Bangladesh down Oman to stay alive in T20 World Cup

Bangladesh beat Oman by 26 runs to keep their hopes alive in the T20 World Cup 2021, after suffering a loss to Scotland in their opening game.

Bangladesh got off to a rocky start, after skipper Mahmudullah won the toss and opted to bat first, after losing the early wicket of Lation Das in the third over which shifted the momentum towards Oman.

Oman bowlers kept Bangladesh in check but Mohammad Naeem and Shakib Al Hasan showed resistance to put on an 80-run partnership stand.

Shakib hit 42 off 29 balls before being run out through a sharp direct throw by Aqib Ilyas. Mohammad Naeem, who replaced Soumya Sarkar from the side that suffered a shock loss to Scotland, survived two dropped catches on 18 and 26 to go on and raise his third T20 half-century.

Following the dismissal of both Shakib and Naeem, Bangladesh's progress halted and were put under pressure by Oman's Fayyaz Butt and Bilal Khan.

Bilal Khan, Fayyaz Butt both picked up three wickets each while Kaleemullah dismissed two players to help restrict Bangladesh to a manageable total.

In return, Oman showed courage and looked all set to knock Bangladesh out of the tournament with opener Jatinder Singh leading the charge.

Similar to Bangladesh, Oman made the task of chasing 154 even more difficult when they lost in-form Aqib Ilyas for six runs in the second over, followed by Prajapati (21 off 18) in the sixth over. Both wickets were taken by pacer Mustafizur Rahman.

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Jatinder Singh (40) and captain Zeeshan Maqsood (12) provided some stability while also putting runs on the board but their efforts were all in vain.

Shakib Al Hasan stepped up for Bangladesh when the team needed him as he removed Jatinder Singh, coupled with two wickets in his final over. The left-armer ended with figures of 3/28.

The late flurry of wickets meant that Oman were restricted to 127 for 9 from the 20 overs.

Mahedi Hasan kept things tight by leaking only 14 runs from his four overs whereas Mustafizur Rehman picked up four wickets.