Dharamsala, March 9

Opener Tamim Iqbal struck an unbeaten 83 to guide Bangladesh past a spirited Netherlands by eight runs in their first group encounter of the World Twenty20 in Dharamshala on Wednesday.

Put into bat, Bangladesh suffered from a lack of partnerships but Tamim, with his fourth T20 half-century, almost single-handedly lifted the score to 153-7. It was a disappointing show of batting from a side which sparkled in the recently concluded Asia Cup, where the hosts ended runners-up after a keenly contested final against India.

Tamin though remained unaffected with the wicket-fall as the left-hander smacked six boundaries and three sixes during his 58-ball stay. Netherlands medium-pacer Timm van der Gugten led the charge with three wickets as Paul van Meekeren and left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merve got three scalps between them.

The Dutch batsmen also put up a brave show to give Bangladesh a run for their money but ultimately experience prevailed and the minnows were restricted to 145-7 in their 20 overs. Opener Stephen Myburgh provided a solid start to the Orange brigade and skipper Peter Borren took it forward but left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan’s twin strike put a lid on Dutch hopes.

In the end, lower-order batsman Mudassar Bukhari provided a scare with his five-ball 14 but his runout spelt the end for Netherlands, who are making their third appearance in the tournament. Mashrafe Morataza-led Bangladesh are favourites to top their group and move into the Super 10 stage of the 16-team event.

In Tuesday’s late match, Afghanistan got off to winning starts after overcoming a spirited Scotland in Nagpur. Favourites Afghanistan rode on an entertaining fifty from Mohammad Shahzad to beat Scotland by 14 runs.

Choosing to bat, Afghanistan built on an 82-run second wicket partnership between skipper Asghar Stanikzai (55 not out) and Shahzad (61) to post 170-5. Wicketkeeper-batsman Shahzad’s 39-ball stay, laced with five boundaries and three sixes, gave the side enough momentum to keep the total out of the reach of Scotland, who could only muster 156-5. The Preston Mommsen-led side got off to a flying start only to lose the plot after the departure of openers George Munsey (41) and Kyle Coetzer (40).

At 84 for no loss, Scotland looked set to overhaul their target but spinners Samiullah Shenwari and Rashid Khan had other ideas. The leg-spin duo shared three wickets between them to hurt the Scotland chase by stifling the flow of runs. Though guilty of a few slip-ups in the field, Afghanistan also produced a crucial run out in the 11th over as Scotland lost three of their batsmen in the space of 10 deliveries. Matt Machan then tried hard to get the chase back on track with a hard-working 36, but Afghanistan kept their nerves to get an expected result in their favour.

India-Pak match shifted to Kolkata

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s concerns over security at Dharamshala have led to shifting of their March 19 ICC World Twenty20 match against hosts India to Kolkata, organisers said on Wednesday. “Safety and security of the event is of paramount importance to ICC,” International Cricket Council Chief Executive David Richardson told reporters. Pakistan had sent a delegation to review security at the northern Indian town of Dharamshala while delaying the departure of their men’s and women’s teams. — Reuters