Ton-up Tamim Iqbal takes Bangladesh to Super 10 stage

DHARAMSALA, India (AP) Opener Tamim Iqbal struck the first Twenty20 international century by a Bangladesh batsman to help his team beat Oman by 54 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method on Sunday and reach the Super 10 stage of the ICC World Twenty20.

The left-hander's 63-ball 103 not out, which was studded with five sixes and 10 fours, helped Group A favorite Bangladesh notch a huge 180-2 after being put in to bat.

Oman could only manage 65-9 in the rain-interrupted game after a revised target of 120 off 12 overs left it to score 75 off 22 balls.

Iqbal, who played some fine pull and lofted shots as well as some deft strikes behind the wicket, added 97 for the second wicket with Sabbir Rahman, who hit 44 from 26 deliveries.

Bangladesh's left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan later grabbed 4-15 as the team joined India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand in Group 2 of the main league, which starts on Tuesday.

''After a couple of boundaries I was hitting the ball nicely,'' said Iqbal, who scored 83 not out against the Netherlands and 47 versus Ireland in earlier games. ''I'd told my coach (Chandika Hathurasinghe of Sri Lanka) that I'll give you a hundred in this World Cup and I kept my promise.''

Oman, which remained in contention after a surprise two-wicket win over Ireland, could not get the innings together in the face of an even stiffer target due to two rain stoppages during its innings.

In an earlier game, pace bowler Paul van Meekeren grabbed 4-11 as the Netherlands defeated Ireland by 12 runs.

Put in to bat, the Netherlands scored 59-5 with opener Stephen Myburgh striking an 18-ball 27 with five fours. Irish left-arm spinner George Dockrell took 3-7.

Ireland could only reach 47-4 in reply with Van Meekeren ending its hopes with the wickets of Max Sorensen (9) and George Dockrell (0) off consecutive deliveries in the last over.

''It's special,'' van Meekeren said. ''The captain told me to bowl short of length and into the stumps and it was perfect conditions for me. We had been preparing for this for the last three weeks, maybe six months, and it worked out well.''

Paul Stirling top-scored for Ireland with 15.

Meanwhile, in a practice game, the West Indies defeated Australia by three wickets with just one ball remaining.

Australia scored 161-9 off 20 overs after electing to bat. Shane Watson top-scored with 60 off 39 balls with four fours and four sixes while Steven Smith (36) and Aaron Finch (33) were the other main scorers.

For the West Indies, Dwayne Bravo took 4-21.

Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood then produced a hat-trick in the fourth over of the match. Hazlewood trapped Jason Holder leg before wicket (6) and then bowled Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo for golden ducks to finish with 3-13.

However, captain Darren Sammy produced a match-winning 50 off 28 balls with six fours and one six. Carlos Brathwaite (33) and Andre Russell (29) were the other main contributors.