Both sides lost their opening group games; Mohammad Naim (64) - dropped twice - and Shakib Al Hasan (42) had a key partnership of 77; Jatinder Singh (40) led the chase but Shakib bowled cleverly; watch T20 World Cup live in full on Sky Sports until November 14
Wednesday 20 October 2021 09:05, UK
Bangladesh endured some nervy moments but eventually overcame plucky underdogs Oman in a raucous atmosphere at the Al Amerat Stadium in Muscat on Tuesday afternoon.
After a slow start, recalled Bangladesh opener Mohammad Naim recovered from being dropped twice to make 64 from 50, most of which accumulated in a stand of 77 with the talismanic Shakib Al Hasan (42 from 29), which helped the Tigers reach 153 despite a flurry of late wickets.
The tournament's current leading run-scorer Jatinder Singh struck a confident 40 but the side could not muster a partnership of more than 34 as underdogs Oman collapsed in sweltering conditions in the capital city.
Moments after opener Litton Das received an early reprieve, dropped by Kashyap Prajapati, Bilal Khan trapped him lbw to roared celebrations, and an acrobatic Fayyaz Butt caught and bowled helped the pumped-up hosts restrict Bangladesh to 29-2 at the end of the six-over powerplay.
Singh squandered a presentable catching chance, though, parrying Naim's loose cut over the boundary rope for six, before Prajapati spared Naim once again, shelling a punchy pull and allowing the opener to build an eventually decisive 77 partnership with Shakib.
That pair then accelerated smartly, walloping 17 off an over from 39-year-old Mohammad Nadeem, but Oman wrested back momentum with a superb run out by Aaqib Ilyas, poleaxing the stumps to dismiss Shakib, who bizarrely seemed to slow down as he tried to reach his ground.
The reinvigorated home side then held on to a couple of skied mishits, keeping Bangladesh to just north of 150 thanks to taking seven wickets for the final 41 runs.
Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Ilyas with a nicely shaped inswinger, but also bowled five wides and was hit for six by Prajapati in his eleven-ball first over as Oman raced out of the blocks to reach 47-2 at the powerplay's close, not helped by missed catches from Mustafizur and, especially, captain Mahmudullah.
The clean-striking Singh after Mahmudullah's profligate drop, on his second life, creamed Shakib for four and then drove him over deep extra cover for a wonderfully bold maximum, but the classy all-rounder eventually saw him well caught by Liton Das for 40 from 33.
While most teams speed up towards the end of their innings, controlled Bangladesh bowling in the middle overs, particularly from Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin, saw Oman's innings stall; their second 50 runs taking 52 balls after the first came in 44.
The Tigers took regular wickets to stifle the chase, with two in two balls from Shakib - amid five for just 11 runs - notably damaging, Oman eventually finishing 26 runs short as they will be left to rue the poor fielding which saw Naim given numerous opportunities before racking up a big score.
Bilal Khan - The slingy, threatening left-armer set the tone at the start of the innings, straitjacketing both openers, mixing his deliveries up imaginatively and eventually ending with creditable figures of 3-18.
Jatinder Singh - The opener showed no fear of the more illustrious Bangladesh bowlers, asserting his dominance over Shakib before eventually falling to the 34-year-old. Had he stayed until the end to anchor Oman they would have had a chance.
Mohammad Naim - Sure, if Oman had better hands he could have gone much sooner. But he came through a tough initial period and was the match's top scorer by a long way, dominating in the partnership which proved fatal to Oman's hopes.
Mohammad Saifuddin and Mahedi Hasan - Their combined eight overs went for just 30 runs, with a wicket apiece. Excellent bowling.
When 28-year-old Pakistan-born medium-fast bowler Butt was dreaming about his World Cup debut, even he probably couldn't have hoped for a better start.
Dot ball, dot ball, wicket. Number three Mahedi Hasan didn't properly get hold of the strike but it was still going at a fair rate of knots back towards Butt.
He flung himself in the air and hung on to it, putting Bangladesh two down at a crucial point in the match.
Up next, England face New Zealand in their final tournament warm-up on Wednesday, looking to take some good form into the Super 12s.
In Group A, Ireland will look to build on their opening win over Holland against 2014 champions Sri Lanka on Wednesday, with Namibia and Netherlands facing off earlier that day.
Scotland can wrap up qualification for the Super 12s with victory against Oman on Thursday afternoon, while The Tigers of Bangladesh take on Papua New Guinea in the morning.
Watch the T20 World Cup live on Sky between now and November 14. England face New Zealand on Wednesday from 11am on Sky Sports Main Event, with Namibia v Netherlands (Sky Sports Mix from 10.30am) and Sri Lanka v Ireland (Sky Sports Main Event from 2.30pm) also on Wednesday.
Scotland are back in action against Oman on Thursday on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 2.30pm, with Bangladesh facing Papua New Guinea on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10.30am earlier that day.
