Following their win against Netherlands by 25 runs in the T20 World Cup 2024 match at Kingstown on Thursday, June 13, Bangladesh have now inched closer to securing a spot for the Super 8 phase.
The star of the match for them was their all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who top scored with 64 runs, which took Bangladesh to 159/5 in their 20 overs. In the second innings, they managed to restrict the Netherlands to just 134/8, winning the match by 25 runs.
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Mustafizur Rahman's economical spell (1/12 in 4 overs) and leg spinner Rishad Hossain's (3/33) crucial wickets in the middle to late overs, helped Bangladesh defend the score successfully.
Shakib, who was the Player of the Match against Netherlands, was earlier criticized by former India cricketer Virender Sehwag, who made sarcastic remarks against the Bangladesh allrounder.
What did Virender Sehwag say about Shakib Al Hasan?
Shakib Al Hasan had scores of 8(14) and 3(4) combined with zero wickets in his first two games against Sri Lanka and South Africa, respectively.
Following Bangladesh's loss against South Africa, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag made an overly critical set of comments against the allrounder. Speaking to Cricbuzz, he said:
"During the last World Cup, I thought he [Shakib] should no longer be picked for the T20 format. His time for retirement came a long time ago. You are such a senior player; you were the captain of this team. You should actually be ashamed of your recent numbers. You should come forward and announce yourself that enough is enough, I'm retiring from this format."
Shakib has a disastrous performance in the last ODI World Cup 2023 in India, particularly with the bat and Sehwag was not happy that he chose to play and bat at Number 4 in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
| Innings | Runs | Batting Average | 50+ scores |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 186 | 26.57 | 1 |
However, Shakib's match-winning inning of 64 runs off 46 balls against the Netherlands came in the very next match following these comments by Sehwag. Moreover, the inning came at such a crucial moment in the tournament, which could very well have helped Bangladesh to secure a spot for the Super Eights.
When asked to comment on Sehwag's statement after the match against Netherlands, Shakib quipped with a sarcastic, "Who?"
Shakib Owning Sehwag😭😭 pic.twitter.com/rYwwYQKo0h
— Zain (@KohlisBalls) June 13, 2024
Can Bangladesh qualify for the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup 2024?
Points Table (Group B)
| Team | Matches | Won | Lost | NR/Tie | Points | NRR |
| South Africa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.603 |
| Bangladesh | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.478 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -0.408 |
| Nepal | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -0.539 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -0.777 |
Following their win against third placed Netherlands, Bangladesh are not only in prime position to finish in the top-two of Group D but are also likely to qualify for the Super Eight from the group, along with South Africa.
Bangladesh has a superior Net Run Rate (NRR) advantage over Netherlands and a win or a tie (washout) in their next game against Nepal, where they will be favourites, should see them through to the next stage of the tournament.
Bangladesh will play their final group stage game against Nepal at Kingstown on Monday, June 17.
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