CHITTAGONG: Bangladesh made short work of its Dutch opponents in a Group B match to keep its World Cup quarterfinal hopes very much alive Monday but England will not be amused. The six-wicket victory at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium catapulted the co-host to the fourth place in the group, leapfrogging England, with six points from five matches. Bangladesh faces South Africa in its final group assignment Saturday but could be assured of a quarterfinal berth even before that if England, trailing it by one point, goes down to West Indies Thursday. Four teams from each group make it to the quarterfinals and Bangladesh fancies its chance after the comprehensive win against the Dutch. “It was a nervous game because we had to win to stay in the contest,” Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said. “We'll be watching that (England vs. West Indies) match very closely but it's still within our hands and if we do well against South Africa (on Saturday) we'll qualify.” While that would probably require an even better performance, Bangladesh did well against the winless Dutch. Shafiul Islam's first spell – the pace bowler conceded only seven runs from his first six overs, three of which were maidens – stifled the Dutch batsmen after their skipper Peter Borren had decided to bat first. The decision came to haunt Borren as Bangladesh soon unleashed its battery of left-arm spinners, most prominently Abdur Razzak (3-29), who tormented it with a nagging line and length as runs dried up. The Dutch batsmen did not help their cause either with four of them running themselves out. For them, Ryan ten Doeschate (53 not out) waged a lonely battle before running out of partners as the Dutch folded for 160 in 46.2 overs. Bangladesh wobbled early in its chase, losing the scoreless Tamim Iqbal to the fourth ball of the innings but Imrul Kayes' (73 not out) second successive half-century saw it home with 8.4 overs to spare. That triggered another celebration in the port city which had declared the dnay a public holiday.
