Five-star Hossain sees off the Scots

Bangladesh 142 for 4 (Mahmudullah 46*) beat Scotland 141 for 7 (Hossain 5-16) by six wickets
Scorecard

Bangladesh overcame a spirited display from Scotland to continue their successful build-up to the World Twenty20 with a six-wicket victory at Wormsley. Their main man was the teenage fast bowler, Rubel Hossain, who proved almost unplayable in his four overs as he claimed the remarkable figures of 5 for 16.

Despite Rubel's efforts, however, Scotland were still able to bat through their 20 overs, and posted a respectable 141 for 7 thanks to 45 from 41 balls from their captain, Gavin Hamilton, and a 37-ball 50 from Neil McCallum in the middle order.

In reply, Scotland landed two early blows when Shamsur Rahman was caught behind off Gordon Drummond for 1, before Dewald Nel extracted the big wicket of Mohammad Ashraful for 3.

But at the other end, Tamim Iqbal kept the scoreboard moving by blazing 33 from 21 balls, to pave the way for Shakib Al Hasan (36 from 29 balls) and Mahmudullah (46 not out from 35) to ease Bangladesh to victory with eight balls to spare.

Bangladesh's bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake was all praise for Rubel's effort. "He is improving all the time," he said. "He trains hard and has so far managed to execute what he is doing in training. His natural pace and slightly unusual action makes him an interesting proposition."

Mahmudullah, too, was in a confident mood after his brisk innings. "I am going out there with a very positive mind," he said. "I am looking to hit the ball hard and score runs all the time. I guess the mindset is helping me a lot.

"I also started this tour very confident because I am coming off a successful domestic season where I made runs. Also, I had worked on my technique, especially on my backlift with Jamie (Siddons) and it has paid off."