Taskin Ahmed took four wickets as Bangladesh beat Netherlands by nine runs in their first game of the T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval.

Afif Hossain top scored with 38 as the Tigers were restricted to 144-8 in their opening Group 2 game in Hobart on Monday.

Paul van Meekeren (2-21) and Bas de Leede (2-29) claimed two wickets apiece to keep Bangladesh down to a total that the Dutch would have felt they could chase down.

Paceman ensured it was advantage Bangladesh by taking two wickets with the first two deliveries of the run chase, dismissing Vikramjit Singh and De Leede.

Netherlands were deep in the mire at 15-4 after Max O'Dowd and Tom Cooper were run out, but a half-century from Colin Ackermann gave them hope.

Ackermann struck 62 off 48 balls, but he lacked support and the Dutch were all out for 135.

Taskin too hot to handle

It was an impressive spell with the ball from Taskin, who took four wickets in a T20I for the first time in his career.

His figures of 4-25 earned him the player of the match award, removing Ackermann and Shariz Ahmad after his brilliant first over. 

Ackermann shows resistance 

It proved to be in vain, but Ackermann impressed with the bat after coming in at number four.

He scored two of Netherlands' four sixes, while also hitting six fours as to prevent his side from being embarrassed. 

Hayden Walsh scored a timely unbeaten half-century to lead the Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a two-wicket victory over the CWI Emerging Players Academy in the Super50 warm-up match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Sunday.

Walsh struck a 67-ball 53 that included five fours as the Hurricanes, chasing 239, reached 242-8 from 49 hours. The leg-spinner featured in a 54-run seventh-wicket partnership with Jahmar Hamilton, who scored 36 from 37 balls as the Leewards recovered from 93-6.

After Hamilton was dismissed, Walsh and Jeremiah Louis added a further 38 for the eighth-wicket before the latter was dismissed for 24 and the Leewards still 53 runs shy of the target. However, Walsh found a more than useful partner in Colin Archibald, who remained unbeaten on 27 at the end.

Johan Layne took 2-29 and Kevin Wickham 2-47 for the CWI Emerging Players.

Earlier, Teddy Bishop scored a mature 77 in the Emerging Players 238 all out. Wickham contributed 47 with Ackeem Auguste and Leonardo Julien chipping in with 20 apiece.

Bishop and Julien shared in a 78-run second-wicket partnership after Louis had dismissed Kirk McKenzie for eight. He followed up with a third-wicket stand of 68 with Wickham that was broken for Kofi James, who also took the wickets of Auguste and Joshua Bishop to return figures of 4-26.

Terrence Warde took 3-42 while Karima Gore took 2-40.

The West Indies might have been dumped out of the ICC T20 World Cup but Carlos Brathwaite’s name will live on as a reminder of what his former team used to be.

Brathwaite’s incredible performance to win the 2016 World Cup for the West Indies has been voted the greatest T20 World Cup performance during a fan vote conducted by ESPNcricinfo.

The Barbadian allrounder turned commentator single-handedly carried the West Indies to glory in the 2016 final at Eden Gardens. With the West Indies needing 19 from the final over against England, Brathwaite struck four massive sixes off Ben Stokes to secure a second title for the Caribbean men. He finished unbeaten on 34 to go along with his impressive figures of 3-23 when England made 155 batting first.

When he came to the crease, the West Indies were in dire straits at 107-6 with 27 balls remaining.

Brathwaite's blitzkrieg garnered 58 per cent of the vote to beat India’s Yuvraj Singh's 70 in the 2007 World Cup semi-final against Australia. According to the cricket website, Brathwaite's performance also emerged top in an internal ESPNcricinfo staff poll, with Yuvraj in joint second alongside Marlon Samuels' 78 & 1-15 in the 2012 final against Sri Lanka.

As the ball sailed through the night sky over the boundary for the winning runs, West Indies commentator Ian Bishop declared "Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name!" The fans did.

Virat Kohli produced what captain Rohit Sharma hailed as one of the greatest innings by an India batsman in the dramatic victory over Pakistan at the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan looked to be well in control after tallying 159-8 in front of over 90,000 spectators at the MCG and then reducing India to 31-4 in reply.

However, Kohli struck 82 not out, sharing in a fifth-wicket stand of 113 with Hardik Pandya along the way.

When Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz wobbled under the pressure of delivering the final over of the match, India took advantage and snatched a four-wicket win over their great rivals with a single from the final ball.

India needed 28 from eight balls at one stage, but consecutive sixes from Kohli off Haris Rauf at the end of the 19th over changed that to 16 from six.

Amid high drama as India lost both Pandya (40) and Dinesh Karthik (1) in the closing over, Kohli helped the team he used to skipper over the line.

Rohit said of Kohli's effort: "It is definitely his best for sure. From the situation we were in, and to come out with victory, I think it has to be one of India's best knocks, not just his best knock.

"Because still in the 13th over we were so behind the game and the required rate was climbing up and up. To come out and chase that score was an extremely brilliant effort from Virat, and Hardik played a role there."

Kohli ceded the white-ball captaincy to Rohit soon after last year's T20 World Cup, and Sunday's hero in Melbourne had been struggling for runs until recently finding a little spark.

Rohit said: "We know the qualities that he has, and he's done so well in these type of conditions in all three forms, so obviously he used his experience today more than anything else – staying calm under pressure.

"We know how good he is when the score is in front of him. He's one of the best chasers in the world, so I thought that 100-run partnership was a game-changing moment."

Kohli initially struggled to contextualise what he achieved.

He said at the post-match presentation: "It's a surreal atmosphere, I have no words, no idea how that happened. I am really lost for words.

"The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic. From 28 in eight, it came down to 16 in six. I tried to stick to my instincts."

On reflection, Kohli agreed it rated as one of his finest innings. He ranked it even above another famous 82 not out – one that he scored against Australia in Mohali, in the 2016 edition of this competition.

"Standing here, I just feel like it was meant to be," he said. "Till today, Mohali was my best innings, against Australia. Today, I will count this one higher."

Virat Kohli produced a remarkable innings as India pulled off an incredible and contentious victory over Pakistan, who suffered a collapse that will live long in the memory in their T20 World Cup opener.

Pakistan looked to be cruising to victory in the latest edition of this great rivalry, having posted 159-8 in front of over 90,000 fans at the MCG, where they then reduced India to 31-4.

Kohli (82 not out) was at his brilliant best as he rebuilt the innings alongside Hardik Pandya in a fifth-wicket stand of 113, but it still appeared as if it would not be enough.

India needed 31 off the final 12 balls, but successive sixes from Kohli, one down the ground and one over fine leg, on the final two deliveries of the penultimate over pulled them within 16.

Mohammad Nawaz took the wicket of Pandya off the first ball of the final over and conceded three off the next two, only to then lose his accuracy and composure at the worst possible time.

A high no-ball was hit for six by Kohli, giving India a free hit from which they controversially ran three despite the ball hitting the wickets. With India needing two off two balls, Dinesh Karthik was stumped, seemingly tilting the balance improbably back in Pakistan's favour. However, Nawaz then stunningly bowled a wide, giving Ravichandran Ashwin another delivery from which he hit the winning run to complete an astonishing turnaround.

Pakistan's pain 

Defeat for Pakistan means they have lost all four of the men's T20I matches they have played in Australia. It remains the only country in which they have not tasted victory.

That will surely change at some stage during the Super 12, but they and Nawaz will need picking up after somehow letting this one slip.

Vintage Virat

Kohli has recently rediscovered form that appeared beyond him in the shortest format earlier in the year, and this was the India legend at his very best.

He has posted a larger score five times during his T20I career, but none of those innings will carry the same significance as his key contribution to this bewitching spectacle.

Kusal Mendis carried his bat and Sri Lanka's bowlers all impressed in an emphatic nine-wicket victory over Ireland in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Opening batsman Mendis made an unbeaten 68 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart as Sri Lanka easily chased down a target of 129 despite the absence of the injured Pathum Nissanka.

Dhananjaya de Silva (31 off 25) and Charith Asalanka (31* off 22) also did their bit to open Sri Lanka's Group 1 campaign with a resounding win.

It had been Sri Lanka's bowlers who laid the foundations for Mendis. Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-25) claimed a pair apiece, while each of their bowling unit took a wicket to limit Ireland to 128-8.

Paul Stirling opened with 34 off 25 and Harry Tector (45) ensured Ireland at least had something to defend, but the contest was decidedly one-sided.

COOL KUSAL LEADS THE WAY

Sri Lanka's route to this stage started with an embarrassing loss to Namibia but wins over the United Arab Emirates and Netherlands booked a spot in the Super 12.

Kusal ensured there would be no hiccup to begin this stage, whacking three sixes and five fours in his 43-ball knock, which he finished with a maximum off Simi Singh over deep-square leg, as Sri Lanka wrapped up the win with 30 balls remaining and nine wickets in hand.

BOWLING UNIT IN SYNC

One of the most pleasing aspects for Sri Lanka was the shared responsibility with the ball. Lahiru Kumara had already snared Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie in the second over by the time Theekshana encouraged Lorcan Tucker to glove onto the stumps.

Theekshana also took the bails off George Dockrell's wicket and Binura Fernando took out dangerman Tector prior to Hasaranga taking a couple of late wickets.

Sam Curran became England's first bowler to take five wickets in a T20I and wants to keep his sizzling form going deep into the World Cup.

The left-arm seamer snaffled stunning figures of 5-10 from 3.4 overs, claiming four wickets from his final six balls as Afghanistan were bowled out for 112 before England started with a five-wicket win at Perth Stadium on Saturday.

Curran also caught the eye in a recent 2-0 win over hosts Australia and the all-rounder is revelling having the opportunity to play a key role.

"To come here and start with a win was obviously great, and Ireland on Wednesday will be another tricky game so we'll prepare well for that, fly to Melbourne tomorrow, and go again," Curran said at the post-match presentation.

"I'm just trying to be as adaptable as possible. Early in my career I was probably more suited to the powerplay, but I've tried to get better at different phases of the game. I'm really enjoying my cricket at the moment."

Assessing his five-wicket haul, Curran said: "You've got to enjoy the days when it goes well, and hopefully it goes well for the next five or six games."

Curran was sporting a trimmer haircut than usual, and he told Sky Sports: "The barber yesterday went a little bit short, so hopefully in a couple of games it'll grow out a bit, but I'll take some stick from my mates."

England might have hoped to finish this match in a little more style, with the top three batters each getting to double figures but failing to go on. 

Liam Livingstone's unbeaten 29 provided the impetus at the end of the innings to get the job done, moving England level on points with New Zealand after they hammered Australia.

"You saw the way the Afghanistan team made it quite tricky towards the end," Curran said. "We knew they had world-class spinners in the middle there and it was just nice to get the first victory over the line."

England took all of Afghanistan's wickets with catches, the first time 10 have gone down in a T20 World Cup game in such a manner.

"We really worked on our fielding over the last couple of weeks," said Curran. "We know it's going to be a huge factor in the tournament."

Sam Curran proved a cut above as England launched their T20 World Cup challenge with a five-wicket win against Afghanistan.

Curran took 5-10 from 3.4 overs at Perth Stadium on Saturday, a haul that included four wickets in six balls spread across his final two overs to become the first England bowler to take five wickets in a T20I.

Afghanistan crumbled to 112 all out as Curran tore through their lower order, with England reaching the victory target in 18.1 overs to move level on points with New Zealand in Group 1.

Left-arm seamer Curran was excellent with the ball in a recent series win over Australia and made another big impact in an Afghanistan innings that never got going.

Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali held excellent catches for Jos Buttler's side, before Curran took centre stage. Mark Wood (2-23) and Ben Stokes (2-19) also impressed with the ball in a strong start for England.

Ibrahim Zadran top scored with 32 for Afghanistan, while England had four batters in double figures, Livingstone finishing with an unbeaten 29.

Classy Curran

Curran's previous best T20I bowling performance was the 3-25 he took against Australia just 10 days prior to this match. His economy rate of 2.72 in this five-star performance was his meanest in the short format, and he told Fox Sports: "At the start of the game, I did not expect to be walking off like that."

The all-rounder bowled 16 dot balls and conceded just one boundary, putting the squeeze on and reaping the rewards.

England record haul shows catches win matches

As Afghanistan fell short with the bat and dropped catches in the field, England's sharp fielding effort meant this was the first time in a T20 World Cup match that all 10 dismissals in an innings were catches.

The result also means England have won all three of their T20Is against Afghanistan, each meeting coming at World T20 level, at the 2012 and 2016 editions.

Aaron Finch will not rush to any rash decisions following Australia's humbling 89-run defeat to New Zealand in their T20 World Cup opener on Saturday.

Australia were looking to make a positive start to their title defence at the SCG but found themselves on the end of an embarrassing loss.

It was a measure of revenge for the Black Caps, who lost to Australia in last year's final, with Devon Conway playing a vital role as his 92 not out off 58 helped New Zealand to a total of 200-3.

The swift dismissals of David Warner, Finch himself and Mitchell Marsh left Australia's chase doomed at 34-3 by the fifth over – Tim Southee eliminated two of them as he finished with remarkable figures of 3-6.

Australia were eventually bowled out for just 111, but captain Finch did not feel it was necessary to lay into his team, convinced they have a group of players and structure to retain their title.

"We still feel as though we've got the right structure of team, and we've got the right players to win the World Cup," he said.

"Obviously, it's taken a big hit today with the net run rate, and when that happens, you need to play well, and we need to we need to get better, quickly.

"And then, like I said, you need a bit of luck in T20 cricket as well, in such a brutal tournament.

"So, I think we've still got the right structure of the team. There's no doubt about that.

"Whether you go with an extra spinner, an extra quick, something like that, I think that's the only real decision to be made.

"Well, I'm still confident in the 15 that we've got, no doubt."

Finch will hope for a response against Sri Lanka at Perth Stadium on Tuesday.

Devon Conway's majestic 92 not out and a superb raft of bowling performances helped New Zealand inflict a shock rout upon Australia with an 89-run win in their T20 World Cup opener in Sydney.

Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee returned terrific figures in a superb performance to leave the hosts stunned in the first match of the Super 12 stage at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

For the Black Caps, it was a performance to emphatically banish the ghosts of last year's final in the United Arab Emirates, where they buckled against a destructive Baggy Green performance led by Mitchell Marsh.

Here, they clocked a near-perfect start, with opener Finn Allen lashing a destructive 42 off 16 balls before Conway took command following the former's dismissal by Josh Hazlewood through the off-stump.

The wicket-keeper's shrewd knock pushed them to 200-3, setting Australia a difficult target to chase down - and swift dismissals for David Warner, Aaron Finch and Marsh, to reduce them to 34-3, effectively stymied their response.

From there, New Zealand effectively mopped up, working their way through the tail - and when Pat Cummins skied Southee at the start of the 18th over, an easy catch ensured a 111 all out demolition to get their tournament off to a flyer.

Conway throws down marker to rivals

The pyrotechnic performance of Allen came to an end with a choice ball from Hazlewood, the best of the Australia bowlers, but it was Conway's steady presence that built the bedrock.

Left-hander Conway carried the bat through a sumptuous 58-ball innings that included seven fours and two sixes. It is his third half-century in his last five T20I matches - few players are in finer form.

Hosts humbled in poor start

Having downed the Black Caps to crown themselves champions a year ago, this was a performance without bark and bite from Australia.

It is early doors in this competition, but in a group that also contains an England side in rich form, it is a result that could have seismic ramifications for their title defence.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) will conduct a "thorough postmortem" after the Windies' embarrassing early T20 World Cup exit.

West Indies are the only team to have won the T20 World Cup twice, but they failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage in Australia.

Nicolas Pooran's side crashed out with a whimper at Bellerive Oval, where Ireland hammered them by nine wickets to advance along with Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Netherlands on Friday.

The Windies suffered a stunning defeat to Scotland in their first game of the tournament in Hobart on Monday and despite beating Zimbabwe in midweek, will be on the plane home.

West Indies finished bottom of Group B and it appears there may be consequences for such an abject failure.

CWI president Ricky Skerritt said in a statement: "I am deeply disappointed with the performance and results of our team in Australia, and I appreciate the sense of utter frustration that is being experienced by many.

"The ongoing inability of our batsmen to prevail over opposing slow bowling continued to be an obvious weakness in Australia, and untimely shot selections seem to be deeply embedded in the T20 batting culture of our senior team.

"However, I want to assure stakeholders that a thorough postmortem will be carried out on all aspects of our World Cup preparation and performance and that solutions will be found in keeping with CWI's strategy to improve the quality and sustainability of cricket on all fronts, and in all formats.

"West Indies cricket is bigger than any one individual or event, and continues to need the input and support of all stakeholders."

Cricket West Indies President Ricky Skerritt promised a “thorough post-mortem” after the West Indies elimination from the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia on Thursday.

The team entered their final game in the qualifying round needing a win against Ireland to advance to the super 12s but were handily beaten by nine-wickets.

“I am deeply disappointed with the performance results of our team in Australia and I appreciate the sense of utter frustration that is being experienced by many,” Skerritt said in a statement on Friday.

The team, once again, showed an inability to play spin bowling, with Ireland’s spin duo of Gareth Delany and Simi Singh combining to bowl six overs for just 27 runs, grabbing four wickets in the process.

“The ongoing inability of our batsmen to prevail over opposing slow bowling continued to be an obvious weakness in Australia, and untimely shoe selection seems to be deeply embedded in the batting culture of our senior team,” Skerritt said.

The statement continues: “However, I want to ensure stakeholders that a thorough post-mortem will be carried out on all aspects of our World Cup preparation and performance, and that solutions will be found in keeping with CWI’s strategy to improve the quality and sustainability of cricket on all fronts, and in all formats. West Indies cricket is bigger than any one individual or event, and continues to need the input and support of all stakeholders.”

Shan Masood is a doubt for Pakistan's opening game of the T20 World Cup against arch-rivals India after taking a blow on the head during training on Friday.

The batter was taken to hospital after he was struck during a practice session at the MCG.

It was revealed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that Masood's neurological observations are normal, with the left-hander suffering superficial bruising.

The 33-year-old is asymptomatic but will undergo another concussion test on Saturday.

If passed fit, Masood is expected to come in at number three for Pakistan when they take on India in a huge showdown in Melbourne on Sunday.

Fakhar Zaman, a late addition to the squad as a replacement for Usman Qadir, would be the most likely replacement for Masood if he misses out.

Pakistan travel to Perth to face Zimbabwe next Thursday after taking on India.

Captain Craig Ervine led the way as Zimbabwe roared past Scotland to reach the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.

Ervine's assured 58 set the platform for Zimbabwe to chase down Scotland's 132-6, which was anchored by 54 from George Munsey.

Zimbabwe reached their target with nine balls to spare, posting 133-5, with a key to their victory being a fourth-wicket partnership of 64 between Ervine and Sikandar Raza, who rattled to 40 from just 23 balls and took man-of-the-match honours.

Ryan Burl struck the winning boundary for Zimbabwe, whose opening bowler Tendai Chatara earlier kept it tight to stifle Scotland, taking 2-14 from his four overs.

Zimbabwe had beaten Ireland in their tournament opener before losing to West Indies, while Scotland beat West Indies but lost to Ireland, setting up Friday's game in Hobart as a winner-takes-all tussle.

The victory for Zimbabwe secured top spot in Group B of the first-round stage, earning a place in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, where they will face Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa.

Scotland go home, as do West Indies following their defeat to Ireland earlier on Friday.

Ireland, as runners-up to Zimbabwe, progress into Group 1 where Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka await them.

Zimbabwe will stay in Hobart for their Super 12 opener, an appetising clash with South Africa on Monday.

West Indies T20 captain Nicholas Pooran believes a bitterly disappointing end to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup should serve as a learning experience for the team.

On Friday, a dominant half-century from veteran opener Paul Stirling put an end to the campaign of the Caribbean team, in the first round of the tournament.  Stirling’s 66 from 48 deliveries led the Irish to a resounding 9-wicket win with 15 balls remaining and a spot in the Super-12.

The result confirmed a far fall for the West Indies, the two-time champions of the event lost two of three matches to teams who came through the qualification phase.  Once again, the Windies struggled with the bat on what looked like a fair surface, limping to 146 for 5 in their 20 overs, before Ireland easily moved down the total, with a little application, proving there were no demons in the pitch.

"It’s obviously a learning experience.  We have disappointed our fans back home and most importantly disappointed ourselves,” Pooran said following the match.

“It’s definitely hurting.  I definitely disappointed the guys in how I performed as well but we live to see another day,” he added.

In continuation of a general theme in the format this year, the team continued to find runs at the crease hard to come by and were well bogged down by the Ireland strategy.  Brandon King ended the innings unbeaten for the West Indies on 62 from 48.

“We haven’t batted well in this tournament at all.  On a really good batting surface coming out here and making 145 it was always difficult to ask the bowlers to defend that on this track.”