United News of Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday announced a revamped pace bowling attack for the first two T20Is against New Zealand, resting key fast bowlers and handing a maiden call-up to all-rounder Abdul Gaffar Saqlain. Fast bowlers Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, and Nahid Rana have been rested for the upcoming fixtures. To fill the void, selectors included 28-year-old Saqlain, recognised for his format-suited bowling and lower-order hitting capabilities. The board also recalled 23-year-old right-arm quick Ripon Mondol, rewarding him for his consistency as a death-overs bowler. Mondol previously represented Bangladesh in three T20 matches during the 2023 Asian Games.Litton Das will captain the 15-member squad, with Saif Hassan serving as vice-captain.  The three-match series begins on April 27 at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium in Chattogram, which will also host the second match on April 29. The series concludes at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on May 2. Bangladesh squad: Litton Das (captain), Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan (vice-captain), Shamim Hossain, Tawhid Hridoy, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Ripon Mondol, Shaif Uddin, and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain.

Central Cordoba came from behind to secure a thrilling 4-3 home victory over Platense in Argentina’s Apertura tournament on Monday. Franco Zapiola initially put Platense ahead at the Unico Stadium, before Alejandro Maciel restored parity and Fernando Martinez gave the hosts a lead. After the interval, Central Cordoba widened the margin as Ezequiel Naya and Diego Barrera scored, either side of Kevin Retamar’s 71st-minute goal for the visitors. Real Madrid crowned UEFA Youth League champions Bautista Merlini reduced the deficit for Platense three minutes from full-time, but the visitors failed to find an equaliser despite pressing strongly in the closing stages. With the result, Central Cordoba sit 13th in Group A with 15 points, just one point behind 11th-placed Platense, with both sides having played 14 matches each. In other top-flight fixtures on the same day, Belgrano played out a goalless draw against Barracas Central, Gimnasia Mendoza edged Lanus 1-0 at home, Banfield were held 0-0 by Independiente Rivadavia, Huracan drew 1-1 with Tigre, and Velez Sarsfield shared a goalless draw with San Lorenzo.

Real Madrid have been crowned European champions at youth level after defeating Club Brugge in the UEFA Youth League final on Monday. Madrid won 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time at the Stade de la Tuilière in Lausanne, Switzerland. Goalkeeper Javier Navarro played a decisive role in the shootout, saving penalties from Naim Amengai and Tian Koren to secure Madrid’s second UEFA Youth League title. The match remained tightly contested, with Madrid taking the lead in the 23rd minute through Jacobo Ortega, who scored with a backheel finish in the goalmouth. Club Brugge equalised in the 64th minute through Tobias Lund Jensen following a strong run and cross from Tian Koren. The game went straight to penalties without extra time, where Madrid defender Diego Aguado converted the decisive spot-kick. Real Madrid dominated large spells of the match and came close to extending their lead early on, but Brugge gradually grew into the contest before equalising. The victory marks Madrid’s second title in the competition’s 12-year history and comes days after their senior team exited the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Club president Florentino Pérez attended the final alongside UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin. The result adds to Real Madrid’s growing success at youth level, while Barcelona remain the most successful club in the competition with three titles.

Cashing in on a five-wicket haul from fast bowler Nahid Rana and a rapid half-century by Tanzid Hasan, Bangladesh defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the second match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday, levelling the three-match ODI series. Chasing a target of 199, the hosts reached the mark in the 36th over. Tanzid anchored the run chase, scoring 76 off 58 balls with 10 boundaries and four sixes. Najmul Hossain Shanto also contributed a half-century to ensure the victory.  The result ties the series at 1-1, establishing the third match on April 23 in Chattogram as a series decider. Earlier, Rana’s high-pace spell dismantled the New Zealand batting lineup, restricting the visitors to 198 all out. Rebounding from a difficult series opener in which he conceded 65 runs, the right-arm pacer claimed his second career ODI five-wicket haul, with every wicket-taking delivery exceeding 140 kmph. After senior bowlers Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed built early pressure, Rana provided the initial breakthrough on his first delivery in the eighth over, trapping Henry Nicholls leg before wicket at 144.7 kmph. In his next over, Rana bowled a 150 km/h bouncer that rushed Will Young into a mistimed defensive shot, resulting in a catch at point. As New Zealand attempted to stabilise through a 66-run partnership between Nick Kelly and Muhammad Abbas, Rana returned in the 28th over to dismiss Abbas with a 146.1 kmph bouncer. He later cleaned up the tail, claiming his final two wickets with deliveries clocked at 144.1 kmph and 141.6 kmph. Rana previously recorded a five-wicket haul against Pakistan at the same venue in March last.

Right-arm pacer Nahid Rana scalped five wickets using pure pace to dismiss New Zealand for 198, setting Bangladesh a 199-run target to level the three-match ODI series in Mirpur on Monday.   Rana’s clinical performance came just 48 hours after a difficult series opener in which he conceded 65 runs. Rebounding as a primary strike bowler, he delivered a barrage of high-velocity deliveries, with all five of his wicket-taking balls exceeding 140 kmph.  After senior bowlers Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed built early pressure, Rana provided the breakthrough with his very first delivery in the eighth over, trapping Henry Nicholls leg before wicket with a 144.7 kmph strike. Mustafizur’s return creates selection dilemma for Tigers In his next over, Rana unleashed a 150 kmph bouncer that rushed Will Young into a mistimed defensive shot, resulting in an easy catch at point. The young pacer returned in the 28th over to serve as a crucial partnership breaker.  As New Zealand sought stability through a 66-run stand between Nick Kelly and Muhammad Abbas, Rana dismissed Abbas with another sharp bouncer peaking at 146.1 kmph. He later returned to clean up the tail, claiming his final two wickets with deliveries clocking 144.1 kmph and 141.6 kmph to ensure the visitors did not cross the 200-run mark.  The performance marks Rana's second five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. He previously dismantled the Pakistan batting lineup in a similar fashion at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in March last.

Kolkata Knight Riders won for the first time this season in the Indian Premier League as Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy led their team to a four-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. Singh scored 53 not out off 34 balls and Roy hit an undefeated 29 off 16 deliveries. They came together with host Kolkata in deep trouble at 85-6 in 13.3 overs and put on 76 runs in 37 balls. The pair hit four sixes between them as Kolkata finished with 161-6 in 19.4 overs, its first win after five defeats and a no-result. Earlier, Rajasthan chose to bat first at Eden Gardens and had overcome its own batting challenges to post 155-9 in 20 overs, buoyed by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 28-ball 46. Varun Chakravarthy took 3-14 in four overs, while pacer Kartik Tyagi claimed 3-22. Kolkata is ninth in the 10-team league with three points. Rajasthan is third with eight points from six games. In the evening game, IPL leader Punjab Kings notched up its second-highest IPL score, beating Lucknow Super Giants by 54 runs at New Chandigarh. Priyansh Arya scored 93 off 37 balls, while Cooper Connolly hit 87 off 46, as Punjab scored 254-7 after losing the toss. Lucknow was restricted to 200-5 in reply. Sooryavanshi impresses again Rajasthan openers Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 81 off 52 balls. The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi once again took center stage, hitting six fours and two sixes, while Jaiswal struck two sixes and four fours in his 39 off 29 balls. Kolkata’s spinners struck back as Chakravarthy had Sooryavanshi caught at deep midwicket, while Sunil Narine (2-26) dismissed Jaiswal at the other end, the duo falling within three overs. Chakravarthy then had Dhruv Jurel stumped for five and bowled skipper Riyan Parag for 12. Narine dismissed Donovan Ferreira (7), with Rajasthan down to 124-5 in 16 overs. Tyagi struck three times in the penultimate over, removing Ravindra Jadeja (9), Shimron Hetmyer (15) and Ravi Bishnoi in the space of five balls. Two ducks Kolkata started very badly. Jofra Archer bowled Tim Seifert for a golden duck, while Nandre Burger dismissed skipper Ajinkya Rahane, whose two-ball duck left his team at 5-2. Bishnoi had in-form Cameron Green stumped for 27, and Ravindra Jadeja made it 52-4 in seven overs when impact player Angkrish Raghuvanshi was out lbw for 10. Rovman Powell scored 23 and Ramandeep Singh got 10 with Kolkata struggling until Singh and Roy came together. Their aim initially appeared to be avoiding an embarrassing score but Rajasthan relaxed and Kolkata took its chance. Singh and Roy added 50 off 27 balls, with 21 runs needed off the last two overs. That became nine runs required in the last over and Singh smacked consecutive fours off the first two balls and then finished off with a six on the penultimate ball. Punjab's fifth win in six games Punjab's innings was powered by near-centuries from Arya and Connolly after Mohammed Shami had dismissed Prabhsimran Singh for a golden duck. The pair put on 182 runs off 80 balls – the third highest stand (for any wicket) for Punjab in IPL history. Arya smashed nine sixes overall – scoring 50 off only 19 balls in his second half-century of the season. At the other end, Connolly hit seven sixes and eight fours overall – he got to 50 off 35 balls. The duo went after every bowler including Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan, hitting five sixes between them off the 13th over bowled by Aiden Markram. Punjab reached 200 in 16.3 overs, but lost both set batters as well as in-form skipper Shreyas Iyer in the process. Arya was caught at long-off, while Connolly was caught at short third man. Iyer fell for just five runs but Marcus Stoinis (29) and Shashank Singh (17) pushed Punjab past 250 for only the second time. It had previously scored 262-2 against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024. In reply, Lucknow’s Mitchell Marsh scored 40 off 28 balls, while Ayush Badoni – promoted to opener – got a 21-ball 35. They scored 61 off 36 balls. Marsh and skipper Rishabh Pant (43 off 23) added 48 runs off 31 deliveries for the second wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh dismissed Marsh and Pant, respectively, as Lucknow reached 128-3 in 12.4 overs. Nicholas Pooran was out for nine, caught off Marco Jansen (2-37), Lucknow lost momentum. Markram was held back to the middle order, and scored a rapid 42 off 22 balls, with Mukul Choudhary 21 not out off 17. Despite Punjab’s poor fielding efforts, Lucknow couldn’t keep up with the asking rate. It was a fourth loss in six matches for eighth-placed Lucknow.

Bayern Munich wrapped up another Bundesliga title on Sunday, the club’s 13th in 14 years, after a record-breaking season that could still get better. The Bundesliga is just the first of a potential treble of trophies with Bayern next facing Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals of the German Cup on Wednesday before it takes on defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals of the Champions League. The Bundesliga is seen within the club as the minimum target for the season and this is Bayern’s record-extending 35th German championship. Apart from the first in 1932, when it was decided by regional champions in a knockout competition, all the others came after the Bundesliga’s formation in 1963. Bayern is always keen to assert its domestic dominance. Leverkusen’s triumph in 2024 was an outlier that spurred Bayern to back-to–back titles and may be the start of another long run. Bayern bounced back from the trauma of 2012 – when it lost the Champions League final in Munich to Chelsea, as well as the Bundesliga and German Cup final to Borussia Dortmund – by winning the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble the following season under Jupp Heynckes. The Bundesliga this season is just the first step as Bayern chases another treble. Here’s a closer look at how it was won: Goals Bayern smashed its own league record for goals scored in a season by clocking five against St. Pauli to take its tally to 105 goals last weekend. The previous record was 101 goals scored by Bayern’s 1971-72 team featuring Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller. England forward Harry Kane was among the scorers in the title-clinching 4-2 win against Stuttgart on Sunday to extend the record to 109 goals. And there are still four rounds remaining. Kane took his club tally for the season to 50 against Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals. It’s 51 now. He has 32 goals in 27 Bundesliga games so far. New signing Luis Díaz chipped in 15 and Michael Olise has 12, but Bayern’s goals came from all over the team with Leon Goretzka getting the record-breaking 102nd goal against St. Pauli. Including the win over Stuttgart, Bayern scored four goals or more in 14 league games starting on the opening day with a 6-0 rout of Leipzig. Rivals Bayern again has no rival capable of challenging its dominance. Borussia Dortmund came closest this season but it was long clear it couldn’t provide a match for Bayern, which ended any notions of a contest at the end of February by winning 3-2 in Dortmund. “We have an 11-point advantage,” Joshua Kimmich said at the time, “we’re not going to give it away.” Dortmund opened the way for Bayern to clinch the title on Sunday by losing two consecutive games. None of Stuttgart, Leipzig or Leverkusen could even keep up with Dortmund. Kompany Though he was far from first choice, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany has proven an inspired appointment for a team that was misfiring and underachieving with Thomas Tuchel. In his second season at Bayern, Kompany has more than steadied the ship, promoting young players like Lennart Karl – who looks set to become a star – while thoughtfully rotating the squad to keep all his players involved and happy while minimizing the likelihood of injuries. Kane has had his sights on breaking Robert Lewandowski’s season record of 41 Bundesliga goals but Kompany decided to manage his star forward’s playing time to rest him for key games in the Champions League and German Cup. Kompany also earned praise for speaking up against racism after José Mourinho blamed Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior for provoking the abuse he receives, and he welcomed the appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as the first female coach in the Bundesliga last week. Kompany has brought harmony to Bayern, a club previously known as “FC Hollywood” for all the tabloid headlines it generated.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has named four uncapped players in its 16-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series in Bangladesh next month. The selection, announced this week, features left-handed openers Abdullah Fazal and Azan Awais, pace-bowling all-rounder Amad Butt, and wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Ghazi Ghouri. While Ghouri recently made his One-Day International debut against Bangladesh in March, the other three players have no prior international experience. The selectors rewarded domestic form, particularly from the recent President’s Trophy and Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournaments. The 30-year-old Butt earned his maiden call-up following a standout season for PTV in the President's Trophy, where he claimed a tournament-high 32 wickets in seven matches at an average of 19.21. The pace bowler brings significant domestic experience to the squad, having secured more than 200 first-class wickets since his debut in 2015. Fazal, 23, secured his spot after finishing as the leading run-scorer in the President's Trophy. Playing for the State Bank of Pakistan, he compiled 622 runs at an average of 51.83, including two centuries. He is joined by fellow left-handed opener Awais, who transitioned directly from the 2024 Under-19 World Cup to dominate the domestic circuit. Awais led the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy scoring charts in his debut season, amassing 844 runs for Sialkot at an average of 76.72. Across two years of first-class cricket, Awais has accumulated 2,673 runs with 10 centuries. Ghouri, also 23, bolsters the squad's wicketkeeping options following a highly productive domestic season. He earned his Test selection after finishing as the second-highest run-scorer in the President's Trophy with 531 runs at an aggressive strike rate of nearly 86. The Pakistan Test squad is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka in early May for the two-match series.  

The return to fitness of fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has presented Bangladesh's team management with a difficult selection dilemma ahead of their must-win second ODI against New Zealand. Mustafizur missed the series opener due to knee discomfort, paving the way for left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam to make his first ODI appearance in 16 months. Islam capitalized on the last-minute opportunity, emerging as the team's most effective bowler. However, with Mustafizur now reportedly fit to play, Shoriful’s spot in the starting lineup remains uncertain despite his standout performance. Addressing the intense competition within the pace bowling unit, Islam welcomed the situation as a positive indicator for the national team's depth. "There is no frustration here," Shoriful said. "Those who are playing are doing well, and those outside the squad are also good cricketers. It is a healthy competition." Shoriful added that he is prepared to step aside if the management opts to rotate the squad, noting that fielding the best possible team to secure ranking points for direct World Cup qualification remains the ultimate priority. While the bowling unit's recent successes have frequently been undermined by top-order batting failures, Shoriful refused to criticize his teammates for the team's struggles. "If we lose, the batters feel as bad as we do," Shoriful said, adding that the bowlers could always strive to make things easier for the batting lineup. "Hopefully, in the next match, the batters will do very well, we will support them, and we will win the match collectively."

It's a huge day in the Premier League title race, with Arsenal travelling to Manchester City in a meeting between the top two. A win for Arsenal and the long-time league leaders will regain a nine-point advantage, leaving them in a strong position to become English champions for the first time since 2004. A win for City and the gap would be reduced to three points. City would also have a game in hand, at next-to-last Burnley on Wednesday. After that, both teams would have five matches left. A draw? That would suit Arsenal more, keeping a six-point cushion between the teams. City is at home and is in better form, winning its last three games — 2-0 over Arsenal in the English League Cup final, 4-0 against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals and 3-0 at Chelsea in the league — and having one of the division's most exciting players in France playmaker Rayan Cherki. Arsenal, meanwhile, has lost three of its last five games in all competitions as it stumbles toward the end of a season that could still bring the Premier League and Champions League titles. Before the City-Arsenal match, Everton hosts Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, and it's also Aston Villa-Sunderland and Nottingham Forest-Burnley.