Sports
Bashundhara one win away from BPL title
Defending champions Bashundhara Kings are one victory away from clinching the 12-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football.
The Kings will be crowned champions if they beat Saif Sporting at the Bir Shrestha Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj at 4pm Monday. They beat Saif 4-3 in the first phase.
Read: BPL Football: Dhaka Abahani thrash Swadhinata 4-1
The Kings collected 49 points in 19 matches. They need just one win in their remaining three matches against Saif SC tomorrow, Dhaka Abahani on July 24 and Sheikh Jamal on July 30 to lift the title for the third time in a row after Dhaka Abahani.
The Sky Blue Brigade clinched the BPL title for a record six times, including three times in a row.
Independence Cup and Federation Cup champions Dhaka Abahani secured 41 points from 19 matches, seven points behind the league leader Kings.
BCB finalises next three BPL dates
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan has said they have finalised the dates of the upcoming three Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) seasons, starting in 2023.
The BCB often finds it difficult to find a suitable window for the BPL. If there are no fixed dates for the competition, the foreign players cannot take part in it due to their other professional commitments.
"To get rid of the recurring problem, we have fixed the dates for the next three seasons of this event," Nazmul told the reporters Sunday in Dhaka after a board meeting.
"We will sign contracts with the franchises for the next three years. And since we are doing it for three years, we have finalised the dates for three seasons so that the teams can prepare accordingly," he added.
Read: Is there any potential suitor to replace Tamim Iqbal in T20I cricket?
The next season of BPL will take place between January 5 and February 16 in 2023; the next two seasons will be played between January 6 and February and January 1 and February 11 in 2024 and 2025.
Nazmul also said the BPL 2023 is going to be a seven-team event. "The board will start working on finalising the franchises soon."
Is there any potential suitor to replace Tamim Iqbal in T20I cricket?
Tamim Iqbal informed the BCB president last year that he was not keen on playing the T20 format for the Bangladesh national side, emphasizing the upcoming young talents to fill his shoes in the opening slot. The veteran batter missed all bilateral Twenty20 series following the Covid-19 outbreak, including the 2021 T20 World Cup, but did not formally retire from the format until Saturday (July 16). Tamim officially quit T20I international cricket by posting a short message on his verified Facebook account. Will BCB find any potential replacements for Tamim Iqbal in the T20 format?
A look at Tamim Iqbal's T20I career
Tamim Iqbal made his T20I debut against Kenya in September 2007 and played his last match in the format against Zimbabwe in March 2020. The veteran left-hand opener is the only player to score a century for Bangladesh in the T20 format, achieving the feat against Oman (103*) in the 2016 ICC World T20.
Tamim Iqbal finished his T20I career as the third-highest run scorer of Bangladesh, behind Mahmudullah Riyad and Shakib Al Hasan. Tamim also holds the record of three of the top five best T20I innings by Bangladeshi players.
Read SL vs PAK Test Series 2022: Fixtures, Venues, H2H Records
Bangladesh's top five T20I run scorers
Player
Match
Runs
HS
SR
Mahmudullah
118
2043
64*
117.88
Shakib Al Hasan
99
2010
84
120.86
Tamim Iqbal
74
1701
103*
117.47
Mushfiqur Rahim
100
1495
72*
115.44
Soumya Sarkar
66
1136
68
122.15
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read 3rd ODI: Tremendous Taijul takes five as Bangladesh wrap WI for 178
Tamim Iqbal's potential suitors in T20I cricket
There are hardly many choices available for the opening slot in Bangladesh's T20I lineup. Litton Das is most likely to open the innings for Bangladesh in the coming fixtures. The selectors, therefore, have to find a suitable partner for Litton in the T20 format. To keep the 2022 T20 World Cup in mind, the BCB needs to pick a player from those who have played for the national side in the last 18 months. The BCB selectors may want to have a look at the following options.
Mohammad Naim
T20I batting stats since January 1, 2021
M: 28 | Runs: 590 | HS: 64 | Ave: 21.85 | SR: 98.82
Left-handed batter Mohammad Naim started his T20I career with a lot of promise. Though Naim’s recent performances have been below par. He has been given the most chances (28 matches) to open the innings for Bangladesh. However, Naim’s strike rate is under 100, and the average is just over 20. With the current form, Mohammad Naim’s chances of making the playing XI in the coming fixtures are highly unlikely.
Read Tamim announces T20I retirement
Munim Shahriar
T20I batting stats since January 1, 2021
M: 3 | Runs: 23 | HS: 17 | Ave: 7.66 | SR: 74.19
Munim Shahriar was given a chance in the Afghanistan series after a brilliant performance in the BPL 2022. He has so far played three T20Is for Bangladesh and hasn’t made any significant impact with the bat. The BCB may give Munim Shahriar more chances in the coming twenty20 fixtures to showcase his talent on the international stage.
Anamul Haque
T20I batting stats since January 1, 2021
M: 3 | Runs: 29 | HS: 16 | Ave: 9.66 | SR: 116.00
Anamul Haque had a fantastic start to his international career but couldn’t keep up the momentum later and subsequently lost his place in the national team. He recently had a record-breaking season in the DPL 2022. Following the 2022 DPL season, Anamul was given another chance on the just-concluded West Indies tour. He once again fell short of expectations, though. Anamul may be given a few more chances in the upcoming T20I matches.
Read Bangladesh clinch a clean sweep against West Indies in ODIs
Najmul Hossain Shanto
T20I batting stats since January 1, 2021
M: 1 | Runs: 5 | HS: 5 | Ave: 5 | SR: 11.11
Najmul Hossain Shanto’s chances to find a place in the opening slot are very slim as he is considered for the longer-version format. However, the BCB may turn their attention to him if others fail to live up to their expectations.
The above players' overall T20I statistics
Player
Match
Runs
HS
SR
Mohammad Naim
34
809
81
103.71
Munim Shahriar
3
23
17
74.19
Anamul Haque
16
384
58
117.79
Najmul Hossain Shanto
6
76
40
100
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read WI vs BAN Series 2022: Top 7 performers from Bangladesh team
Aftermath
The Bangladesh Cricket Board's selections have experimented with a number of players to fill Tamim Iqbal's opening position. However, none of the opening batters has been consistent enough over the course of Bangladesh's 32 games during the past 18 months. Therefore, finding a suitable alternative for Tamim Iqbal in the opening position of the T20 format may not be possible any time soon. Bangladesh may struggle in the top order at the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in the absence of Tamim Iqbal, who used to anchor the innings to the end.
WI vs BAN Series 2022: Top 7 performers from Bangladesh team
Bangladesh had a rather disappointing start to the 2022 West Indies tour, losing both Test and T20 format series. Their overall team performance in both formats was utterly disappointing, with the exception of a few standout individual performances. However, Bangladesh did make a strong comeback in the ODI format and whitewashed the Caribbean side. Let's take a look at the seven best Bangladeshi performers in the WI vs BAN Series 2022.
Bangladesh team's best 7 performers in the WI vs BAN Series 2022
Bangladesh’s batting performance throughout the Caribbean tour was disappointing. In contrast, the bowling unit had a spectacular outing during the tour. Here are the top seven Bangladeshi performers in the WI vs BAN Series 2022.
Shakib Al Hasan
M: 5 | Runs: 240 | HS: 68* | Wickets: 3 | BBI: 1/10
All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan took part in the Test and T20I series but skipped the ODI series. Despite the fact that Bangladesh lost both Tests and T20Is, Shakib was one of the best players in these two formats. He was the third highest scorer in the Test series with 138 runs. Shakib struck two fifties in the first Test. In the T20 format, Shakib was the second-top scorer with 102 runs and also picked up a couple of wickets.
Read Bangladesh clinch a clean sweep against West Indies in ODIs
Tamim Iqbal
M: 5 | Runs: 218 | HS: 50*
Tamim had a quiet tour with the bat in the West Indies. He only had one half-century in seven innings. However, Tamim Iqbal’s performance as a captain in the ODI format was eye-catching. His leadership qualities and on-field decision-making were brilliant. That is why Tamim Iqbal’s captaincy was one of the major positive points for the Bangladesh campaign.
Khaled Ahmed
M: 2 | Wickets: 10 | BBI: 5/106
Khaled Ahmed's selection was not appreciated by some Bangladeshi cricket experts. However, Khaled showed in the Test series that he is possibly Bangladesh's best fast bowler in the longer-version format in overseas conditions. Khaled finished the Test series with 10 wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the second match.
Read Tamim announces T20I retirement
Taijul Islam
M: 1 | Wickets: 5 | BBI: 5/28
Taijul Islam had to wait till the last fixture to finally play a match on the West Indies tour. The left-handed orthodox spinner seized the opportunity by picking up five wickets in the third ODI and helped Bangladesh whitewash the Windies in the limited-over series. It was Taijul Islam’s best bowling figure (5/28) in ODI cricket.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz
M: 5 | Runs: 33 | HS: 16* | Wickets: 14 | BBI: 4/29
Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz is considered a utility player for the Bangladesh national side. He is a very effective bowler in the Test and ODI formats and can bat a bit in the lower middle-order. Miraz didn’t make any impact with the bat, but he had a successful tour with the ball. Miraz didn’t play in the T20I series but picked up 14 wickets in the Test and ODI formats.
Read: BAN vs WI Series 2022: How Bangladesh’s players fared in first Test
Nasum Ahmed
M: 5 | Wickets: 7 | BBI: 3/19
Nasum Ahmed made his ODI debut in the WI vs BAN Series 2022 and made an immediate impact for his side. Tamim Iqbal utilized him at the beginning of the innings, and Nasum’s spin caused a lot of problems for the Caribbean batters in the ODI series. The left-arm orthodox spinner picked up 7 wickets on the West Indies tour.
Nurul Hasan Sohan
M: 8 | Runs: 217 | HS: 64
Nurul Hasan Sohan once again proved that he is the best wicket-keeper batter in Bangladesh at the moment. Nurul had a good time with the gloves on the West Indies tour, picking up 10 catches and making 2 stumpings. Nurul’s highlight innings on the tour was when he made a 100-run partnership with captain Shakib Al Hasan in the second innings of the first Test. Besides, he was among the top run scorers for Bangladesh on the tour.
Read SL vs PAK Test Series 2022: Fixtures, Venues, H2H Records
Statistics on the top Bangladeshi performers in the WI vs BAN Series 2022
Player
Match
Runs
Wickets
Shakib Al Hasan
5
240
3
Tamim Iqbal
5
218
N/A
Khaled Ahmed
2
N/A
10
Taijul Islam
1
N/A
5
Mehidy Hasan Miraz
5
33
14
Nasum Ahmed
5
N/A
7
Nurul Hasan Sohan
8
217
N/A
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Way Forward
Bangladesh lost two series and won one on their 2022 West Indies tour. Bangladesh players have a lot to take from this tour, which will be useful for better performance in the next series. Bangladesh team management should take note of these issues and take steps to improve the performance of the players. However, Bangladesh departed the West Indies with confidence after winning the ODI format in 2022. Otherwise, it would have been a disappointing tour for Bangladesh.
Read 3rd ODI: Tremendous Taijul takes five as Bangladesh wrap WI for 178
On an individual level, not everyone had a great outing. However, the above-mentioned cricketers were the top seven players from Bangladesh in the WI vs BAN Series 2022.
NZ Rugby calls series loss to Ireland "not acceptable"
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster seems safe in his position for the moment though New Zealand Rugby on Sunday described the All Blacks' series defeat by Ireland as “not acceptable.”
Ireland beat New Zealand 32-22 in the third test on Saturday to win a test series in New Zealand for the first time and become the first team since Australia in 1986 to beat the All Blacks in a three-test series at home.
Foster was due to face reporters in a regularly-scheduled news conference on Sunday but the conference was cancelled without explanation. Speaking to reporters immediately after Saturday’s match, Foster refused to discuss his own position, saying he “just wanted to talk about this test match.”
Foster’s future as head coach has been the subject of speculation for some time as the All Blacks go through an almost record-breaking spell of poor form. Saturday’s loss was their fourth from their last five test matches, and their fifth against Ireland in their last eight test meetings.
The All Blacks’ only comparable slumps came in 1998 when they lost five tests in a row to strong South African and Australian teams and 1949 when an an under-strength All Blacks team lost all four tests in South Africa.
New Zealand Rugby was forced to respond Sunday to growling public criticism of the All Blacks form and direction under Foster. That criticism has become louder because New Zealand’s consecutive test match losses to Ireland come only 13 months out from the next World Cup.
Read: Rugby proposed to be included in South Asian Games 2023
A statement released after the cancellation of Foster’s scheduled meeting with reporters suggested he will continue as coach through this year’s Rugby Championship.
“Congratulations to the Irish team for their well-deserved win last night but clearly the performance across the series for the All Blacks was not acceptable as we know they have reflected,” NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said. “We all know there is a huge amount of work to do.
“Our focus now is to work with Ian and his team to understand thoroughly in advance of the Rugby Championship what is needed to improve performance and where to from here. We will begin this work immediately.”
Robinson’s statement is unlikely to allay fan concerns. All Blacks supporters will need rapid assurance that Foster, his assistants and his current All Blacks can continue on their current course and somehow produce better results.
Foster is unlikely to have made himself more popular among fans by suggesting on Saturday they lacked insight to recognize the quality of the Ireland team.
“New Zealand has to realize this is a very good Irish team and give them some credit,” Foster said. “It would be disrespectful to not make that the number one item. They’ve come and achieved something pretty special and they deserve a bit of time in the sun for that.
“For us we’re a group working hard. We’ve got a lot of belief in many of the solutions we’ve got but we’ve got to get better at executing them.”
Bangladesh clinch a clean sweep against West Indies in ODIs
Bangladesh completed a clean sweep against the West Indies in the three-match ODI series. On Saturday, the visitors won the third and final ODI of the series by four wickets at Guayana.
Taijul Islam, the left-arm spinner, bagged his maiden five wickets in the match— his first in two years— and guided Bangladesh to a comfortable win.
Taijul’s five for 28 is now the record for the best bowling in ODIs by a Bangladeshi spinner. He surpassed Abdur Razzak who scalped five for 29 in 2009 against Zimbabwe in Dhaka.
West Indies batted first after losing the toss and posted a below-par total of 178 with a fighting fifty from captain Nicholas Pooran (73).
Bangladeshi spinners proved to be too good against the hosts’ batters. And left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman was also economic against the West Indies. Taijul, Mosaddek Hossain and Mustafizur bowled 29 overs together and conceded less than three runs per over.
In reply to West Indies’ 178, Bangladesh chased down the total in 48.3 overs with Liton Das hitting a fifty, Tamim Iqbal and Nurul Hasan scoring 34 and 32 respectively.
Also read: 3rd ODI: Tremendous Taijul takes five as Bangladesh wrap WI for 178
Gudakesh Motie, the left-arm orthodox spinner of the hosts, bagged four wickets conceding 23 runs in 10 overs. But his effort went in vain as the batters failed to put a big total on the board.
With this win, Bangladesh ended up the long tour that had started with defeats in Tests and T20Is.
Tamim announces T20I retirement
Tamim Iqbal retired from T20 International right after leading Bangladesh in an ODI series victory over West Indies on Saturday.
The left-handed batter announced his retirement through a short message on his official social media page. He wrote: “From today, consider me retired from T20 Internationals. Thank you, everyone.”
Tamim had taken a six-month break from the format in January this year. Since then, there was speculation over his future in this format. While taking the break, Tamim said he is not retiring from T20Is.
Also Read: Shakib wants to see ‘team performance’
The batter has played his last T20I in 2020 against Zimbabwe in Mirpur. He later skipped the T20 World Cup that took place in the UAE and Oman— which was a surprising move from the batter.
While skipping the World Cup, Tamim said the younger players deserve more chances in the format to do well. Tamim’s decision had opened the door for Mohammad Naim and Soumya Sarkar to try their hand at the top of the order. But both failed to cement their places.
It is expected that Tamim, one of the best batters that Bangladesh has ever produced, will continue to play T20s on the domestic circuit, though, he did not say a word about it.
Tamim played 78 T20Is for the Tigers and scored 1758 runs with a century and seven half-centuries. Tamim remained the only Bangladeshi batter to have scored a century in the T20Is— that came against Oman in the T20 World Cup 2016 in India.
Gazdag's PK goal rallies Union to 2-1 win over Revolution
Dániel Gazdag scored on a penalty kick in the 79th minute to lift the Philadelphia Union to a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday.
Gazdag's ninth goal of the season for Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia (10-2-9) came four minutes after Mikael Uhre pulled the Union even with his seventh netter.
Gustavo Bou's seventh goal of the campaign — all in the last eight matches — gave New England (6-7-7) a 1-0 lead in the 61st minute.
The Union had a 20-18 advantage in shots, but the Revolution had a 7-6 edge in shots on goal.
Read: BPL Football: Police FC beat Muktijoddha SKC by 4-1 goal
Andre Blake had five saves for Philadelphia. Djordje Petrovic saved four for New England.
Gazdag opened the scoring last time out with a PK goal in the 26th minute in the Union's 2-1 win over Inter Miami.
Japanese marathon runners to miss worlds due to COVID-19
Two Japanese marathon runners have tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the race at the world championships.
World Athletics announced Saturday that two of the country's six athletes entered in the marathon tested positive along with the head coach and four members of the support staff.
All will have to be isolated for five days, a period that will run through the men's race Sunday and the women's race Monday.
The federation did not say which of the six Japanese runners entered in the marathons had tested positive.
Gaku Hoshi, Yusuke Nishiyama and Kengo Suzuki are entered in the men's race and Mao Ichiyama, Mizuki Matsuda and Hitomi Niiya are entered in the women's.
Read: Athlete dies completing marathon in Chattogram
Athletes had to be fully vaccinated to be participate at the worlds. Organizers are recommending, but not requiring, masks to be worn in indoor areas during the championships.
3rd ODI: Tremendous Taijul takes five as Bangladesh wrap WI for 178
Taijul Islam, the left-arm spinner, recorded his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs in his first match in two years, and riding on his tremendous bowling effort Bangladesh wrapped up the hosts West Indies for 178 runs for all in 48.4 overs in the third and final ODI of the three-match series on Saturday in Guayana.
Taijul, often considered a Test bowler, was playing only his 10th ODI in seven years. He bagged his first wicket on Saturday removing Brandon King for eight. It was a beautiful delivery from the left-hander. The ball tossed up at the middle of the leg and middle stumps and turned to the off-stump and uprooted it.
Taijul never looked back after that. He ended up taking five wickets including the one of Nicholas Pooran who hit the highest (73) for the hosts conceding 28 runs.
Taijul’s five for 28 is now the best bowling record in ODI for Bangladeshi spinners. He surpassed Abdur Razzak who had taken five for 29 against Zimbabwe in 2009 in Mirpur.
Bangladesh won the toss in this match and opted to bowl first aiming to clean sweep the hosts.
Three of West Indies’ first five batters failed to reach a double-digit score. They lost the first three wickets inside 16 runs. But in the fourth-wicket stand, Keacy Carty and Pooran added 67 runs. The stand was broken by another left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed who ended up taking two for 39 runs.
Pooran was firm at one end of the wicket while the other batters failed to impress against the quality spin-attack of Bangladesh led by Taijul.
Mosaddek Hossain, the right-arm spinning allrounder, bowled 10 overs to take one wicket, but he conceded only 23 runs.
Bangladesh have already won the series, now the visitors are needing 179 runs to clean sweep the hosts.
Ahead of the ODIs, both teams locked horns in a two-match Test and three-match T20I series with Bangladesh losing all the matches except a T20I which ended in no-result due to bad weather.