Shakib guides Bangladesh to victory over Netherlands
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Published
Bangladesh took a big step towards qualification for the T20 World Cup Super 8s stage as they beat the Netherlands by 25 runs in St Vincent.
Shakib Al Hasan struck an unbeaten 64 from 46 balls to guide his side to 159, rebuilding the innings after they lost two early wickets to the bowling of Aryan Dutt.
In reply, the Dutch initially kept up with the required run-rate, with Vikram Singh hitting three sixes in a spirited 26 before being stumped by Litton Das.
Young leg-spinner Rishad Hossain then took the wickets of Sybrand Engelbrecht and Bas de Leede in the 15th over to stall the chase at 111-5, with the Netherlands making just 23 runs from the final five overs.
The win sees Bangladesh move two points clear of their opponents in Group D, knowing a win against Nepal on Monday (01:30 BST) will definitely secure their place in the second round.
The Dutch must hope that Bangladesh lose that fixture, and that they can win and achieve a big run-rate swing against bottom-placed Sri Lanka.