Hong Kong notched up a stunning two-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a thrilling qualifying round match but could not prevent the home side from booking a Super 10 berth in the World Twenty20 in Chittagong.
Chasing a small target of 109, minnows Hong Kong struggled to 50 for five in the 10th over but a fine rear-guard effort from lower-order batsmen, led by Munir Dar (36), took them to a shock win with two balls to spare at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Despite the loss, Bangladesh sneaked through to the Super 10 by topping Group A on net run rate. They finished the qualifying round on four points -- same as Nepal -- but had a better net run rate of plus 1.466 as against plus 0.933.
Bangladesh would have been knocked out of the tournament had Hong Kong chased down the target in 13.1 overs but that proved to be a tough ask.
Number seven batsman Dar, who top-scored with a 27-ball 36, was mainly responsible for the memorable win for Hong Kong as he took his side to the threshold of victory in the match that went down the wire.
Coming at the crease when Hong Kong were down 50 for five after 9.1 overs, Dar kept the asking rate at run-a-ball in the last six overs and took his side to 100, just nine adrift of target, when he was out in the 18th over.
There were some tense moments for Hong Kong as they lost another wicket but finally needed six runs from the last over. Abdur Razzak hit a six off Haseeb Amjad as Hong Kong reached 114 for 8 in 19.4 overs to notch up a historic win.
For Bangladesh, left-arm spinner Shakib-al-Hasan grabbed three wickets for just nine runs to put Hong Kong in trouble initially while Mahmudullah got two wickets for 13 runs.
The win by Hong Kong was the fourth such instance by an Associate country defeating a Full Member of the ICC in World Twenty20.
Earlier, Hong Kong left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed grabbed four wickets as a listless Bangladesh suffered a dramatic batting collapse to be shot out for just 108.
Put into bat, Bangladesh lost two wickets in the dramatic first over but recovered quickly only to suffer a sensational batting collapse as they lost their last seven wickets for just 23 runs in the Group A match.
From 85 for three in the 11th over, they were all out for 108 in 16.3 overs with top-scorer Shakib-al-Hasan's (34) departure triggering a batting collapse for the home side who have comfortably won their previous two matches.
Four Bangladesh batsmen were out for nought while three could score only in single digits. Besides, Shakib who hit six fours in his 27-ball innings, opener Anamul Haque (26), captain Mushfiqur Rahim (23) and Nasir Hossain (14 not out) could reach double figures against a side who have lost both their earlier matches badly.
Ahmed (4/21) got able support from leg-spinner Nizakat Khan (3/19) and pacers Tanwir Afzal (2/24) and Irfan Ahmed (1/17) as Hong Kong bowlers made Bangladesh batsmen pay for their mistakes.
Bangladesh began on a disastrous note as they lost two wickets for just three runs in 0.5 overs with opener Tamil Iqbal (0) and one-down Sabbir Rahman (2) dismissed by Tanwir Afzal in the second and fifth balls of the match.
But Shakib-al-Hasan (34) and the other opener Anamul Haque (26) stitched 48 runs from just five overs to steady the innings before the home side suffered another collapse.
Once Shakib, who hit six fours in his 27-ball innings, was out in the 11th over, the floodgates were opened and Bangladesh batsmen threw away the advantage and perished in quick succession as if they were competing against each other in returning to the dressing room.
Captain Mushfiqur Rahim (23), Mahmudullah (2), Farhad Reza (0), Abdur Razzak (0) Rubel Hossain (0) and Al-Amin Hossain (1) were out in quick succession as Bangladesh could only put up a meagre total against one of the weakest sides in the tournament.
Image: Shakib-al-Hasan
Photograph: Andre Biraj/Reuters
