Bangladesh needed a combination of luck and solid performances in the ‘do or die’ game against hosts Oman after a shocking loss against Scotland. Bangladesh bowlers were able to put pressure on inexperienced Oman batters and defended a total of 153, winning the match by a comfortable margin of 26 runs in the end.
Dropped catches on both sides
Both the sides were sloppy in the field in a high-voltage encounter. Oman dropped three catches in the first half of Bangladesh’s innings which let go of the pressure created by the two early wickets in the powerplay overs. While opener Liton Das could not make the most of the dropped chances, Mohammad Naim made Oman pay for the two dropped catches as he went on to score 64 and help Bangladesh post a fighting total.
Similarly, Bangladesh fielders gave opener Jatinder Singh and Kashyap Prajapati a second chance in the powerplay overs. The in-form Ludhiana-born Jatinder went on to score 40 whereas Prajapati departed after a 21-run cameo. However, fortunately for Bangladesh, none of the two batters went on to get a big score in the run chase.
Mushfiqur demoted, Bangladesh lose few too many
In a surprising decision, wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim was demoted to no.8. The move did not do Bangladesh any favour as Rahim scored just six runs lower down the order and the ones sent ahead did not make an impact. After Shakib Al Hasan’s wicket in the 14th over, Bangladesh could add 42 more runs to the score and lost seven wickets, bundling out on the last ball of the innings.
Serious pace with new ball
Bilal Khan and Fayyaz Butt were sensational with the new ball. The dropped catches changed the story for Oman but the two bowlers bowled their heart out in the powerplay overs and at the death. Bilal Khan took three wickets and conceded just 18 runs in his four overs. The left-arm pacer took the key wickets of Liton Das, skipper Mahmudullah and later cleaned up tailender Mustafizur Rahman. Butt too took three wickets and helped in keeping the score towards the end.
Oman collapse, Mustafizur-Shakib save the day
The inexperienced middle-order batters of Oman lost the plot in the middle overs and lost their wickets trying to hit every ball out of the park. Oman went from 81/3 in 12th over to 112/9 in the 18th over. They lost six wickets for 31 runs which left the run chase in disarray after a solid start from the top order. Mustafizur got the wickets of opener Aqib Ilyas and a rampant Prajapati with the new ball and then got the tailenders in death overs. On the other hand, the leading wicket-taker in T20Is, Shakib got the wicket of in-form Jatinder and two middle order batters to tilt the game in Bangladesh’s favour.
Road ahead for Bangladesh
The next counter against Papua New Guinea will also be a ‘do or die’ encounter for Mahmudullah’s men. Not only a win will ensure their qualification for Super 12 stage, Bangladesh will look for one with a big margin to better their net run rate which is currently inferior to Scotland and Oman. In case, Oman beat Scotland in their next game, it will all come down to NRR to decide two qualifying teams from Group B.
