After a shocking defeat to Scotland in the T20WC opener, the Bangla tigers defeated Papua New Guinea by 84 runs in the Group B Round One fixture at Al Amerat stadium to seal their spot in the Super 12 stage. They hammered Papua New Guinea by 84 runs in their third Round One fixture at Al Amerat on October 21.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah were the impact performers for Bangladesh, who scored 46 & 50, respectively, to take the team to a big total of 181/7. PNG stood no chance to chase it down as Shakib ran through their middle order with 4/9, bundling them to just 97.
As it happened, Mahmudullah won the toss and decided to bat first. Bangladesh were rocked back straightaway as Mohammad Naim was dismissed for a two-ball duck. Liton Das and Shakib then put on a 50-run partnership for the second wicket in seven overs before Das holed out at deep midwicket on 29 off 23. Mushfiqur Rahim continued his poor run of form, getting out for 5 off 8.
Mahmudullah joined hands with Shakib and gave the innings a momentum with a partnership of 29 runs from 20 balls. Shakib’s knock of 46 off 37 ended by a superb catch by Charles Amini at long-on. Mahmudullah blasted the PNG bowlers to all corners, scoring 50 off just 28. Afif Hossain (21 off 14) and Mohammad Saifuddin (19* off 6) gave Bangladesh a late surge to reach 181/7.
Chasing a huge target, Papua New Guinea lost four wickets for 14 runs inside five overs. That includes Shakib’s double strike in the fifth over, dismissing Amini and Simon Atai. Soon they were reduced to 29/7 in 10.3 overs and were completely out of the contest. Kiplin Doriga scored 46* off 34 to recover some sort of respectability.
Al Hasan picked 4/14 while Saifuddin and Taskin Ahmed picked two wickets each.
Scotland’s victory in the evening fixture meant that Bangladesh had to settle for the second spot in Group B. They will join Group 1 comprising Australia, South Africa, England and West Indies in the Super 12s.
Brief Scores
Bangladesh – 181/7 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 50, Al Hasan 46; Morea 2/26, Vala 2/26)
Papua New Guinea – 97 in 19.3 overs (Doriga 46; Al Hasan 4/9, Ahmed 2/12)
