Bangladesh beats Netherlands for first win in T20 World Cup

HOBART, Australia (AP) — Taskin Ahmed took wickets with the first two balls of the innings to set Bangladesh on course for a nine-run win over Netherlands in Group 2 on Monday and its first victory in the Super 12 round of the Twenty20 World Cup.


Bangladesh was sent in to bat and made a rapid start before being restricted to 8-144 in cold, overcast conditions in the southern city of Hobart in its first game of the tournament.


Fast bowler Taskin added two more wickets to his first-over damage to return 4-25 as Netherlands was bowled out for 135. Colin Ackermann played a lone hand for the Dutch batting lineup, posting a defiant 62 from 48.


It was Bangladesh’s first win in 17 games in the second round of a T20 World Cup.


“It was very important to get a win,” said Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, the 35-year-old allrounder who has been involved in every edition of the world T20 event. “From 2007, I’ve played all of them and never won. That was back of our minds.


“We were a little nervous with the bat,” but the bowling was excellent, he said. “We’ve got a very good group of fast bowlers now. Taskin has been the leading fast bowler for us the last two or three years.”


Bangladesh started aggressively, with Najmul Shanto (25 off 20 deliveries) and Soumya Sarkar (14) combining for a 43-run opening stand before both were dismissed within seven balls.


Fast bowler Paul van Meekeren (2-21) struck first and left-arm spinner Tim Pringle, the son of former New Zealand international Chris Pringle, took the second wicket to peg Bangladesh back to 47-2 in 6.1 overs.


Litton Das was caught off Logan van Beek’s bowling and Bangladesh slumped to 63-4 when 19-year-old spinner Shariz Ahmad had veteran Shakib Al Hasan well caught on the mid-wicket boundary to pick up his first T20 World Cup wicket.


After losing 4-20, Bangladesh rebuilt the innings through Afif Hossain, who top scored with 38 off 27 balls, and Musaddek Hossain, who finished unbeaten on 20 off 12.


The run chase couldn’t have started much worse for the Dutch, with Taskin taking wickets on the first and second balls before Ackermann clipped the hat-trick ball for three runs.


Vikramjit Singh edged the first ball to Yasir Ali, who just got his fingers under it at first slip as he lunged forward. Bas de Leede reached for the next ball and was caught behind.


The Dutch slumped to 15-4 after a pair of runouts in the fourth over.


Opener Max O’Dowd (8) hit the first ball from Shakib’ for six but was run out on the next delivery after a mix-up with Ackermann as he turned to take a second run.


Some excellent outfield work by Shanto, first to save a boundary and then to fire back a throw which bounced once to the wicketkeeper, saw Tom Cooper well out of his ground as he ran to the striker’s end.


Even Cooper, who was out without facing a ball, held up his pointer finger to indicate he was out as he lay on the ground awaiting the decision.


A brief revival in the form of a 44-run fifth-wicket stand ended when Netherlands captain Scott Edwards (16) was caught trying a reverse paddle sweep in the 12th over.


From that point, only a brief break for rain and some late hitting from the lower order delayed the inevitable.


Ackermann was the next-to-last wicket to fall, chasing quick runs in an almost impossible victory pursuit and being caught on the deep square leg boundary off Taskin’s bowling.


Netherlands won back-to-back to start the preliminary round last week before losing to 2014 champion Sri Lanka and advancing in second place from the qualifying group.


Zimbabwe, which topped the other qualifying group, won the toss and opted to bat first against South Africa in a night game delayed by rain.


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