Nasum, Tanzid star in hosts series-clinching win

Bangladesh secured a nine-wicket victory against the Netherlands in the second T20I of the ongoing series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Monday. With this, the hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Like the series-opening contest, Netherlands were put in to bat. Nasum Ahmed struck twice in consecutive deliveries of his opening over. Vikramjit Singh (24 off 17) was the third wicket to fall inside the powerplay. Mustafizur Rahman dismissed captain Scott Edwards (9 off 11) in his first over itself. A couple of wickets fell in the 10th over to leave Netherlands six down.

Kyle Klein (4 off 7) and Paul van Meekeren (3 off 7) were the eighth and ninth wickets to fall. The Dutch were never recovering from such a position and eventually were bundled out with just 103 runs on the board. Mahedi Hasan (1/24 in 3.3 overs) secured his first wicket of the day. Coming in at No. 9, Aryan Dutt top-scored for his team with a 24-ball 30.

The right-arm off-break was frugal with the ball too. He conceded only 14 runs in his four-over spell, but that clearly wasn’t going to hamper the hosts’ chase. Although Bangladesh had not got off to a blistering start, it seemed as if they would end up losing no wicket by the end of the powerplay. However, Parvez Hossain Emon (23 off 21) perished on the third ball of the sixth by edging through to the keeper.

Tanzid Hasan, who was batting at a rate just above a run-a-ball, accelerated in the 12th over. A single to mid-off in the subsequent over brought up his sixth T20I half-century. Bangladesh reached the 100-run mark in 13 overs, as only four runs were required from seven overs with Litton Das and Tanzid at the crease.

A whack towards the vacant long-on region sealed the series for the Bangla Tigers. Nasum Ahmed was awarded the Player of the Match as he took a brilliant three-wicket haul, giving away just 21 runs in his match-winning spell in the first innings. Skipper Litton Das too had contributions from his end, as he added the finishing touch with his run-a-ball 18.

“It is nice to win the first match of a series, as it gives you the opportunity to test your bench strength. We did that, and it paid off. And because we’re preparing for the Asia Cup, this is a crucial win for us. We’ll try to build our team day by day. It’s a good sign that whoever comes into the team, they deliver on their job. At the end of the day, if you win, everything will be fine,” Litton reflected on the win.

The third and final match of the series will be played at the same venue on Wednesday, September 3, as the Litton & Co. will look to whitewash the Scott Edwards-led side.

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