Chittagong, Mar 14 : Bangladesh kept their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals alive by notching up a comfortable six-wicket triumph over the Netherlands in a Group B match of the cricket World Cup here today.
Dominance of the spinners and a stack of run-outs ensured Bangladesh their first easy ride in the event as they easily chased a paltry target of 161 set by the Netherlands.
After the Peter Borren-led Dutch were bowled out in 46.2 overs, Bangladesh cruised to the target in 41.2 overs with man-of-the-match Imrul Kayes top-scoring with 73 and Shahriar Nafees hammering 37 off 60 balls.
The left-handed duo of Junaed Siddiqui and Imrul added 92 for the second wicket before Junaed, on 35, holed out to Pieter Seelaar off the bowling of paceman Borren in the 21st over.
Imrul continued his decent form with the second half-century in consecutive matches, hitting six boundaries in his 113-ball knock.
He was accompanied by Shahriar Nafees, who made 37, as Bangladesh picked up their third win in the competition. The two batsmen added 59 for the third wicket before Nafees was cleaned up by Tom Cooper's off-break.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan then came in, but fell to a splendid catch by Ryan ten Doeschate for one off seven balls.
For Netherlands, Cooper took two wickets while Mudasser Bukhari and Borren picked up one each.
The win means England will have to win their last group game against West Indies in Chennai on March 17 to stay in the competition and force Bangladesh to win their last game against South Africa on March 19.
If England lose, Bangladesh will have a clear path to the quarterfinals stage.
Having chosen to bowl first, the Tigers dominated the encounter from ball one at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong as the Dutch struggled to cope with the heat and the turning ball.
Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak took three wickets for 29 runs while Rubel Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and Sohrawardi Shuvo picked up one each but what created most trouble for the Dutch were the four runouts.
Eric Szwarczynski, the right-handed opener, made 28 before captain Shakib Al Hasan ran him out by simply brushing the ball on its way to the stumps after Tom Cooper had hit a straight drive.
Cooper too, on 29, fell when a wayward Shakib throw still had him short of the crease. Dutch captain Peter Borren and number 11 Adeel Raja also fell for run outs as the Tigers' fielding, though they dropped two simple catches, was better than average.
Mushfiqur Rahim dropped Cooper in the 17th over with the Rubel delivery dying on the keeper before Razzak dropped a sitter in the 47th over at deep square-leg off Shafiul Islam's bowling.
It was important for the Tigers to apply pressure on the visitors who had come on the back of an encouraging performance against India.
Only their star all-rounder, ten Doeschate, stuck to the task, slamming a couple of stylish boundaries and a six in his unbeaten 72-ball 53.
The South Africa-born ten Doeschate added 34 for the fifth wicket with youngster Alexei Kervezee (18) before the Dutch tail gave away to some exceptionally tight bowling from the Tigers.
Alexei Kervezee was stumped by Rahim, while Razzak picked up Tom de Grooth and Atse Buurman in a space of three balls to reduce the Netherlands to 127 for seven in the 38th over.
Seelaar (0) was trapped in front of the wicket by Rubel Hossain, while skipper Borren and Adeel Raja ran themselves out as Netherlands folded for 160. PTI
