Tamim Iqbal ton powers Bangladesh past Oman and into World Twenty20 Super 10s

Iqbal’s maiden Twenty20 century helped Bangladesh storm to a resounding 54-run win against Oman while Paul van Meekeren bagged four wickets to help the Netherlands notch up a consolation 12-run win over Ireland.

Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal acknowledges his fifty runs during the ICC World Twenty20 2016 cricket tournament against Oman at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamsala, India,Show more

Dharamsala, India // Tamim Iqbal’s maiden Twenty20 century helped Bangladesh storm into the World T20 Super 10s with a resounding 54-run win against Oman via the Duckworth/Lewis method in the last qualifier in Dharamsala on Sunday.

Put into bat in the knockout encounter, Bangladesh rode on Tamim’s unbeaten 63-ball 103 to post 180 for two.

Oman were restricted to 65 for nine in pursuit of their rain revised target of 120 in 12 overs.

Tamim, who has been in blazing form with scores of 83 and 47 in the first two games, became Bangladesh’s only centurion in T20s.

“The next stage is very important for us. The Pakistan game is very important. I hope I can continue the form. I finally got a hundred, that was due,” said man of the match Tamim.

Read more: World T20 team guides – Complete breakdowns of the Super 10 cricket teams

The left-handed batsman made sure Bangladesh didn’t lose early wickets with the Oman bowlers making the ball move on a moisture-laden track post evening showers.

Making a composed start along with Soumya Sarkar, Tamim switched gears after registering his second fifty of the tournament and there was no looking back.

Tamim, who clobbered 10 fours and five sixes, soon found company in Sabbir Rahman as the duo hit the ball to all parts of the picturesque ground during their 92-run partnership.

Getting plenty of confidence from their batting show, Bangladesh’s bowlers picked up regular wickets to flatten Oman’s rain-hit chase.

The Sultan Ahmed-led side, which mostly consists of Indian and Pakistani expats, never really got going and the two rain interventions during their stop-start chase didn’t help the cause either.

Shakib Al Hasan picked up four wickets while skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain and Sabbir bagged one each.

Bangladesh will now meet hosts India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia in Group 2 of the Super 10s.

Earlier, medium-pacer Paul van Meekeren bagged four wickets to help Netherlands notch up a consolation 12-run win via Duckworth/Lewis method against Ireland.

Invited to bat in the inconsequential group tie, the Dutch made sure their opening show of 59 for five remains untouched after restricting Ireland to 47 for seven.

Monday remains a rest day before India face New Zealand in the main draw opener on Tuesday.

The Netherlands register consolation win against Ireland

Paul van Meekeren bagged four wickets to help Netherlands notch up a consolation 12-run win via Duckworth/Lewis method in their final match of the World T20 in Dharamsala Sunday.

Invited to bat in the inconsequential group tie, the Dutch openers had to wait for more than two and a half hours to take to the field with the rain-affected game reduced to 6-overs-a-side.

Left-hander Stephen Myburgh struck an 18-ball 27 to help Netherlands post 59 for five and the bowlers did well to defend the total.

Medium-pacer Van Meekeren (4-11 from 2 overs) tore into the Irish batting getting good support from left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe, who picked up two scalps, to restrict Ireland to 47 for seven.

“It’s special, I’m not sure if it’s happened yet. We had been preparing for this for the last three weeks, maybe six months, and it worked out well,” said an out-of-breath Van Meekeren after the win.

Both Netherlands and Ireland were hard done by rain abandoned games in their respective second outings after losing their opening matches to Bangladesh and Oman.

Later on Sunday, Bangladesh will fight it out with Oman for a place in the Super 10s.

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