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Bangladesh 153 (Naim 64, Shakib 42, Bilal 3-18, Butt 3-30) beat Oman 127 for 9 (Jatinder 40, Mustafizur 4-36, Shakib 3-28) by 26 runs
Muscat: Bangladesh live to fight another day after coming out on top in the must-win encounter against Oman in the fourth Group B match in Round 1 of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.
Favourites to top Group B ahead of the tournament, Bangladesh found themselves in a must-win situation in order to remain in contention to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
Counter-attacking innings from Mohammad Naim and Shakib al Hasan after two early wickets ensured Bangladesh put up a challenging total on board. Naim, who got a couple of reprieves, made Oman pay with a half-century on his T20 World Cup debut.
With the ball, Bangladesh wrestled control back after Oman started brightly in the first 10 overs. Needing 84 to win off the last four, the co-hosts faltered at a crucial juncture in the game and eventually fell short by 26 runs as the Tigers put their first points on board.
Defending 154 to stay in the tournament, Bangladesh bowlers were wayward at the start of the innings, giving away nine extras in the first two overs. Mustafizur Rahman made up for it with the wicket of Aaqib Ilyas in the second over, trapping him plumb in front of the stumps.
Jatinder Singh and Kashyap Prajapati made full use of the fielding restrictions and kept the scoreboard ticking. Prajapati survived two dropped catches, with Mustafizur Rahman and Mahmud Ullah at fault for the chances.
However, Mustafizur returned for the last over of the Powerplay and scalped Prajapati for 21, redeeming himself after the dropped catch.
Jatinder Singh continued to attack even after the first six overs, hitting Shakib for a six and a four off consecutive balls.
Oman’s chase was derailed after the drinks break with two wickets falling in two overs. Mahedi Hasan broke the 34-run stand between Jatinder Singh and Zeeshan Maqsood with the Oman skipper holing out in the deep to a great diving catch by Mustafizur.
In the very next over, the pendulum swing Bangladesh’s way when the well-set Jatinder Singh timed the slog sweep to perfection but straight to the hands of Liton Das at deep square leg.
A couple of quiet overs from Bangladesh bowlers pushed the asking rate over 10 for the last five overs. With the pressure mounting, Oman buckled and lost three wickets in the next two overs, with Sandeep Goud, Ayaan Khan and Naseem Khushi all departing for single-digit scores.
Back into the attack, picked up two more wickets and eventually finished with figures of 4/36. Oman batted out the 20 overs but fell short by 26 runs after it looked at one point that they would be cruising to a win.
