Bangladesh heaved a huge sigh of relief as they won their first match of the Super 12 round of the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup against the Netherlands at Bellerive Oval Monday.
Considering the fact that Bangladesh have won only one match in the group stage or main event in the entire seven editions of T20 World Cup history and with poor form in this format in recent months, there was a fear in the back of the mind that the Tigers could stumble against the Dutch amid windy Hobart conditions.
But despite a middle-order hiccup after being sent in to bat first, Bangladesh bowlers held their nerve, alongside some great help from the fielders, to defeat their counterparts by nine runs and secure a good start in the event.
Rain and overcast conditions were constant threats before the game but it started on time as the Netherlands elected to field, expectedly under cloudy weather.
After so many experiments in the last few months with the opening combination, Bangladesh team management opted for Soumya Sarkar-Nazmul Hossain Shanto pair for the first game of this T20 World Cup.
The pair put on 43 runs for the opening stand and it was for the first time in 30 innings that the Bangladesh openers scored over 40.
Just when things were looking good for Bangladesh, the batting order crumbled and within 20 minutes the Dutch were on top with four wickets from the sixth to the 10th over.
For a brief moment, the Tigers camp looked nervous as Soumya (14), Shanto (25), Liton Das (nine) and Shakib al Hasan (seven) all departed inside 10 overs.
In the very next over, Yasir Ali's stumps were blown away by pacer Paul van Meekeren and it looked like Yasir misjudged the line of the ball and a little bit late to play his shot.
Five wickets were down after 11 overs with just 76 runs on the board, and the Tigers were on the verge of big trouble.
Also Read: Taskin holds discipline over hat-trick
But Afif Hossain played a crucial innings of 38 off 27 deliveries to lift the Tigers from the brink as Bangladesh crawled towards a moderate total.
A little cameo from Mosaddek Hossain (20 off 12) in the last few overs somehow gave them a defendable total considering the tricky pitch and conditions.
The Tigers needed early wickets to create pressure on the Netherlands and pace spearhead Taskin Ahmed produced a dream start by not only taking a wicket in the first ball but taking another in the second ball as well.
So just after two balls, the Dutch were already on the backfoot and they could not manage to recover from those early blows.
Colin Ackermann was the lone fighter for the Netherlands as the right-hander struck an impressive 62 off 48 balls with six fours and two sixes.
But Taskin got his wicket in the 17th over which dented the Netherlands' hope.
The Netherlands were nine down for 101 when Ackermann got out and later their last wicket partnership reduced the margin of defeat significantly.
Dutch No 11 Van Meekeren scored some quick runs and in the last over, 24 runs were required.
Shakib gave the responsibility of defending 24 to medium pacer Soumya and at one stage 18 were needed from the last three balls to clinch a famous victory for the Netherlands and Van Meekeren smashed a low full-toss over deep fine leg to stay alive in the game.
But Soumya had the last laugh as Van Meekeren was caught at deep mid-wicket while trying to clear the boundary and Bangladesh managed a nine-run victory.
Bangladesh should have finished the game much earlier as the Netherlands were 101/9 but in the end it was a much needed victory for the Tigers to kickstart the tournament.
