Bangladesh reaches Super 10 stage

Bangladesh today progressed to the Super 10 stage of the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 after topping Group A in the first round, a group that also included Afghanistan, Nepal and Hong Kong.

Bangladesh opened the tournament on 16 March with a nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan and beat Nepal by eight wickets before losing to Hong Kong by two wickets in its last match. With two wins from three matches, Bangladesh finished on four points with Nepal, but still progressed to the Super 10 stage owing to its superior Net Run Rate.

Bangladesh has now joined defending ICC World Twenty20 champion West Indies, former champions India and Pakistan, and Australia in Group 2 of the Super 10 stage.  Group 2 matches will start at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur from Friday, 21 March.

Bangladesh will play its opening Super 10 stage match against the West Indies on Tuesday, 25 March, while its remaining matches will be against India on Friday 28 March, Pakistan on Sunday 30 March and Australia on Tuesday 1 April.

Meanwhile, the winner of Group B will be confirmed after the last first round matches in Sylhet on Friday 21 March.

As the situation stands at present, Ireland is leading the group with four points from two matches, while the Netherlands and Zimbabwe are sitting on two points each. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is already out of the race after losing its first two matches.

On Friday, Zimbabwe will take on the UAE, and Ireland will go head to head with the Netherlands.

If Ireland beats the Netherlands, then it will progress to the Super 10 stage. However, if Netherlands wins and Zimbabwe defeats the UAE, then it will be a three-way tie, with net run-rate to decide which side will join England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa in Group 1 of the Super 10 stage, with these matches to be played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chittagong.