Bangladesh vs Nepal, 37th Match, Group D at Kingstown, T20 World Cup, Jun 16 2024 - Match Result

11:15pm Bangladesh have won three in a row, and will probably have to win at least two more in the Super Eight to get to the semi-final. They have momentum on their side, and will have two very familiar teams (Afghanistan and India) in their group, alongside Australia. Nepal will return home slightly disappointed but with their head held high. They gave it a proper rattle, especially in the last two matches and if they had controlled the fine margins better, we might have been aweing over a different sort of story.

That will be all from us for this game. Over in St. Lucia, Sri Lanka are on the brink of registering their first win at this year's T20 World Cup, with the Netherlands needing more than 115 in eight overs. Hop over for all the action. Until next time, this is goodbye from me, Raghav and Sudeep. Take care, folks!

Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh captain: Very happy the way we played this round. I hope we can continue our bowling performance, not our batting. Hope our batting performance will be fine in the next round. We are not scoring much but we know we can defend totals, if we can pick up early wickets. That is what we told the bowlers and they are very good in the field also. (On the bowling attack) We have everything. All the fast bowlers have worked really hard in the last two or three years. In this format, the bowling unit is very important and I hope they continue their form. (On going into the Super Eight on the back of three consecutive wins) In T20Is, momentum is always important. We have to plan for the next round and execute our plans.

Rohit Paudel, Nepal captain: As a bowling unit, we bowled really well. As a batting unit, we could have done better, especially the top order batters. We could have batted tighter. Bangladesh bowled really well with the new ball and we were under pressure after that. They were asking us challenging questions. We built a little partnership after that, but top order batters could have done better and taken more responsibility. We need to step up, need to know where to score runs and how to assess conditions. In the field and with the ball, we are up to the mark, we need to improve with the bat. This team has great potential. We need to back each and every player and in the upcoming World Cup, we hope to do better. (On their fans) We are as disappointed as them. We could have crossed (the line) in a few matches. It was heart-breaking for all of us, and we will try to make them happy in the coming years.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Player of the Match: (Discussion at the interval) We just wanted to keep things simple. We wanted to bowl in good areas and did not want to panic. We knew we could defend this score. Everybody bowled well. As a bowling attack, we bowled well and that is why we defended the score. I just want to be aggressive and execute my plans. We are really excited for the Super Eight. We are very confident about it and hopefully (we can do well). Spin-bowling was tough, and it was not easy to get those runs. We held our lines and lengths, and it worked.

10:55pm Wow. What a bowling display by Bangladesh to make the Super Eight. They were not dead and buried at the half-way stage but they needed something special to turn things around. And they did get something special in the form of Tanzim's spell. He was breathing fire with the new ball, bowled 21 dots, gave away just seven runs and picked up three vital wickets inside the powerplay.

That was the cue for the other bowlers to follow. Mustafizur then did what he does, with Shakib and Rishad also keeping things tight at different junctures. Shakib ended up with two wickets, with Mustafizur scalping three, and Bangladesh made a middling total seem an overwhelming one, courtesy of their bowling exploits.

Nepal, on the other hand, will be gutted. This seemed a very makeable chase but they committed the same mistakes they did against South Africa, although tonight, things started going downhill a lot sooner. Their powerplay batting was not great, and their strike rotation was not much better. That meant the required run-rate crept up and by the time they started taking risks, it was probably too late, especially against bowlers of the class of Mustafizur.

They will go back home with positives, but also with a feeling of how differently things could have panned out, had they been slightly more clinical and game-aware with the bat.

Bohara is the last batter in

Shakib to bowl the last over. Kami on strike. Shakib to bowl. 22 needed

Surely Airee looks for a single now? The last over could be bowled by a spinner. Nepal still need 22

Airee needs to hold his shape and get bat to ball for starters

Mustafizur to bowl. This could be the game here

Kami joins Airee. Nepal need 22 off 13

Kp: "9.5 runs an over on this pitch can be a difficult task" -- Especially with one over of Mustafizur left

Taskin to bowl out. Nepal need 29 off 18

Jha, who was on strike for the last ball of Nepal's game against South Africa, strides out. He will be out for redemption. Nepal need 29 off 20

Jawad: "I've got school in 5 hours and I'm staying up just hoping Bangladesh win. The nerves are getting higher and higher ball by ball."

30 off 24 now. This is getting edgy and nervy. Mustafizur returns for his third over. How Nepal play him could determine the outcome of this contest