|| CF DESK ||

Shakib Al Hasan, who returned to form with a masterful 64* off 46, applauded bowlers for defending the total of 160 against Netherlands at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown.

Shakib grabbed the player of the match award earlier negated the Netherland's short ball challenge pretty well and showed his range against spin by hitting boundaries off the back foot and skipping down the track.

A double strike from Rishad Hossain and a masterclass in death-over bowling by Mustafizur Rahman secured a crucial 25-run victory over the Dutch, who were chasing 160 runs.

“It was important for someone from top-four to bat through the innings. Happy to contribute. It was a tough pitch at the start, we held our nerves. Was a challenging total, not a winning one, but bowlers chipped in perfectly. Rishad and Fizz took it away from Netherlands. Hardly any international game was played in the last 4-5 years here. So, we didn't know what a good score was and had to keep wickets till 14-15 overs and take it from there. 160 in a WC game is always tricky. Netherlands had their moments, 10 runs an over on this ground in the last 7-8 overs, wind going in one way, made it tough to defend. But credit to bowlers for pulling it off. Neck braces was for batting and it did help.” Shakib said during the presentation.

Tiger captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also praised Shakib after the game.

“Boys showed lot of character in an important match. Shakib's calm and we know how good he is. Happy for him. (Total) We didn't know how the conditions will behave and what score is defendable. In the end batters and bowlers did well. Pitch is good, there was uneven bounce early on but good to bat on. Conditions were good. Fizz, we know how good he is. Showed his experience and skill. Rishad stood up like all the bowlers.” Shanto said.

Victory in the Group D match allowed Bangladesh to take a huge step closer to the Super Eights alongside pool leaders South Africa who have already secured qualification.