United News of Bangladesh

Both the semifinals of the seven-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship 2024 will be held on Sunday at the Dashrath Rangasala (Stadium) Kathmandu of Nepal. Defending champions Bangladesh will play Group B runners-up Bhutan in the first semifinal at 1:45 pm (Bangladesh time), while Group B champions and hosts Nepal will face Group A runners-up and the five-time champions India at 6:45 pm at the same venue. The final match between two winning semifinalists will be held on October 30. Ahead of Sunday's semifinal, Bangladesh women's team conducted their final training session Saturday afternoon from 2 pm to 3 pm at the Army Headquarters ground, focusing on tactical drills and strategic play. After the training session, the Bangladeshi women's took an ice bath at the team hotel for recovery and to ensure peak readiness. During the day's training session, Bangladesh vice-captain Maria Manda said, "We beat Bhutan by 8-0 goals earlier, but this time they are a different team, stronger than previous occasions; they drew goalless with hosts Nepal, so we are prepared to face them.". Bangladesh Women’s Football team make first practices in Kathmandu Bhutan, which never won a match against Bangladesh women's and suffered a 0-8 goal defeat against Bangladesh in the last SAFF Women's Championship in 2022 in Kathmandu, this time proved their worth to qualify for the semifinal as the unbeaten team for the first time and finished Group B runners-up, toppling Sri Lanka and the Maldives. On way to the semis, Bhutan outplayed the Maldives by 13-0 goals and beat Sri Lanka by 4-1 goals after playing a goalless draw with hosts Nepal in the group affairs. Bangladesh smartly booked a seat for the semifinal as the Group A champions with an unbeaten run shocking five-time champion India by 3-1 goals in the last group match last Wednesday. This was the second consecutive victory for Bangladesh women's against the Indian women's in the SAFF Championship after beating them by 3-0 goals in the last SAFF Women's Championship held in 2022, also in Kathmandu. Despite the day's frustrating 1-3 goals defeat, India also reached the semifinal as the Group A runners-up, outplaying Pakistan by 5-2 goals in the tournament opener. Earlier, Bangladesh luckily stayed in the semifinal race after playing a 1-1 draw with Pakistan by a Shamsunnahar Jr.'s equalising goal in the added time (90+1 minute) in their first match. Nepal emerged Group B champions to reach the semis with an unbeaten record by virtue of a better goal difference, outplaying the Maldives by 11-0 goals and beating Sri Lanka by 6-0 goals after playing a goalless draw with Bhutan.

Four newcomers were elected as vice president, while two national footballers conceded defeat in four vital posts of the vice presidents in the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Election 2024 held today (Saturday) at a local hotel in the capital. Two-time vice president, BNP leader, and businessman Tabith Awal elected the new president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) with a huge margin, beating AFM Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, a grassroots organiser and coach from Dinajpur District, by 23-5 votes in the day's BFF Election '2024. Former footballer Tabith Awal, who elected BFF vice president in the BFF Election in 2012 and 2016 during the Kazi Salahuddin regime, ended the long 16-year, four-term tenure of Kazi M Salahuddin, who quit the election this time. President of BPL football champions Bashundhara Kings Imrul Hasan elected senior vice president (SVP) unopposed as his rival businessman and sports organiser Tarafder Md Ruhul Amin withdrew his candidature in the dying moment. BFF Election: Tabith Awal emerging as frontrunner to replace Salahuddin He will replace long serving BFF senior vice president, national booter, and former parliament member Abdus Salam Murshedy. Six candidates competed in the four vice president posts of BFF. Nasser Shahriar Zahedee, a grassroot level organiser of Jashore Shamsul Huda Academy elected the first vice president polling 115 votes, Wahiduddin Chowdhury Happy of Luxmipur District Football Association and elder brother of former BNP MP Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie elected vice president securing 108 votes. Sabbir Ahmed Arif, member secretary of the Brothers Union Club, polled 90 votes to finish 3rd, while sports event management businessman Fahad Mohammad Ahmed Karim got 87 votes to be the 4th and last vice president. Former national footballer Syed Rumman Wali Bin Shabbir polled 66 votes, and another national footballer, cum coach Shafiqul Islam Manik, got 42 votes to concede defeat in the post of vice president. The annual general meeting of BFF was also held at the same venue Saturday morning with outgoing president Kazi Md Salahuddin in the chair. A total of 128 councillors out of 133 exercised their voting rights on Saturday from 2 pm to 6 pm to elect a 21-member BFF executive committee, including one president, one senior vice president, four vice presidents, and 15 executive committee members, among the 46 intending candidates. Thirty-seven competed in the 15 executive committee members of BFF; counting of member votes was in progress till the last report was received.

Both the semifinals of the seven-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship 2024 will be held on Sunday at the Dashrath Rangasala (Stadium) Kathmandu of Nepal. Defending champions Bangladesh will play Group B runners-up Bhutan in the first semifinal at 1:45 pm (Bangladesh time), while Group B champions and hosts Nepal will face Group A runners-up and the five-time champions India at 6:45 pm at the same venue.  The final match between two winning semifinalists will be held on October 30. Ahead of Sunday's semifinal, Bangladesh women's team conducted their final training session Saturday afternoon from 2 pm to 3 pm at the Army Headquarters ground, focusing  on tactical drills and strategic play.  After the training session, the Bangladeshi women's took an ice bath at the team hotel for recovery and to ensure peak readiness. During the day's training session, Bangladesh vice-captain Maria Manda said, "We beat Bhutan by 8-0 goals earlier, but this time they are a different team, stronger than previous occasions; they drew goalless with hosts Nepal, so we are prepared to face them." Lionel Messi's every move shown on TikTok during his winning Inter Miami playoff debut Bhutan, which never won a match against Bangladesh women's and suffered a 0-8 goal defeat against Bangladesh in the last SAFF Women's Championship in 2022 in Kathmandu, this time proved their worth to qualify for the semifinal as the unbeaten team for the first time and finished Group B runners-up, toppling Sri Lanka and the Maldives. On way to the semis, Bhutan outplayed  the Maldives by 13-0 goals and beat Sri Lanka by 4-1 goals after playing a goalless draw with hosts Nepal in the group affairs. Bangladesh smartly booked a seat for the semifinal as the Group A champions with an unbeaten run shocking five-time champion India by 3-1 goals in the last group match last Wednesday. This was the second consecutive victory for Bangladesh women's against the Indian women's in the SAFF Championship after beating them by 3-0 goals in the last SAFF Women's Championship held in 2022, also in Kathmandu. Despite the day's frustrating 1-3 goals defeat, India also reached the semifinal as the Group A runners-up, outplaying Pakistan by 5-2 goals in the tournament opener. Earlier, Bangladesh luckily stayed in the semifinal race after playing a 1-1 draw with Pakistan by a Shamsunnahar Jr.'s equalising goal in the added time (90+1 minute) in their first match. Nepal emerged Group B champions to reach the semis with an unbeaten record by virtue of a better goal difference, outplaying the Maldives by 11-0 goals and beating Sri Lanka by 6-0 goals after playing a goalless draw with Bhutan.

Mitchell Santner picked 13 wickets as New Zealand beat India by 113 runs in the second test Saturday, claiming its first test series win on Indian soil. Following his 7-53 in the first Indian innings, Santner was once again wrecker-in-chief, picking up 6-104 in the second innings as New Zealand took an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. It had won the first test in Bengaluru by eight wickets. India hadn't lost a home test series since 2012, when it was beaten by England. It was a second five-plus wicket haul for Santner in tests, coming in consecutive innings at Pune, as India was bowled out for 245 runs in 60.2 overs while chasing 359 runs for an unlikely win. “Winning a series over here is very tough," said Santner, who was named player of the match. “I feel a little sore (with bowling unchanged from one end), but you have to keep going. Every time I got a wicket, it felt better. I just tried to land the ball in the same spot with little changes in pace.” Yashasvi Jaiswal was the top scorer for India with 77 runs off 65 balls. But there wasn’t much else from India’s famed batting lineup — Ravindra Jadeja’s 42 was the second-best score on the day. Ajaz Patel took 2-43, while Glenn Phillips picked 1-60. Tom Latham’s squad joins a select club. Since 2000, India had previously lost only three test series on home soil — to South Africa (2000), Australia (2004-05) and England 12 years ago. New Zealand has toured India since 1955 and had only managed to win two tests here prior to this series — in 1969 and 1988. “We are proud to be in this position. It is a really special feeling and a whole team effort," Latham said. “Putting runs on the board at the start was really important. Santner was fantastic. We have had to adapt to different surfaces and we did that very well. The last two wickets took an age, but we were really happy when it happened.” Earlier, in the morning session, New Zealand put up a tall ask for India and set 359 for victory. It was bowled out for 255 runs in 69.4 overs in its second innings. Starting from overnight 198-5, the Black Caps lost quick wickets in the first hour of play. Ravindra Jadeja got back into some form, picking up three wickets on day three, and he finished with 3-72 after going wicketless in the first innings. Jaiswal then stroked a breezy 46 not out off 36 balls as India reached 81-1 at lunch. The opener was in an aggressive mood and had put on 34 runs for the first wicket with Rohit Sharma, who was out caught at short leg for eight. Post lunch, Shubman Gill added 62 off 59 balls with Jaiswal for the second wicket. The duo played attacking cricket and India looked comfortable for a brief period. Santner provided the breakthrough in the 16th over — Gill was caught at slip for 23. There was another short partnership — 31 runs — between Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, before Santner dealt another crushing blow. Jaiswal was caught at slip in the 22nd over, after hitting nine fours and three sixes. The turning point came immediately — again via Santner whose throw ran out Rishabh Pant for a duck. The writing was on the wall for India when Santner trapped Kohli lbw for 17 off 40 deliveries. India slipped from 127-2 to 147-5 in 51 deliveries and then further to 167-7 as Santner ran through the batting card. It was his maiden 10-for in test cricket. Jadeja once again resisted with runs late down the order, but it was too little to prevent a defeat for India on home soil. “It is not what we expected," said Sharma, India’s skipper. “New Zealand played better than us. We failed to capitalize on certain moments and didn’t bat well enough to get runs on the board. You have to take 20 wickets to win a test, but batters have to put runs on the board.” The third test begins in Mumbai on Friday.

Bangladesh cricket team captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is unwilling to continue in his role, an international cricket media reported on Saturday.  The news came as the Bangladesh team is gearing up for the second Test against South Africa in Chattogram, starts on October 29.  Cricbuzz, a cricket website, reported that he is not willing to continue in his role and has informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) of this. Shanto said that he is now waiting for a response from the board.  Shanto, a left-handed batter, was appointed as Bangladesh’s captain in all formats in February 2024. Chattogram Test: Khaled recalled, Bavuma remains unavailable Shanto informed the board that he wants to step down as captain after the upcoming second Test against South Africa.  It’s unclear what he showed the board behind his move. Recently, he was scrutinized for his dismal performance with the bat, and his captaincy also failed to show any innovative approaches that can characterized as good captaincy.  The board has yet to say anything about Shanto’s decision to quit captaincy. It’s not clear who will take over the captaincy if he eventually resigns from the post.  Shanto led Bangladesh in nine Tests, nine ODIs, and 24 T20Is. Under his captaincy, Bangladesh’s most famous success came when they beat Pakistan 2-0 in a two-match Test series

Lionel Messi's every move was on display in his Major League Soccer playoff debut. Every touch. Every shot attempt. Even when he wasn't doing anything at all, it was shown. There was a “Messi-cam” focused on the Inter Miami superstar throughout his team's playoff-opening, 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Friday night. Nothing but the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner livestreamed on MLS' TikTok account for the duration of the match. It captured the excitement surrounding Inter Miami, which surged in popularity when Messi arrived midway through the 2023 season. The stadium was packed with Messi fans and familiar faces, including Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., former NFL player Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and actor Idris Elba. “The Messi effect has been awesome. It's been very awesome,” Johnson said in a televised interview. “From a global aspect, having Messi here in the States and being able to grow the game as much as we've been trying to grow the game and make it more popular here, being that we have so many different sports. ... Especially for me, not having to travel to Spain anymore to watch him play has been a joy.” Messi didn’t score but assisted on Jordi Alba’s go-ahead goal in the 60th minute. He had several chances that were denied by Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who had five saves on Messi Friday night. Inter Miami is the No. 1 seed in the playoffs after setting MLS records for points (74) and winning percentage (.765). Messi, coming off a hat trick in the regular-season finale, is in contention for league MVP despite missing nearly half the MLS season because of injury and commitments to Argentina's national team. He finished with 20 goals and 16 assists. Luis Suarez also scored 20 goals, joining Messi to become the first pair of MLS teammates to reach that milestone in a season. The 37-year-old smiled and hugged his teammates when Suarez scored the opening goal less than two minutes into the match. He was shown blowing past a defender and with one swift touch firing a strike from outside the box, which Guzan pushed over the crossbar, and later placing both hands on his head and looking up into the stands when Guzan denied him again. Messi and Inter Miami finish with best record in MLS history, roll past New England 6-2 Fans stood for most of the first half. And those closest to the pitch leaned forward with their phones stretched up as far as their arms would allow to capture photos and video of Messi when he got close.

New Zealand dismissed India for 156 and led the second test by 301 runs by the end of day two Friday. After spinner Mitchell Santner took 7-53 — his maiden test five-for — to bundle out India after lunch, skipper Tom Latham led the batting effort with 86 for New Zealand to reach 198-5 at stumps. India hasn't lost a home test series since 2012 to England. But its incredible run of 18 successive home series wins was under threat from the Black Caps. Their win in Bengaluru last weekend was their first in India in 36 years. They have never won a series in India. “To put ourselves in a position to potentially win a test was cool,” Santner said. “The batters did well, wasn't easy, and building the partnerships was key.” India off-spinner Washington Sundar, who took a career-best 7-59 in the first innings, had 4-56 in the second and his first 10-wicket haul in tests. India, replying to New Zealand's first total of 259, started the day at 16-1. Santner collected 4-36 in 10 overs and off-spinner Glenn Phillips grabbed 2-26 in the morning as India collapsed to 107-7 by lunch. “Just watched Washy (Sundar) and that looked cool, so I thought, ‘Will do that,’” Santner said. India made good progress in the beginning. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were aggressive and shared 49 runs. But they were pushed back when Santner came on to bowl. With Ajaz Patel bowling at the other end, the momentum shifted in New Zealand's favor and the batters looked under pressure. Santner broke through when he got Gill lbw in the 22nd over for 30 runs off 72 balls. Virat Kohli then scored one run off nine balls and failed to pick a Santner full toss drifting in, and was bowled. Jaiswal gave Phillips an outside edge on 30, and Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 150 in Bengaluru, chipped Santner over mid-off but was caught for 11. Santner also trapped Ravichandran Ashwin (4) before lunch with the ball again staying low. After lunch, Ravindra Jadeja came out swinging for 38 off 46 balls, including three fours and two sixes. Jadeja survived a close call when the umpire and Santner failed to detect an inside edge for a caught dismissal, but he was out lbw shortly and the spinner had his five-for. Santner then went on to bowl Akash Deep (6) and trap Jasprit Bumrah (0) lbw. His 7-53 was the second best bowling figures in India after Ajaz Patel's 10-119 in 2021 in Mumbai. India's third batting collapse in this series and fourth in four tests left it trailing by 103 runs on the first innings. Latham scored 86 off 133 balls, including 10 boundaries, anchoring New Zealand while it was reduced to 89-3. Sundar trapped Devon Conway for 17, bowled Rachin Ravindra for 9, and dismissed Daryl Mitchell on 18 for his 10-wicket match haul, while Ravichandran Ashwin got Will Young lbw on 23. Latham and Tom Blundell rebuilt the innings with a 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket that put New Zealand back in a commanding position. Their stand was broken by Sundar when Latham swept and missed and was struck on the pad. Batting at stumps were Blundell, 30 not out, and Phillips, 9 not out.  

Bangladesh kept its hopes alive in the Group B race of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers, crushing Macau 7-0 at Prince Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday. This emphatic win marked Bangladesh's second consecutive victory in their third group match. After a narrow 0-1 defeat against host nation Cambodia in their opening game, Bangladesh rebounded with a 1-0 win over the Philippines on Wednesday. In Friday’s match, Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the first half and exploded with six more goals in the second half. Captain and midfielder Nazmul Huda Faysal led the charge, scoring four times in the 40th, 74th, 81st, and 84th minutes, securing a hat-trick plus one. Bangladesh Football team make their gym, practice session in Thimphu Mohammad Manik and Rifat Kazi also contributed to the scoreline, netting goals in the 65th and 71st minutes, respectively. Macau defender Tin Tang inadvertently extended Bangladesh’s lead with an own goal in the 73rd minute. Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in their final Group B match on October 27 at 3:00 p.m. at the same venue. Following Friday’s games, Afghanistan and Cambodia currently top Group B with six points each from two matches. Bangladesh, with six points from three matches, is also in the hunt, while the Philippines holds three points from three matches, and Macau remains at the bottom with no points after four games. The path to the final round next year includes the top team from each group and the five best runners-up across all groups.

Bangladesh recalled right-arm pacer Khaled Ahmed to replace Taskin Ahmed for the Chattogram Test against South Africa starting on October 29. South Africa will have to wait longer for their regular captain, Temba Bavuma, who remains unavailable for the Chattogram Test. He also missed the first Test in Dhaka and was expected to return in the second Test. Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s head coach, confirmed in a virtuatl press conference that Bavuma will not play the second Test. “We just feel medically he is not going to be ready for the second Test,” he said. “We will tone down the program so that he could be ready for the Sri Lanka series. So, Temba is out for the second Test, unfortunately.” Bavuma sustained the blow earlier this month during an ODI against Ireland, which South Africa won by a big margin of 174 runs. South Africa lead the ongoing Test series 1-0, having won the first Test in Mirpur by seven wickets, thanks to a 9-wicket match haul from Kagiso Rabada. This series is a part of the ICC Test Championship’s ongoing cycle. Bangladesh played 15 Tests against South Africa but have yet to win any. Bangladesh squad for Chattogram Test: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (WK), Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Hasan Murad, Khaled Ahmed South Africa squad for Chattogram Test: Aiden Markram, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, and Kyle Verreynne.

David Warner’s lifetime captaincy and leadership ban has been lifted by Cricket Australia, a move which could see the retired test player captain the Sydney Thunder in the Twenty20 Big Bash league this season. Warner received the penalty for his role in the 2018 sandpaper scandal in South Africa, on top of a one-year ban from cricket, which was also imposed on Steve Smith with a lesser playing suspension given to Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on film rubbing and scuffing the ball with yellow sandpaper at a test match in Cape Town. But the leadership sanction was lifted Friday by an independent three-member review panel who deemed the opener had met the necessary criteria. Warner appeared before the independent panel content earlier this month. It ruled that he met the criteria to be considered for future leadership roles. “The respectful and contrite tone of his (Warner’s) responses, as well as the content impressed the Review Panel and led it to the unanimous view that he was sincere and genuine in acknowledging responsibility for the conduct and in his statement that he had extreme remorse for his conduct,” the panel said in a statement Friday. “Mr. Warner’s conduct and behavior since the imposition of the sanction has been excellent and he appears to have made a substantial change, one example of which is that he no longer sledges or tries to provoke the opposing team." Warner played his final test match in January against Pakistan, an Australian win. He has also said he will no longer play one-day internationals, only the T20 format of the game. The move could also be considered an early birthday present from Cricket Australia — Warner turns 38 on Sunday.