Iqbal hit nine boundaries and a six during his innings of 95
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Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan all made half-centuries as Bangladesh chased down their highest ODI score in history.
The reason behind them having to chase 319 to win was due to Scotland opener Kyle Coetzer’s spectacular knock of 156.
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza would have been delighted with his decision to bowl first after Calum MacLeod and Hamish Gardiner was dismissed in quick succession.
However, Coetzer and Matt Machan stabilised the innings with a 78-run partnership, during which Koetzer brought up his half-century, before Machan was caught and bowled by Sabbir Rahman for 35.
Coetzer and Scotland skipper Preston Mommsen kept the runs flowing with a 141-run partnership, during which Koetzer registered his second ODI century, before Mommsen was caught by Soumya Sarkar at cow corner off the bowling of Nasir Hossain for 39.
Coetzer went on to score 156 off 134 balls, which included 17 boundaries and four sixes, before he was also caught by Sarkar at cow corner off the bowling of Hossain.
Coetzer was named Man of the Match for his career-best knock of 156
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Thanks to useful contributions from Richie Berrington, who made 26, and wicketkeeper Matthew Cross, who scored 20, Scotland finished on 318/8 off their 50 overs.
Taskin Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Hossain snapped up two and Mortaza, Al Hasan and Rahman chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Chasing 319 to win, Bangladesh got off to a poor start as Sarkar was caught behind off the bowling of Josh Davey for two runs.
Iqbal and Mahmudullah made up for the early loss of Sarkar with a 139-run partnership, during which both batsmen recorded their half-centuries, before Mahmudullah was clean bowled by Iain Wardlaw for 62, which came off 62 balls and included six boundaries and a six.
Mahmudullah played some lovely shots during his knock of 62
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Bangladesh’s dominance with the bat continued as Iqbal and Rahim put together a 57-run partnership before Iqbal was given out lbw off the bowling of Davey.
Iqbal decided to review the decision, but replays showed that the ball was pitching in line and going on to hit the stumps. This led to the third umpire upholding the original decision.
Iqbal’s superb knock of 95 came off 100 deliveries, which included nine boundaries and a six.
Rahim ended up making 60 off 42 balls, which included six boundaries and two sixes, before he was caught by MacLeod at long-on off the bowling of Alasdair Evans.
Rahim’s excellent form with the bat continued
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Al Hasan and Rahman led Bangladesh to a six-wicket win with an unbeaten 75-run partnership, during which Al Hasan surpassed his half-century.
Al Hasan finished on 52 off 41 balls, which included five boundaries and a six, while Rahman remained undefeated on 42 off 40 deliveries, which included four boundaries and two sixes.
Davey was the most successful bowler with two wickets, while Wardlaw and Evans claimed one wicket each.
Mommsen was gutted to have lost, and said: “It was brilliant to see Kyle Coetzer at his best. We’re okay, we had time off after the Afghanistan game, the boys got away, we came back refreshed, we were up for today and that showed in the first half. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. Throughout the four games we showed that we were able to play good cricket. We just have to play good cricket over a long time.”
Mortaza was pleased with his team’s performance, and said: “The boys have done really well, especially the batsmen. Tamim was outstanding, along with Shakib and Mushfiqur. Still our bowlers did not bowl well, but our batsmen got runs, especially with a big match (against England) coming up. (Twitter question for the winning captain – How will you tackle England?) we will try our best to do well in our batting, bowling and fielding. We will try our best against England, and if not them, then New Zealand definitely.”
Despite being on the losing side, Coetzer was named Man of the Match, and said: “Not the way we would have liked to end the game. We just weren’t able to create enough pressure in the end. We would have taken that score at the start of the day, but we just didn’t create the pressure in the second innings. There were a couple of runout chances, but they did bat well in the end. It is nice to get a few runs, but at the end of the day it is the end result, so it is disappointing. I thought 330 would have been good, but I felt the batsmen at the other end were also scoring, so I felt I didn’t have to do anything rash. It is a tough loss to take. The guys will be a bit distraught as we worked so hard and feel we do deserve that one win in the tournament.”