Bangladesh sails into Super10 after Tamim ton
Sabbir was bowled around his legs by Khawar Ali’s leg-spin off the last ball of the 16th over, ending the 97-run second-wicket stand, but there was no end to Bangladesh's run spree. Tamim kept hitting sixes, and went past his century in the 19th over, driving Bilal Khan through mid-off. It was a fitting way to bring up the milestone considering he scored most of his runs down the ground.
Shakib Al Hasan too contributed his share, and Bangladesh ended on a score that proved to be well beyond Oman’s reach.
Oman’s attack wasn’t short of spirit or discipline but lacked the experience. The pitch required them to bowl a number of cutters or slow bouncers, whereas they bowled too full or on a good length. Bilal, though, was an exception, conceding just 16 runs from his four overs.
Oman needed a miracle of sorts from its batsmen, but once Zeeshan Maqsood and Khawar Ali were taken out by Bangladesh’s pacers, the challenge got immeasurably tougher. Jatinder Singh and Adnan Ilyas hung around for a while before rain arrived a little after 10pm, changing the equation to an improbable 111 more needed from nine overs.
Twelve more balls, two more wickets, and another spell of rain changed the equation to 75 more runs needed from 22 balls. Oman combusted after the break handing Shakib – who finished with 4 for 15 - the majority of the wickets.
Eventually though, the group stage ended with the best side going through to the Super 10s.
