Posted by Game 9 of the T20 World Cup, Papua New Guinea were up against Bangladesh. Bangladesh in a must win game with the bat were explosive and with a strong 181 put PNG under pressure to accelerate straightaway and having failed to do so saw a horror collapse as Bangladesh bag a comprehensive win.
Bangladesh won the toss and opt to bat. BANGLADESH’S XI : Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Mahedi Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan(wk), Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah(C), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S XI : Lega Siaka, Assad Vala(C), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, Simon Atai, Hiri Hiri, Norman Vanua, Kiplin Doriga(wk), Chad Soper, Kabua Morea, Damien Ravu.
Bangladesh lost an early wicket in Naim on 0(2) and Kabua Morea struck the early wicket. Shakib Al Hasan joined Liton Das, they hung in there and settled in before launching a few boundaries and got Bangladesh a couple big overs to end powerplay on 45-1. Skipper, Assad Vala got himself into the attack and picked up a wicket straightaway as Liton Das on a fine 29(23) made his way back and the 50 run stand saw curtains. The flow of boundaries and runs didn’t stop and with a few big overs Bangladesh got to 71-2 at halfway stage. Not much from Mushfiqur as on 5(8) he made his way back and Mahmudullah was in early and joined a set Shakib and guided Bangladesh past the 100 run mark in the 14th over but Shakib was next to depart after a few good overs on 46(37). Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain got momentum back with Bangladesh, a quick fire from Mahmudullah that saw him get to his brilliant half century of just 27 balls but was next to depart. 150 was on board for Bangladesh in the 18th over as Afif Hossain continued to attack but his fiery cameo of 21(14) saw curtains. Bangladesh did get the finsih they would have wished for as Saifuddin smashed 16 in last 3 delivers of the innings that saw Bangladesh post a massive 181 on board. Saifuddin remained unbeaten on 18(6).
Papua New Guinea with the ball were very disappointing as they let momentum drift a several times. Kabua Morea in his 4, Charles Amini in his 2 and Simon Atai in his 1 were the economical bowlers and Simon Atai bagged 1 and Morea had a couple to his name. Damien Ravu in his 4 and Assad Vala in his 3 had a couple each to their name but were expensive. Chad Soper in his 4 and Sese Bau in his 2 were wicketless and expensive.
Papua New Guinea chasing a big total saw a collapse upfront as Saifuddin in the 3rd over trapped Lega Siaka lbw on 5(10) and Taskin Ahmed from the other end picked up Assad Vala on 6(9), was a maiden over wicket. Great captaincy from Mahmudullah as he got Shakib into the attack and PNG lost a couple in that over as Charles Amini on 1(2) and Simon Atai on 0(2) made their way back. A very poor powerplay for PNG as that they end on 17-4. PNG hanged in a bit, 3 silent overs before Shakib picked up Sese Bau on 7(21) and Mahedi Hasan joined the wickets column as Norman on 0(2) walked back. PNG at halfway stage were 28-6. Shakib bowling his final over picked up a wicket more as Hiri Hiri on 8(15) made his way back. From 11-1 to 29-7 PNG lost it a big way. Chad Soper and Kiplin Doriga finally manage to get some runs and boundaries delaying Bangladesh’s celebration. Bangladesh got the breakthrough wicket as Chad Soper on 11(12) walked back and the 25 run stand saw curtains. Good couple of overs for PNG, Kiplin gave it back to Bangladesh but Kabua Morea on 3(6) was ran out and yet another 26 run partnership saw curtains. Kiplin was batting beautifully and Ravu the last wicket was in the middle, the latter struck a boundary but with 3 balls to spare walked back on 5(5) and agony for Kiplin Doriga who remained unbeaten on 46(34), deserved the 4. Bangladesh bowled PNG out for 97 in 19.3 overs of play and with a comprehensive 84 run win book a spot in the Super 12.
Bangladesh in 10 overs reduced PNG to 28-6 and could have had the win early but Kiplin Doriga and Chad Soper delayed the win. Mustafizur was the only one on show who received some treatment and was wicketless in his 4. Mohmaad Saifuddin and Mahedi Hasan in their 4 bowled with good economy rate bagged a couple and 1 wicket respectively. Taskin Ahmed and Shakib Al Hasan were the standouts, Taskin Ahmed in his 3.3 with economy of 3.4 bagged a couple of wickets and Shakib in his 4 with economy of 2.2 had 4 wickets to his name.
Bangladesh with the bat saw key innings from Shakib and Liton Das that provided the lower middle order with a set platform to attack and then came Mahmudullah’s 50, cameos from Afif and Saifuddin to finish strong. Bangladesh with the back broke PNG’s back early and then was just the wait for Bangladesh to bag 10. Promises were big but PNG have been an upset in the tournament but hopefully have learnt a lot to work on before next appearance.
Bureau of sports 