United News of Bangladesh

India was 167-6 at lunch Tuesday on the fourth day and still trailing Australia by 278 runs in its first innings in the rain-plagued third cricket test at the Gabba in Brisbane. Australia scored 445 runs in its first innings after only 13 overs were bowled on the first day Saturday and after there were eight stoppages of play due to rain on the third day Monday. That continued Tuesday morning and rain returned to delay the start of play after lunch. Kane Williamson makes 156 as New Zealand sets England 658 to win the 3rd test Ravindra Jadega on 41 was one of the not-out batters. KL Rahul top-scored for India with 84 runs before being caught by Steve Smith off Nathan Lyon's bowling, while Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins have taken two wickets each for Australia. Australia could be a bowler down for the remainder of the test after Josh Hazlewood suffered calf soreness ahead of the fourth day’s play and was only able to send down one over before leaving the field. Hazlewood, who missed the second Adelaide test due to side soreness, was late entering the field at the start of play and then looked labored when he came into the attack. India won the first test by 295 runs at Perth, while Australia came back to win the second day-night test in Adelaide by 10 wickets.

In a dramatic finish, Bangladesh edged past the West Indies by seven runs in the first T20I, securing their first victory against the Caribbean side in the format in six years. Liton Das, the Bangladesh captain for the series, now eyes a series win. Batting first, Bangladesh managed 147 for six, with the West Indies falling short at 140 in 19.5 overs.  After the victory, Bangladesh skipper Liton expressed his focus on clinching the series. Shakib barred from bowling in bizarre twist at career's tail end  “I want our team to play aggressive cricket. They are showing their quality, and despite the long tour, they are playing really well. We’ve started well, and if we continue this momentum, we can win the series,” Liton said.  During the toss, Liton had set a target of 180 runs but later admitted that the pitch did not behave as expected. "We have played here before, but this wicket didn’t play as well as I thought. Once we started batting, I realized 150-160 was a fighting total. We trusted our bowlers to defend it, and they delivered," he added.  

Defending champions Bashundhara Kings will play Fortis FC Ltd in a Group A match of the Bashundhara Group Federation Cup Football 2023-24 at 2:30 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital on Tuesday. Brothers Union Club Ltd will meet Dhaka Wanderers Club in the other Group A match also at 2:30 pm at the Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh on Tuesday. Earlier in the tournament opener, last season’s treble winners Bashundhara Kings managed 1-0 goal victory over Brothers Union Club to dominate the Group A list securing full three points from one match. The other Group A opening match between Bangladesh Police FC and Fortis FC ended in a goalless draw to follow the league leader Kings securing one point each from one match. Brother Union Club yet to open the account losing the opening match to the Kings while Dhaka Wanderers Club yet to start the tournament. In the Group B, former champions Dhaka Abahani Limited and Rahmatganj MFS dominated the group securing full three points after playing their first match. The Sky-Blue Dhanmondi outfit Dhaka Abahani,without any foreign footballer,  made a flying start outplaying their minnow Chittagong Abahani Ltd by 3-0 goals while Rahmatganj MFS forced last time's runners up Dhaka Mohammedan SC to concede 0-1 goal defeat in the 10-team Federation Cup Football. Bangladesh edge out West Indies in thrilling first T20I Dhaka Mohammedan SC, which shocked last season's treble winners Bashundhara Kings beating them by 1-0 goal in their 2nd BPL match, made a frustrating journey in the Federation Cup Football losing to Rahmatganj MFS by 0-1 goal at the Bashundhara Kings Arena. This was the 2nd successive defeat for traditional black and whites Dhaka Mohammedan at the Basundhara Kings Arena (ground)  this season after conceding 1-3 defeat against the Kings in the one-match Challenge Cup Football recently. Ten premier division league clubs, split into two groups, are initially participating  in the first phase of the Federation Cup Football at three venues in Dhaka, Mymensingh and Cumilla   Grouping of Federation Cup: Group A -Bashundhara Kings, Bangladesh Police FC, Fortis FC, Brothers Union Club and Dhaka Wanderers Club Group B - Mohammedan SC Ltd, Dhaka Abahani Ltd, Chattagram Abahani Ltd, Rahmatganj MFS and Fakirerpool Youngmen's Club. Later, top two teams from each of the two groups will play in the meet's next round (qualification and elimination) like the Franchisee  Cricket League  

Austrian soccer player Guido Burgstaller has been left with serious head injuries, including a skull fracture, after he was attacked in the Vienna city center, his club Rapid Vienna said Monday. Rapid Vienna said the 35-year-old striker was struck by an unidentified man and fell, injuring his head, in an incident which took place in front of witnesses during the weekend. The club said Burgstaller, who has played 26 times for the Austrian national team, was expected to spend “the coming days” in a hospital and would likely be unable to play for several months. The club didn't give further details of the incident and said it wanted to respect the privacy of Burgstaller and his family. It added that it “trusts that the responsible authorities will soon bring the as-yet unidentified perpetrator to justice."

Kane Williamson made 156 as New Zealand amassed a lead of 657 runs before both England openers were dismissed to leave the hosts in a commanding position at the end of the third day of the third cricket test on Monday. To compound an already dimsal day for the tourists, England captain Ben Stokes limped from the field with a recurrence of a hamstring injury. Williamson’s 33rd test century was his seventh at Seddon Park and his fifth in consecutive tests on a home ground on which he averages more than 100. New Zealand finally was dismissed for 453 after leading by 204 on the first innings and in five overs before stumps England slumped to 18-2. Tim Southee bowled Ben Duckett (4) off an inside edge in the second over of the England innings as the opener charged the veteran seamer who is playing his final test. Zac Crawley (5) was dismissed by Matt Henry for the sixth time in the series, trapped lbw one over before stumps. Jacob Bethell 9 not out and Joe Root had yet to score were at the crease at the close. “Whenever you take a wicket for New Zealand it’s special,” said Southee who now has 390 test wickets. “Playing for New Zealand has been such a big part of my life and it’s been such an honor to do what I’ve been able to do. “Hopefully the next couple of days will be a good couple of days but an emotional couple of days too.” Stokes was bowling the second ball of his 13th over when, on his follow-through, he clutched at the hamstring of his left leg. He immediately walked from the field with his hand covering the lower half of his face on which was etched both pain and distress. Stokes suffered a serious injury to his left hamstring while playing in The Hundred in August for the Northern Superchargers against the Manchester Originals. He was on crutches for some time and forced to miss England’s test series against Sri Lanka and the first test of the subsequent series against Pakistan. Ollie Pope took over the captaincy in Stokes’ absence. During his six-hour innings, Williamson overtook South Africa’s Graeme Smith to move up to 17th place on the list of leading test run-scorers six behind another South African, Hashim Amla. He shared partnerships on Monday of 107 with Rachin Ravindra (44) and 92 with Daryl Mitchell (60). His century came from 137 balls and his 150 from 196 balls, the third 50 from 59 runs as New Zealand stepped up its scoring towards an expected declaration. The entire first session on the third day was lost to rain and a damp outfield. Play resumed at 1.30 with New Zealand 136-3, Williamson 50 not out and Ravindra 2. Williamson scored fluently throughout the day, hitting 14 fours and a six in his century. He was typically powerful square of the wicket, particularly in his use of the cut shot. Ravindra was sometimes bogged down, at the start of the day when he added only a handful of runs in the first hour and later when he found his scoring options limited. At times England bowled to a 7-2 offside field which plugged some scoring zones. With wide gaps on the leg side, Ravindra tried to drag a ball from Matthew Potts outside his off stump through mid-wicket but edged it from the outside half of the bat to Brydon Carse at mid-off. Mitchell joined Williamson and batted with more urgency which seemed an indication of an impending declaration. He hit two sixes and seven fours in his 60 from 84 balls before holing out to Matthew Potts in the deep to give Jacob Bethell his first test wicket. New Zealand had a 500 run lead by 4.55pm on a day when play could go on until 7.30pm, under lights if necessary, because of the loss of the morning session. It led by 600 at 6.10pm but no declaration came. England took the second new ball after 93.4 overs when the lead was 604 and put in the hands of off-spinner Shoaib Bashir who took 2-170, the most expensive bowling figures against New Zealand. Mitchell Santner took 16 runs from the first over bowled by Joe Root and was out in the same over for 49. That brought Southee to the crease for his final innings in his 107th and last test, needing two sixes to become the fourth player after Stokes, England coach and former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist to hit 100 sixes in tests. He was welcomed by a guard of honor of England players but made only 2 as the New Zealand innings ended with wicketkeeper Tom Blundell 44 not out. The highest winning fourth innings total in test history is 418.

Barcelona stayed top of the Spanish league despite a shock 1-0 home defeat on Sunday to lowly Leganes, a team that had not won away all season. Atletico Madrid beat Getafe 1-0 to leapfrog city rival Real Madrid and go second. Both Barcelona and Atletico have 38 points but Barcelona has a better goal difference. Playing in the first of five La Liga matches on Sunday, Atletico won its sixth consecutive league game to move a point clear of Real, which could only draw 3-3 with Real Vallecano on Saturday. The results set up a mouthwatering clash between the top two at Barcelona next Saturday. The Madrid side will go into the match with the momentum after recording its 11th straight victory in all competitions on a chilly afternoon at the Wanda Metropolitano. Visitor Getafe had taken just two points from its seven away games so far this season but it made life difficult for Diego Simeone’s side. It took Atletico until the 70th minute to get the winner from Alexander Sorloth's header. Barcelona then missed the chance to restore its three-point cushion when it lost to Leganes. Leganes went ahead with Sergio González's header after four minutes and spent most of the match defending its lead. Leganes keeper Marko Dmitrović was superb, especially in the first half, and Barcelona’s front players were so ineffectual that coach Hansi Flick withdrew Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal in the final quarter. His changes, however, had little effect and Leganes, promoted from the second tier in May, celebrated a win that lifts it into 15th, four points clear of the relegation zone. “Taking the lead so early against teams like this is dangerous because they have so much potential," said Leganes defender Jorge Saenz. "We were able to defend together and keep them away from our area. Dmitrovic made three saves that were life-saving for us.” “It’s only three points, but for us they’re like gold. Things were getting tight and this gives us a little breathing room.” BASQUE DERBY ENDS ALL SQUARE Alaves and Athletic Bilbao shared the points in a 1-1 Basque derby that snapped Atheltic’s six-game winning streak. Alaves hadn’t won since Nov. 1 and was knocked out of the Copa del Rey by lowly Deportiva Minera. It was on the defensive for much of the match and went behind after 10 minutes when Unai Gómez hit the net after taking a nice pass from Iñaki Williams. But Joan Jordán took advantage of a goalkeeping error midway through the second half to level the scores. Athletic had chances to win – a late goal from Dani Vivian wasn't allowed because of an infringement – but the draw leaves it in fourth place, four points behind Real Madrid and five behind the top two. “Winning today would have put us in a better position, but coming here for a derby is always tough,” Williams said. “In terms of effort, we can’t be faulted, but we lacked clarity up front.” “Overall, a draw is a fair result for both teams.” BETIS STRETCHES UNBEATEN RUN Real Betis stretched its unbeaten run to four games with a 2-1 win at Villarreal but coach Manuel Pellegrini was angry at playing with 10 men for most of the game after Ezequiel Ávila saw red. The Argentine forward was sent off for a cynical foul 11 minutes before halftime with Betis 1-0 up thanks to a goal from on-loan Barcelona striker Vitor Roque. Giovani Lo Celso made it 2-0 a minute after the break with a superb free kick and, although Alex Baena got one back with a superbly taken volley, Betis left with all three points to take it to ninth place. Pellegrini was angered that Ávila’s foul, committed in the center of the pitch to stop a counterattack, was not reviewed by the video officials. “Penalties, red cards, they should always be reviewed,” Pellegrini said. “They unbalanced the match today unfairly. VAR reduces the chance of these eventualities. VAR should be an ally, not an enemy.” Also, Real Sociedad failed to win for the first time in five matches with a 0-0 draw at home to Las Palmas. Both sides had chances to win the match but poor finishing and good goalkeeping at both ends meant a share of the points. Real Sociedad is in seventh, a point behind Villarreal, while Las Palmas is in 14th.

Australia's tail wagged a little longer to reach 445 all out before a stunning opening spell by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood had India in early trouble at 22-3 in its reply at lunch on the third day of the third cricket test on Monday. Starc took the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in his first two overs to set the tone, before Hazlewood captured the prize wicket of India superstar Virat Kohli just before a rain shower brought on an early lunch. At lunch, KL Rahul was 13 not out and he will be joined by Rishabh Pant after the break. Resuming at 405-7 earlier Monday, Australia's Alex Carey and Starc made some quickfire runs before Jasprit Bumrah (6-76) got his sixth wicket of the innings by removing Starc (18) caught behind to end the rally. Nathan Lyon added two runs before he was bowled by Mohammed Siraj and then Carey holed-out for 70 off 88 balls — his ninth half century — to end the innings. After removing Jaiswal (4) with the first ball of the innings in the second test at Adelaide, Starc needed just two balls at the Gabba to remove the young opener. The first ball was swiped through gully for a boundary by the 22-year-old but the second he chipped a simple catch to Mitch Marsh at midwicket for a soft dismissal. In his next over, Starc struck again with Marsh diving acrobatically to take a two-handed catch at gully to remove Shubman Gill (1) and India was 7-2. Hazlewood, back in the team after a side strain ruled him out of last week’s second test, then rocked India further by teasing an edge from the veteran Kohli to have India three down as rain began to fall and prompted an early lunch. On Sunday's Day 2, India’s seamers triggered another top order batting collapse for the hosts but a second successive century for Travis Head and a long overdue hundred for Steven Smith lifted Australia to 405-7 at the close. Head made a characteristic sparkling 152, while Smith completed a much more circumspect 101 in a 241-run partnership which rallied the hosts after they had been at a precarious 75-3 after Bumrah had again tore through Australia's top-order on his way to a 12th five-wicket haul. Rain prevented all but 13.2 overs on the opening day after India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl on a green tionged Gabba wicket. India won the first test by 295 runs at Perth, while Australia came back to win the second day-night test in Adelaide by 10 wickets.

Bangladesh secured a nail-biting 7-run victory over the West Indies in the first T20I at Kingstown, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The victory came in the morning of Bangladesh’s 54th Victory Day anniversary, commemorating the country’s liberation from Pakistan in 1971, making the occasion even more special. Mahedi Hasan was the star of the match, earning Player of the Match honours for his brilliant all-round performance. He contributed an unbeaten 26 runs with the bat and then dismantled the West Indies batting lineup with a career-best 4 for 13.   Bangladesh add Nahid Rana to T20I squad against West Indies After being put into bat, Bangladesh posted a modest total of 147 for 6. Soumya Sarkar top-scored with 43 off 32 balls, while Shamim Hossain’s quickfire 27 off 13 provided much-needed momentum at the death. Mahedi played a crucial role in stabilizing the innings, forging a vital partnership with Shamim. West Indies' Akeal Hosein was the best bowler for the hosts, taking 2 for 13 in his four overs.   West Indies, chasing 148, were rocked early by Taskin Ahmed and Mahedi. By the 7th over, the hosts were reduced to 38 for 5, with Mahedi’s four-wicket burst sending jitters through the batting order. “We tried to bowl straight and stick to our process,” Mahedi explained. “It was crucial to maintain partnerships, and I’m glad we could execute our plans.” Bangladesh set 322 target for West Indies in final ODI Despite the collapse, captain Rovman Powell led a fightback with a 60 off 35 balls. Alongside Romario Shepherd, Powell stitched a record 67-run partnership for the eighth wicket, giving West Indies a glimmer of hope. With 20 runs needed off the final three overs, Taskin Ahmed delivered a crucial breakthrough by dismissing Shepherd for 22. Powell followed soon after, caught in the deep, as West Indies fell short, bowled out for 140 in 19.5 overs.   “The pitch didn’t behave as expected, and we felt 150-160 would have been a good score,” Bangladesh captain Litton Das lauded his team’s fighting spirit. “But we believed in our bowlers and fielders, and they delivered. This win gives us confidence going into the next game.” Litton also set a personal milestone, breaking the record for most dismissals by a Bangladesh wicketkeeper in a T20I innings with five.   “We lost wickets in clusters, and that was the only way they could stay in the game,” Powell admitted his side missed opportunities. “Our batting let us down after a credible bowling performance. We need honest conversations about what went wrong.”

Bangladesh superstar Shakib Al Hasan, one of cricket's greatest all rounders, has been barred from bowling in international cricket and domestic competitions, following an independent assessment at an ICC-accredited testing centre in the United Kingdom. The suspension, effective immediately, draws on one applying to competitions under the jurisdiction of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that came to light recently. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has now been made to understand the wider implication of that ban. Victory Day friendly cricket on Monday in Mirpur According to a BCB media release, it has received communication from the ECB confirming that the suspension is in line with clause 11.3 of the ICC regulations for illegal bowling actions. According to this regulation, if a player is banned from bowling by a National Cricket Federation, the suspension is automatically enforced in international cricket and all other domestic competitions globally. ICC member countries' boards however may override the ban and allow someone in Shakib's position to bowl in competitions under their jurisdiction. It's a bizarre turn of events for the Bangladesh cricketer, who has plied his trade for at least 17 years in international cricket without raising eyebrows over his action. During this time, he has taken over 700 international wickets, including 246 in Test cricket. For him to be barred from bowling at the age of 37 suggests something has changed in his action. While Shakib is barred from bowling, he remains eligible to play as a batter in all formats of cricket. The BCB said that Shakib will soon undergo reassessment at an ICC-accredited center, and a clearance would allow him to resume bowling in international cricket and in competitions governed by other National Cricket Federations. Bangladesh add Nahid Rana to T20I squad against West Indies “The BCB is in regular contact with the ECB, the ICC, and the player throughout this process,” the board said in its media release, mentioning that no further comments would be made at this time. Shakib’s bowling action was initially flagged during his participation in a competition under the ECB’s jurisdiction. The ICC-accredited testing revealed irregularities, leading to his suspension. However, as per clause 11.4 of the ICC regulations, a successful reassessment could overturn the decision. Shakib’s forthcoming reassessment will determine when he can resume bowling. Until then, Shakib is expected to continue to play as a batter.  

Vita Annafsa, Keyla Annisa Putri of Indonesia earned the doubles crown in the Yonex Sunrise Bangladesh Junior International (Badminton) Series 2024 clinching men's/women's doubles and mixed doubles titles at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium here on Sunday. Senior Secretary of Dr Mohammad Muklesur Rahman was the chief guest at the day's ceremony and distributed prizes Sunday afternoon Vita Annafsa and Keyla Annisa pair won mixed double crown beating another Indonesian pair by 21-14, 18-21 and 21-15 points in the event's final Earlier, Vita Annafsa shared the men's doubles crown with another Indonesian Grendly Alkatib while Keyla Annisa shared the women's doubles title also with another Indonesian Micha Leona. The men's singles crown went to Denis Azzarya of Indonesia while the women's singles title also went to Thalita Ramadhani of Indonesia. The Yonex- Sunrise Bangladesh International Badminton Challenge ' 2024 (Senior) billed for December 17- 21 here.