Sabbir Rahman struck a fine half century as Bangladesh High Performance beat Hobart Hurricanes Academy by three wickets in the Top End T20 in Darwin on Sunday.
Bangladesh chased down 154 with two balls left. They finished on 155 for seven in 19.4 overs.
Bangladesh lost wickets early in the chase. Habibur Rahman Sohan made four, while Jishan Alam scored nine. Ariful Islam also departed for four.
Sabbir then took charge from number four. He attacked the Hobart bowlers and brought Bangladesh back into the contest.
The experienced batter reached his fifty from 36 balls. He eventually scored 59 from 45 deliveries with six fours and two sixes.
Captain Irfan Sukkur made four, while Shamim Hossain scored 16 from 24 balls.
Sabbir’s dismissal gave Hobart another chance. But Bangladesh’s lower order kept the chase on track.
SM Meherob scored 13 from 14 balls before Abdul Gaffar Saqlain played an important late knock.
Saqlain remained unbeaten on 19 from 13 balls. Abu Hider also stayed not out on eight from five deliveries.
The pair took Bangladesh home in the final over to complete a three wicket win.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first. Hobart Hurricanes Academy posted 153 for seven from their 20 overs.
Abu Hider gave Bangladesh an early breakthrough by dismissing Jake Doran. Mohammad Rubel then removed Nivethan Radhakrishnan.
Bradley Hope and Teague Wyllie started the recovery for Hobart. They added 38 runs before Saqlain dismissed Hope for 22 from 17 balls.
Wyllie continued to fight from the other end. He remained unbeaten on 78 from 53 balls with four fours and three sixes.
Rubel led the Bangladesh bowling attack with three wickets for 25 runs. Ripon Mondol picked up two wickets. Abu Hider and Saqlain took one each.
Bangladesh then completed the chase in 19.4 overs to secure a three wicket victory.
