PERTH, AUSTRALIA (AP) – Shadab Khan took three wickets and then hit the winning runs as Pakistan beat Netherlands by six wickets with six overs to spare yesterday, finally posting a victory at the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup.
Pakistan lost in a last-ball thriller in its tournament opener against archrival India and was upset by Zimbabwe before a thumping win over the Dutch to start a Group 2 double-header in Perth.
Bangladesh held on to beat Zimbabwe by three runs in the earlier Group 2 game in Brisbane after a dramatic last over that produced two wickets and an unusual no-ball that meant the last delivery had to be re-bowled.
In the Western Australian capital, Pakistan’s pace attack restricted Netherlands to 91-9, with Shadab taking 3-22 and Mohammad Wasim Jr returning 2-15.
Netherlands won the toss and opted to bat but couldn’t cope with Pakistan’s quick bowlers and slumped quickly to 26-3.
Colin Ackermann (27) tried rebuilding the innings but Shadab ran through the middle order and Wasim Jr narrowly missed his hat trick toward the end. He had dismissed Tim Pringle (5) and Fred Klaassen (0) dismissed off successive balls.
Only two Dutch players scored in double digits.
Pakistan replied with a sedate innings and knocked up the runs in 13.5 overs, finishing with 95-4.
Mohammad Rizwan scored 49 off 39 balls, combining with Fakhar Zaman (20) in a 37-run second-wicket stand after Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (4) was run out.
Pakistan didn’t appear to be in any hurry to finish the proceedings, with Rizwan dismissed just in sight of the finish line and missing out his half-century. Shan Masood (12) was also out before Pakistan completed the formalities with Shadab’s boundary through mid-off.
“The last couple of games, we didn’t finish the games well,” Shadab said. “Today, we finished it off.”
Pakistan is fifth in the Group 2 standings, and Netherlands has been knocked out of contention after three consecutive losses in the Super 12 stage.
BANGLADESH EDGE ZIMBABWE
Bangladesh, with four competition points from three games, moved past Zimbabwe with a narrow win in warm, sunny conditions.
A dramatic last over at the Gabba produced two wickets and an unusual no-ball that meant the last delivery had to be re-bowled.
Opener Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 71 from 55 balls in Bangladesh’s total of 150-7.
Taskin Ahmed (3-19) and Mustafizur Rahman (2-15) combined to skittle Zimbabwe’s top order but finished their full allocation with three overs to spare, leaving a chase of 40 off 18 balls.
Sean Williams (64) and Ryan Burl (27 not out) took it close, but couldn’t get Zimbabwe over the line.
Spinner Musaddek Hossain held his nerve twice, in particular after the players were recalled to the field for re-bowling the last delivery, and helped restrict Zimbabwe to 147-8.
Bangladesh’s players celebrated early when Musaddek appeared to wrap up the last over with consecutive stumping dismissals.
But replays showed wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan took the ball in front of the stumps before whipping off the bails to complete the dismissal of Blessing Muzarabani.
Players shook hands and left the field while the umpires waited to assess TV replays, which showed the keeper’s error and meant everyone had to return.
Muzarabani couldn’t take advantage of the second chance, not able to score any of the four runs required for victory.
“It was a new experience for us! Musaddek bowled very well in this pressure situation,” he said. “Honestly it was a little bit nervous, but we believed we could do it.”
