Bangladesh clinched a tense 21-run victory over Nepal to advance to the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup. Nepal, in pursuit of a modest target of 107, fell short despite a spirited effort, as Bangladesh’s bowlers capitalized on early breakthroughs.
Bangladesh’s seamer Tanzim Hasan was the standout performer, taking 4-7 to reduce Nepal to 26-5. Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee provided resistance with a knock of 31, keeping his team in the hunt. However, with 23 runs needed from 17 balls, Mustafizur Rahman delivered a crucial wicket maiden in the 19th over, effectively sealing the win for Bangladesh.
Despite a poor batting display from Bangladesh, where they collapsed to 30-4 in the powerplay, a late surge from Taskin Ahmed and Rishad Hossain pushed their total over 100. Bangladesh’s bowlers then exploited the pitch conditions, offering turn and bounce for spinners and seam movement for pacers, to defend the lowest total in men’s T20 World Cup history. The victory eliminated the Netherlands from the tournament, who later suffered an 83-run defeat to Sri Lanka.
