Taskin shines in clinical win

Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed picked up from where he had left off in the series against Pakistan, claiming 4-28 against Netherlands in the first of three T20Is to set up a convincing eight-wicket win for Bangladesh at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Taskin, who was out of competitive cricket for three months due to issues with his Achilles tendon, had made his comeback during the white-ball part of last month's Sri Lanka tour. In his very first match back, he had claimed 4-47 in the first ODI, which the Tigers had lost.

But the 30-year-old really hit his stride later in the month in the home series against Pakistan, taking three wickets each in the two T20Is he played in in the three-match series.

Against Pakistan, his speed was considerably down, but he used his experience to get wickets in Mirpur.

But against Netherlands in Sylhet, Taskin was noticeably quicker, claiming his first two wickets with some extra bounce he extracted off the pitch and the latter two through slower deliveries.

On Saturday, Taskin gave Bangladesh the early breakthrough as he removed Dutch openers Max O'Dowd (23 off 15) and Vikramjit Singh (four off 11) and in his first 10 balls, conceded just two runs.

Taskin was impressive in the death overs as well as he took the wickets of Kyle Klein (nine off 12) and Noah Croes (11 off 13) to finish with an impressive bowling figures for the third straight T20I and helped Bangladesh restrict their opponents for just 136-8 in 20 overs after sending them to bat first.

Saif Hassan, who returned to the T20I after nearly four years, also chipped in with a couple of wickets in his two overs of off-spin.

With a four-wicket haul, Taskin now has 10 wickets in four T20Is against the Dutch at an economy of 6.5 and an average of 10.4.

In reply, captain Litton Das hit a splendid 54 not out off 29 balls while Saif struck an unbeaten 19-ball 36 as Bangladesh chased down the target in just 13.3 overs and went 1-0 up in the series. The second match will be held at the same venue on Monday.