Al Amerat (Oman): Riding on fighting knocks by Mohammad Naim (64 off 50) and Shakib Al Hasan (42 off 29), Bangladesh posted a total of 153-10 against Oman in the 6th match of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground, on Tuesday.
Apart from Naim and Shakib, only Mahmudullah (17) was able to cross the double-digit mark in Bangladesh's innings.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Bangladesh was off to a poor start as they lost the wickets of Liton Das (6) and Mahedi Hasan (0) cheaply. While Das was dismissed by Bilal Khan in the 3rd over, Fayyaz Butt got rid of Hasan in the 5th over as Bangladesh limped to 29/2.
Two quick wickets in the powerplay forced Mohammad Naim and Shakib Al Hasan to have a cautious approach with the bat. The pair rotated the strike regularly and hit occasional boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Naim, who was drafted into the playing XI for this game, got two lives in two overs. The first time he was dropped by Jatinder Singh, who parried the ball over for a six, then by Kashyap Prajapati. Riding their luck, Bangladesh managed to revive the innings, as they went into the drinks break at 63/2.
In the next three overs, Bangladesh scored 35 runs, with Naim and Shakib both taking the attack to the Oman bowlers. It took a moment of brilliance from Aaqib Ilyas whose direct hit caught a well-set Shakib short of his crease. Nurul Hasan, who came to bat next, didn't last long as he holed out in the deep to Sandeep Goud.
Naim, at the other end, punished the Oman bowler and got to a half-century with a thumping four. But, unfortunately, with wickets falling at the other end, he was running out of partners at the other end and got out trying to accelerate the scoring.
After Naim's wicket, Bangladesh's lower order didn't contribute much. Oman was brilliant in the death overs, giving away just 33 runs while scalping six wickets to skittle Bangladesh out for 153 in 20 overs.
Fayyaz Butt and Bilal Khan were the most successful of the bowlers with three wickets each while Kaleemullah picked two.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 153-10 in 20 overs (Mohammad Naim 64 off 50, Shakib Al Hasan 42 off 29; Bilal Khan 3/18) against Oman