Hosts Netherlands won the 2nd T20I over Bangladesh by a narrow margin of 1 wicket. The homeside won a low-scoring contest at the Sportpark Westvliet in The Hague with no.11 Ahsan Malik Jamil striking the last ball of the match for a boundary off Abdur Razzak. With this victory, Netherlands have forced a 1-1 draw in the 2-T20I Series.
By BV Swagath
Hosts Netherlands won the 2nd T20I over Bangladesh by a narrow margin of 1 wicket on Thursday. The homeside won a low-scoring contest at the Sportpark Westvliet in The Hague with no.11 Ahsan Malik Jamil striking the last ball of the match for a boundary off Abdur Razzak. With this victory, Netherlands have forced a 1-1 draw in the 2-T20I Series.
Batting first after winning the toss, Bangladesh were bowled out for a modest 128 in 20 overs. Opener Tamim Iqbal top scored with a steady 50 (from 46 balls with 2 fours and a six). Middle order batsman Mahmudullah played his part too with a knock of 41 (from 31 balls with 6 fours). For the Dutch, pace bowler Timm van der Gugten bowled well taking 3 for 18 in 4 overs. There were a couple of wickets each for Michael Swart and Mudassar Bukhari.
In their run chase, Netherlands kept on losing wickets at regular intervals but were in the contest thanks to a half century from opener Michael Swart (61 from 49 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes). When Swart got out, Bangladesh were favourites to win with the Dutch at 112 for 7 in 17.5 overs. However, the last wicket pair kept their cool especially no.11 Ahsan Malik striking a first ball boundary to clinch a stunning chase. For the Tigers - Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam and Shakib Al Hasan took two wickets each.
