Dhaka, Sep 21 (UNB) - Bangladesh trailblazing golfer Siddikur Rahman made the cut in the purse of approximate US$ 1,355,000 Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup, sharing the 33rd after second round at Musashi Country Club Sasai Course in Japan on Friday.

The two-time Asian Tour winner Siddikur aggregated even-par 142 with a one-under-par 70 on the day and stayed eight shots behind the Japanese leader Hiroshi Iwata, who took one shot lead above his compatriot Yuta Ikeda.

Siddikur shared his place with six other golfers, moving up from joint 69th spot.

Dhaka, Sep 22 (UNB) – Bangladesh conceded a seven-wicket defeat against India in their first Super-Four stage battle of the 14th Asia Cup at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

India chased down an easy target of 174-run for three wickets in 36.2 overs spurred by the captain-cum-opener Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten innings of 83 off 104 balls, including five boundaries and three sixes.

Besides his individual performance, Rohit contributed in the opening stand of 61 off 14.2 overs with Shikhar Dhawan [40 off 47b; 4x4; 1x6], who was lbw by Shakib Al Hasan for Bangladesh’s first breakthrough.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni [33 off 37b; 3x4] and Ambati Rayudu [13 off 28b; 1x4] were the two other double digit scorers for India.

Rubel Hossain (1/21), skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza(1/30) and Shakib(1/44) shared three wickets for Bangladesh.

Sent in to bat first, Bangladesh faced seatback from the beginning and lost wickets in gradual interval until skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mehidy Hasan Miraz stand for a partnership of 66 off 13.1 overs in the 8th wicket when the innings total overs was 49.1.

Mashrafe [26 off 32b; 2x6] and top-scorer Miraz [42 off 50b; 2x4; 2x6] started after the dismissal of Mosaddek Hossain on 101/7 in 33.2 overs and carried the tally to 167/8 in 46.3 overs before Mashrafe was caught by Jasprit Bumrah off Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Miraz was caught by Shikhar Dhawan off Jasprit Bumrah leaving team total at 169/9 in 47.2 overs.

Earlier, Mahmudullah Riyad [25 off 51b; 3x4] and Mosaddek [12off 43b] hold their nerve a bit after Bangladesh passed through a blow of a five-wicket loss within the 18th over for 65, but Mahmudullah was lbw by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to fall apart from the 6th wicket on Bangladesh’s 101 in 32.5 overs.

Bangladesh’s another big hope, Mushfiqur Rahim [21off 45b; 1x4] was sent back to the pavilion in the last ball of the 18th over being caught by Yuzvendra Chahal off Ravindra Jadeja.

Senior all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan [17 off 12b; 3x4] came in to the crease when Bangladesh had already suffered an early jolt with 16/2 in 5.1 overs, losing both their opening batsmen -Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Kumar Das.

Shakib could have recovered the early damage, but the talismanic all-rounder paired with Mushfiq only for a 26 off 27 balls. He was caught by Shikhar Dhawan, playing a poor and shoddy shot off Ravindra Jadeja after two successive boundaries in the 10th over.

Mohammad Mithun also failed to stay long with Mushfiq as followed Shakib soon as lbw by Ravindra Jadeja on 60/4 in 15.4 overs.

Sending in to bat first, Bangladesh opened the innings and Liton was sent back to the pavilion by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at 15 in the third ball of the fourth over before Jasprit Bumrah got Shanto in the first balls of the sixth over.

Scoring a seven-run each, Liton and Shanto were caught by Kedar Jadhav and by Shikhar Dhawan respectively.

Man of the match Ravindra Jadeja (4/29), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/32) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/37) shared all wickets for India with conceding runs.

Dhaka, Sep 21 (UNB) – Bangladesh have to bat first in their first Super-Four stage battle in the 14th Asia Cup as India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.  

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman have come in as Mominul Haque and Abu Hider have been dropped from Bangladesh’s last eleven, which played against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

There is one change in the Indian eleven as Ravindra Jadeja replaced injured Hardik Pandya, who played in the eleven for an eight-wicket win against Pakistan in Dubai on Wednesday.

However, this is only the second time Bangladesh experienced opener Tamim Iqbal missing out an ODI against India since his debut in 2007.

Bangladesh: Liton Kuamr Das, Nazmul Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman.

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Madrid, Sep 21 (AP/UNB) — In a familiar scene, Real Madrid fans jumped to their feet and cheered loudly after a superb goal by the No. 7.

Only this time it wasn't Cristiano Ronaldo. The player being celebrated on Wednesday was Mariano Diaz, a 25-year-old forward from the Dominican Republic who had just scored with a beautiful long-range shot in the team's 3-0 win over Roma in the Champions League

The fans started to get excited the moment Diaz was asked to warm up on the sidelines, and it soon got much louder.

"I'm incredibly grateful for how I've been welcomed to the Bernabeu," Diaz said. "I have a lot of respect for all the players who wore the No. 7 jersey in the past. It's not a burden for me."

Diaz, a promising talent from Madrid's youth squad, was re-signed by the club without much fanfare after a season with Lyon. His impressive performance in the few minutes he played in his first match back gave fans plenty of reason to believe Ronaldo won't be missed as much as initially feared.

That was the impression Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco got after seeing his team get dominated by Madrid.

"This team has a lot of quality. If I were a Madrid fan I wouldn't worry too much about not having Ronaldo," Di Francesco said. "They lost a great champion, but they have many other champions in the squad who can compensate his departure."

There were indeed many signs in Madrid's comfortable win to show that Di Francesco could be right.

Here's a look at why Madrid fans are optimistic about their team's chances of winning a fourth straight European title despite Ronaldo's absence:

SOLID BASE

Despite losing Ronaldo and coach Zinedine Zidane, Madrid faced Roma with 10 starters from the Champions League final against Liverpool.

The defense remained the same, led by veterans Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, and the midfield was still anchored by Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. The only player who was not in the starting lineup in the final in Ukraine was Gareth Bale, who so far has shown he can be a worthy replacement to Ronaldo. The Wales forward scored his 10th goal in as many matches this season.

"I have a lot of very good players and they have been playing with great attitude," Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui said. "That helps the team keep improving."

ABUNDANT OPTIONS

Madrid did not make any major signings after Ronaldo left but the squad remained filled with talent.

Bale and Diaz are not the only players helping fans forget the Portugal forward. Karim Benzema has also played well this season, scoring with ease and being crucial for the team's new attacking front.

Lopetegui's biggest headache is deciding which Spain attacking midfielder to leave on the bench — Francisco "Isco" Alarcon or Marco Asensio. Both have impressed when they played but only one is getting to start under Lopetegui's tactical formation.

Isco's superb opening goal from a set piece on Wednesday was reminiscent of Ronaldo's remarkable free kicks.

Lopetegui also has Lucas Vazquez as an attacking option, and in goal he is keeping Keylor Navas as a starter even though the club signed Thibaut Courtois, voted the World Cup's best goalkeeper with Belgium.

MODRIC'S FORM

Diaz and Bale weren't the only players loudly cheered in Wednesday's match. Modric also got a standing ovation when he came off near the end, with the crowd calling him the best in the world, just like they often called Ronaldo when he was at the Bernabeu.

"I'm feeling better after having gone through the physical and mental strain of the World Cup," said Modric, who led Croatia to the final in Russia. "I hope to soon be back at the level I was playing last season."

FUTURE STARS

Lopetegui still has the option of bringing up talented Brazilian teenager Vinicius Junior, who has been thriving with the "B'' team after being bought for nearly 45 million euros ($52 million) from Brazilian club Flamengo.

And next year Madrid will likely be able to use another promising Brazilian forward, Rodrygo, who was acquired for nearly the same price as Vinicius from Brazilian team Santos.

Lausanne, Sep 21 (AP/UNB) — Cristiano Ronaldo should learn next Thursday if he is banned from playing at former club Manchester United in the Champions League.

UEFA says its disciplinary panel will judge the case of Ronaldo's first Champions League red card on Sept. 27.

Ronaldo tangled with Valencia's Jeison Murillo, appearing to tug at the defender's hair, in the first half of Juventus' 2-0 win on Wednesday.

The UEFA panel studies all red-card cases and has the power to extend the mandatory one-game ban.

Ronaldo will miss a home game against Young Boys on Oct. 2.

The subsequent game for Juventus is on Oct. 23 at Old Trafford, where Ronaldo played for six years. He won the first of his five Champions League titles while with United in 2008.