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 here 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 for seven. It was a disappointing show of batting from a side which sparkled in the recently concluded Asia Cup, where the host ended runner-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 its money but ultimately experience prevailed and the minnow was restricted to 145 for seven in its 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, which is making its third appearance in the tournament. Mashrafe Morataza-led Bangladesh is favorite to top its group and move into the Super 10 stage of the 16-team event. Afghanistan got off to winning start after overcoming a spirited Scotland in Nagpur Tuesday. 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 for five. Struggling Sri Lanka to play with ‘freedom' Newly-appointed Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said Wednesday the struggling islanders would benefit at the World Twenty20 from being free of the burden of expectation that usually surrounds the side. The defending champion has slumped to eighth in the T20 rankings and come into the World T20 in India following a disastrous showing at the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. Few commentators have given them much hope of successfully defending its title in the sixth edition of the shortest form of the game's world championship and that's something Mathews welcomes. "From the outside no one is really giving us a chance and that's a good thing," he told reporters in Mumbai at Sri Lanka's opening press conference of the 16-team tournament.
