T20 World Cup: Mahmudullah, Shakib power Bangladesh to 181-7 against PNG

Al Amerat (Oman), Oct. 21 (IANS): Riding on a quickfire fifty by skipper Mahmudullah (50 off 28) and a vital knock by Shakib Al Hasan (46 off 37), Bangladesh posted a total of 181/7 against Papua New Guinea in the 9th match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at Al Amerat Cricket Ground, here on Thursday.

Apart from Mahmudullah and Shakib, the likes of Liton Das (29) and AfifHossain (21) also made valuable contributions with the bat.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Bangladesh lost the wicket of Mohammad Naim (0) in the second ball of the innings. Left-arm pacer KabuaMorea bowled a half-volley on the leg stump but Naim picked SeseBau outside the ring to get out.

The second-wicket pair of Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das took about an over to get settled before going for big hits. Das got on one knee to slog sweep over the fine-leg boundary, before Shakib sent one over long on. They ran well and hit boundaries as well to ensure Bangladesh’s best powerplay score of the tournament, reaching 45/1 in the first six overs.

Assad Vala finally broke the 50 run stand by getting rid of Das (29), who was caught in the deep as Bau ran in from the boundary to claim a good low catch. While Shakib continued to be the steadying factor for the team, he didn’t get much support from Mushfiqur Rahim (5), who hit a pull shot straight to HiriHiri in the deep, leaving Bangladesh at 72/3 after 10.2 overs.

From there, Mahmudullah and Shakib rotated strike regularly and kept the scoreboard ticking. They added 29 runs for the 4th wicket before Shakib (46) got out courtesy a stunning catch by Charles Amini.

All eyes were on Mahmudullah after Shakib’s wicket and the Bangladesh captain didn’t disappoint his team. He became more aggressive with each delivery and scored a quickfire 50 off 28 before getting out in the 18th over.

In the last four overs, AfifHossain and Mohammad Saifuddin dealt in boundaries and sixes and took Bangladesh to 181-7 in 20 overs.