Hobart, Oct 24 (IANS): Fast bowling duo of Paul van Meekeren and Bas de Leede picked two wickets each in a very impressive bowling performance as the Netherlands restricted Bangladesh to 144/8 in 20 overs in a Super 12 match of the Men's T20 World Cup at the Bellerive Oval on Monday.

Electing to bowl first after winning the toss, Netherlands didn't have a good start as Najmul Hossain Shanto and Soumya Sarkar combined to hit six fours in their 43-run opening stand. Van Meekeren, known for his repertoire of slower deliveries, got a vital breakthrough when he had Sarkar pulling straight to mid-wicket in the final over of power-play.

In the next over, Shanto slog-swept, but the catch was snapped by deep mid-wicket off left-arm spinner Tim Pringle. From there, Netherland pulled the match back in their favour as Litton Das, captain Shakib Al Hasan and Yasir Ali fell in quick succession to leave Bangladsh reeling at 76/5 in 11 overs.

But Afif Hossain (38 off 27 balls) and Mosaddek Hossain (20 not out off 12 balls) joined forces to push up the total, hitting some lofty shots and also benefited from the Netherlands dropping three catches in the back end of the innings. De Leede took out Hossain and Nurul Hasan in quick succession to keep Bangladesh under 150.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 144/8 in 20 overs (Afif Hossain 38, Najmul Hossain Shanto 25; Paul van Meekeren 2/21, Bas de Leede 2/29) vs Netherlands.