Bangladesh packed their side with left-handers to whip lethargic Netherlands by six wickets on Monday and stay in contention for the World Cup quarter-finals. The Dutch were shot out for 160 in 46.2 overs after electing to take first strike on the slow wicket, a target Bangladesh surpassed in the 42nd over with left-handed Imrul Kayes making 73 not out. Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-37, 3-66, 4-79, 5-113, 6-127, 7-127, 8-139, 9-141, 10-160.
Bangladesh's three left-arm spinners shared five of the six wickets to fall to bowlers with Abdur Razzak leading the way with 3-29 in 10 steady overs. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Suhrawadi Shuvo, who was brought in to replace off-spinner Naeem Islam, claimed one wicket apiece.
Kayes put on 92 for the second-wicket with Junaid Siddique (35) after opening partner Tamim Iqbal was bowled by Mudassar Bukhari off the fourth ball of the innings without scoring. Shahriar Nafees, one of the five left-handers at the top of the batting order who replaced right-handed Raqibul Hasan, made 37 in a third-wicket stand of 59 with Kayes.
Kayes, who followed his 60 against England with another half-century, was named man of the match for the second time in a row. Bangladesh joined the West Indies and South Africa on six points, one behind Group B leaders India and a point ahead of England.
A West Indies win over England in Chennai on Thursday will enable Bangladesh ease into the last eight even before their final league match against South Africa in Dhaka on Saturday.
But an unlikely Irish win over the Proteas in Kolkata on Tuesday will once again throw open the quarter-final race from the pool. "It was a nervous win because we had to win to stay in the contest. I thought the boys showed their character and bowled in really good areas and kept the pressure on," said Shakib. A sell-out crowd of 18,000 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium, taking advantage of the public holiday declared for the match in the port city, watched the home side demolish the Dutch.
Ryan ten Doeschate top-scored for the Netherlands with an unbeaten 53, but none of the other batsmen managed 30, six failed to reach double figures and four ran themselves out. Bangladesh, buoyed by their stunning two-wicket win over England on Friday, did not bowl a single wide or no-ball in a disciplined display on the field.
Openers Wesley Barrisi and Eric Szwaraczynski plodded to 28 runs in nine overs, following a tidy opening spell by seamer Shafiul Islam, who conceded just seven runs in his first six overs. Tom Cooper (29) and Szwaraczynski carried the score to 66-2 by the 23rd over when both batsmen were run out in the space of 13 runs to set the Dutch back again.
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The Netherlands
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E. Szwaraczynski run out 28
W. Barresi lbw b Shakib 10
Mudassar Bukhari c Rahim b Razzak 6
T. Cooper run out 29
R. ten Doeschate not out 53
A. Kervezee st Rahim b Shuvo 18
T. de Grooth lbw b Razzak 4
A. Buurman c Kayes b Razzak 0
P. Borren run out 3
P. Seelaar lbw b Rubel 0
Adeel Raja run out 0
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Extras: (lb9) 9
Total (all out, 46.2 overs) 160
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Bowling: Shafiul 9.2-3-15-0, Razzak 10-2-29-3, Shakib 8-0-38-1, Rubel 9-0-36-1, Shuvo 10-1-33-1.
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Bangladesh
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Tamim Iqbal b Bukhari 0
Imrul Kayes not out 73
J. Siddique c Seelaar b Borren 35
Shahriar Nafees b Cooper 37
S.Al Hasan c ten Doeschate b Cooper 1
Mushfiqur Rahim not out 11
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Extras: (b2, lb3, w3, nb1 9
Total (for 4 wkts, 41.2 overs) 166
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Did not bat: Mohammad Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo.
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Tamim), 2-92 (Siddique), 3-151 (Nafees), 4-153 (Shakib).
Bowling: Bukhari 6-2-14-1, Raja 7-0-31-0, ten Doeschate 6-1-30-0 (nb1, 3w), Seelaar 10-1-25-0, Borren 5-0-28-1, Cooper 7.2-2-33-2
Results: Bangladesh won by six wickets
Man of the match: Imrul Kayes (BAN)
Toss: Netherlands Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Rod Tucker (AUS)
TV umpire: Daryl Harper (AUS)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL).