Shakib Al Hasan battled the heat to contribute a steady 46, while Mohammad Saifuddin added a vital 19.
Muscat: Bangladesh displayed a spirited all-round performance to thrash Papua New Guinea by 84 runs in Group B of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup here at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Chasing 182, PNG was put on the back foot right from the very start as the side lost four wickets inside the first six overs and the team was reduced to 17/4. PNG was never able to recover from the horrible start they got, and in the end, Bangladesh bundled out PNG for 97 inside 19.3 overs to complete a comprehensive 84-run win.
Earlier, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan played knocks of 50 and 46 to help Bangladesh score 181/7 in the allotted twenty overs. Opting to bat, Bangladesh did not get off to an ideal start as the side lost opener Mohammad Naim (0) in the very first over of the innings to Kabua Morea.
Liton Das and Shakib then put on 50 runs for the second wicket, but PNG remained in the contest by taking wickets of Liton (29) and Mushfiqur Rahim (5) in quick succession, reducing Bangladesh to 72/3 in the 11th over.
Shakib went on to play a knock of 46 runs but his dismissal in the 14th over required Bangladesh to revive their innings and rebuild to post a solid total on the board.
Mahmudullah ensured that Bangladesh do not lose momentum and the side posted a total of more than the 180-run mark. Afif Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin also played useful cameos of 21 and 19.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 181/7 (Mahmudullah 50, Shakib Al Hasan 46; Kabua Morea 2-26); PNG 97 all out (Kiplin Doriga 46*, Chad Soper 11; Shakib Al Hasan 4-9).
