 44 while trying to sweep, only to be clean bowled by Khawar Ali.
Tamim then partnered Shakib and added 41 runs in four overs for the unbroken third wicket stand.
Shakib remained undefeated on a nine-ball 17 with the help of two boundaries and a six. The innings might have been a small one but should come as a relief to Shakib and the Bangladesh team as the batsman has been struggling in recent times.
Tamim was clearly the star of the show as he entertained a handsome number of weekend fans in Dharamsala. The Chittagong lad hammered 10 exquisite boundaries and five huge sixes and left the field with a number of records to his credit.
