Bangladesh record their biggest win in T20Is and Scotland seal their maiden qualification

A hot and sunny afternoon greeted the two sides as Bangladesh locked horns with Papua New Guinea at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman. Despite being one of the favourites to progress to the Super 12s, Bangladesh endured a stutter in their opening game against Scotland. However, with the chance to seal their qualification, they dominated from the get-go in this crucial match. With valuable contributions from Shakib Al Hasan (46 off 37) and a quickfire half-century from Mahmudullah off 28 deliveries, Bangladesh posted 181 for the loss of seven wickets in the 20 overs. In reply, PNG batters succumbed under the pressure of the run chase and were dismissed for 97 runs, with Shakib returning with figures of four for nine. 

In the evening encounter, Scotland registered a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the last league match of the Group B stage against the home team, Oman. The Scotland outfit were dominant with the ball courtesy of a sublime spell from Josh Davey, who picked up three wickets for 25 runs in his four overs to help the side bundle out Oman for 122 runs. Chasing 123 runs, a commanding batting display from skipper Kyle Coetzer (41) and an unbeaten 31 from Richie Berrington ensured Scotland record a commanding win. Here are the notable stats from both encounters. 

Scotland carve their name in record books

It is indeed a very special day in the history of Scotland cricket as they sealed their spot in the next stage of the World Cup for the first time. After dominating the two league games played thus far, Scotland produced an all-around performance in their final league game to ensure a maiden appearance in the Super 12s stage. While they had come agonisingly close in the 2016 edition of the tournament, they managed to get to seal their qualification by winning all three matches in this edition of the competition.

Skipper leads from the front In a must-win encounter, Mahmudullah walked in at number five to give the team much-needed impetus in the middle overs. The right-handed batter smashed 50 off 28 deliveries studded with three boundaries and three massive six to propel the side to a huge first-innings total. En route to this match-defining innings, the skipper recorded the second-fastest half-century in the World Cup for Bangladesh. Mohammed Ashraful is on top of the table with a half-century (61) of 27 deliveries at a strike rate of 225.93 against West Indies in 2007.

Bangladesh post a mammoth first innings total

A scintillating performance by the middle order of the Bangladesh side led by Shakib and Mahmudullah propelled them to post 181 for the loss of seven wickets, which is their highest total in the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh smashed 180 for two in the 2016 edition of the tournament against Oman, which is their second-highest total in this format of the game at the world event. 

Shakib weaves his magic

The leading wicket-taker in this format, Shakib produced a magic spell of bowling in the first six overs to derail the batting unit of the PNG side. The left-arm spinner picked up two wickets in the fifth over to tilt the match in favour of the Bangladesh side. The 34-year old returned with figures of 4/9 in his four overs, which is the joint-best figures for him in the world event. His other four-wicket hauls are 4/15 and 4/34 against Oman and West Indies in 2016 and 2007, respectively.  

PNG crumble under pressure 

In pursuit of 183 runs, the PNG batter struggled to get going in the field restriction. While they tried to take the attack to the opposition, the consistency of the bowling unit of Bangladesh and their experience at the highest level resulted in them picking up early wickets. With runs hard to come by, they crawled to 17/4 in the first six overs, which is their second-lowest in T20 international. In 2017, they endured a hard time against the United Arab Emirates and posted 14/3 in the powerplay, which is their lowest. 

Leading wicket-taker in T20 World CupA four-wicket haul with the ball propelled Shakib to equal Shahid Afridi's record of 39 wickets, which is the most number of wickets in the T20 World Cup. However, the left-arm spinner has achieved this in 27 innings, which is seven innings quicker than Afridi and conceded at an economy rate of 6.4 compared to 6.4 by the Pakistan spinner. 

A remarkable fightback by Doriga 

After tottering at 24 for the loss of six wickets, Kiplin Doriga scored an unbeaten 46 off 34 deliveries with two boundaries and two sixes to guide the team to 97 runs in the first innings. Doriga achieved a rare feat en route to this knock as he became the highest run-scorer for a player batting at number eight in the T20 World Cup. Gulbadin Naib is second on the list with 44 runs off 32 balls against England in 2012. 

A thumping win for BangladeshA dominating performance by the Bangladesh side resulted in an 84-run win against PNG, which is their biggest margin of victory in terms of runs in T20 internationals. The last time they produced an all-around performance and dominated the game was back in 2012 where they registered a 71-run win against Ireland. The Bangladesh outfit accounted for a 60-run win against Australia earlier this year, which is third on the list.