T20 World Cup: Mahmudullah, Shakib power Bangladesh to 181-7 against PNG

Apart from Mahmudullah and Shakib, the likes of Liton Das (29) and Afif Hossain (21) also made valuable contributions with the bat.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Bangladesh lost the wicket of Mohammad Naim (0) in the second ball of the innings. Left-arm pacer Kabua Morea bowled a half-volley on the leg stump but Naim picked Sese Bau outside the ring to get out.

The second-wicket pair of Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das took about an over to get settled before going for big hits. Das got on one knee to slog sweep over the fine-leg boundary, before Shakib sent one over long on. They ran well and hit boundaries as well to ensure Bangladesh's best powerplay score of the tournament, reaching 45/1 in the first six overs.

Assad Vala finally broke the 50 run stand by getting rid of Das (29), who was caught in the deep as Bau ran in from the boundary to claim a good low catch. While Shakib continued to be the steadying factor for the team, he didn't get much support from Mushfiqur Rahim (5), who hit a pull shot straight to Hiri Hiri in the deep, leaving Bangladesh at 72/3 after 10.2 overs.

From there, Mahmudullah and Shakib rotated strike regularly and kept the scoreboard ticking. They added 29 runs for the 4th wicket before Shakib (46) got out courtesy a stunning catch by Charles Amini.

All eyes were on Mahmudullah after Shakib's wicket and the Bangladesh captain didn't disappoint his team. He became more aggressive with each delivery and scored a quickfire 50 off 28 before getting out in the 18th over.

In the last four overs, Afif Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin dealt in boundaries and sixes and took Bangladesh to 181-7 in 20 overs.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 181-7 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 50, Shakib Al Hasan 46; Kabua Morea 2/26) against Papua New Guinea

--IANS

avn/bsk

( 387 Words)

2021-10-21-17:44:03 (IANS)