sports
BFF U-18 Football League: Sheikh Russel KC beat Swadhinata KS 1-0
Sheikh Russel KC earned 1-0 goal victory over Swadhinata KS in the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) U-18 Football League here on Monday.Saiful scored the match-winner for Russel KC in the 15th minute of the match.In the day's other match, Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad KC defeated Bangladesh Police FC by 2-1.After a barren first half, Naimul scored both the goals for the freedom fighters team in the 47th and 49th minutes while Forhad netted the lone goal for the Police team in the 61st minuteMeanwhile, the final match of the BFF U-16 Football Tournament between Wari Club and Kawran Bazar Pragoti Sangha will be held on Tuesday (Oct 11) at 2 pm at the Kamalapur Stadium here.. BFF Vice President and convener of the working committee of the BFF Professional League Management Committee M Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan Manik will be the chief guest in the final and will distribute the prizes..
Making waves: Qatar World Cup hires 3rd cruise ship as floating hotel
A third cruise ship was hired by World Cup organisers in Qatar Monday to operate as a football fan hotel docked in Doha Port to add much-needed rooms for the tournament.
Geneva-based MSC Cruises announced the agreement only six weeks before the World Cup is scheduled to start on November 20. The 1,075-cabin MSC Opera will be available from November 19 to December 19.
Prices for the Opera were listed Monday on MSC's website starting from 470 Swiss francs ($470) per person per night during the group stage, with a minimum two-night stay.
Qatar does not have the hotel capacity for all teams, workers, volunteers and fans at the World Cup and is creating camping and cabin sites, hiring cruise ships, and encouraging fans to stay in neighbouring countries and fly in for games.
MSC previously signed a deal with the Qatari government in 2019 to provide two ships with about 4,000 cabins as floating hotels to help house the expected 1.2 million international visitors.
The high-end flagship MSC World Europa is starting work at the World Cup after being built in France.
Prices on the cruise ships fall during the tournament when half the teams go home. During the round of 16 and quarterfinals, the cheapest rooms on MSC Opera cost 320 Swiss francs ($320), then 220 Swiss francs ($220) during the final week.
Basic rates include breakfast on board with an option to pay a 90 euro ($87) daily supplement for all meals.
Alcohol is expected to be available on board with MSC offering wine and draft beer.
Qatar is a Muslim-majority country that typically limits the consumption of alcohol to luxury hotels but has eased its rules for FIFA's commercial partners, including the corporate hospitality provider at stadiums and World Cup sponsor AB InBev, the brewer of Budweiser.
The MSC Opera had its maiden voyage in 2004 and had an eventful sailing season three years ago.
In March 2019, passengers suspected of smuggling 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of cocaine hidden in bowls and packets of snacks were arrested when the ship docked at the Portuguese island of Madeira after sailing from the Caribbean.
Three months later the Opera collided with a tourist boat and its dock in Venice, Italy.
Women’s Asia Cup: Bangladesh endure shocking defeat to Sri Lanka
Bangladesh needed to score 41 runs in seven overs after a long delay due to rain. Still, the hosts failed to do that, and Sri Lanka registered an incredible win in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup in Sylhet today.
Sri Lanka batted first and they were at 83 for five when the rain started. Bangladesh’s new target 41 was set by the DL Method.
Bangladesh started well despite losing quick wickets. Murshida Khatun scored only one while her opening partner scored 5.
Read: ‘We need to improve’, Shakib says after another batting disaster
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana was hanging on in the middle but she couldn't avoid a defeat.
In the last two overs, Bangladesh needed 12 runs. In the sixth over, Inoka Ranaweera scalped three wickets and a run-out was there too. Suddenly, Bangladesh’s target stood at 11 in the last over which was never achieved as the hosts tumbled to 37 for seven in seven overs.
Bangladesh lost the match by three runs. It was Bangladesh’s third defeat in five matches so far. They will take on the UAE in their last match in the first phase.
India have confirmed a place in the semifinals with five wins in six matches in the first phase while Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also booked a place each in the semifinals. If Bangladesh can beat the UAE in their last match, they will also qualify for the semis.
T20 World Cup 2022: Six captains to keep an eye on
Captains have a crucial role to play when it comes to cricket. Regardless of their importance as players, the skipper is primarily in charge of picking the playing XI, and his choices on the pitch often impact the outcome of a game. Let's take a look at six captains who could have an impact on the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.
Six captains who can make an impact in the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup
The 16 captains who will compete in the T20 World Cup 2022 each have a great responsibility, but some of them are better than others. Let's take a closer look at six captains that have the ability to create an effect both through their performance and leadership ability.
Read: ‘We need to improve’, Shakib says after another batting disaster
Aaron Finch (Australia)
T20I Inn: 98 | Runs: 3000 | HS: 172 | SR: 144.36 | 100s: 2
Australia won their maiden T20 World Cup under Aaron Finch’s captaincy in 2021 in the UAE. He is Australia’s longest-running captain since 2014. Under his leadership, the Australian men’s T20I side has won 30 matches with a 55.79 percent. Finch is also the country's highest run scorer in the shortest format. He has 3,000 runs to his name with a magnificent 144.36 strike rate. There is no question about Finch’s ability as a leader, and he will surely make a difference as a top order batter during the competition. If things go well, it will be difficult for others to stop Australia from winning back-to-back titles.
Jos Buttler (England)
T20I Inn: 87 | Runs: 2295 | HS: 101* | SR: 143.97 | 100s: 1
Perhaps England’s best-ever white-ball batter is Jos Buttler. He was appointed as the permanent limited-overs captain for the English national side earlier this year. Buttler has yet to flourish as a skipper in the T20 format, winning 6 out of 12 matches. However, captaining the England side is not as complicated as other cricketing nations. The players are well aware of their respective roles and try to perform accordingly on the field. What Buttler needs is to make the right decision on the field and fulfill expectations with the bat. The right-handed batter is more than capable of meeting the English dressing room expectations of winning their second World Cup trophy in the T20 format.
Read: Will Bangladesh’s brand of T20 cricket work in New Zealand?
Rohit Sharma (India)
T20I Inn: 134 | Runs: 3737 | HS: 118 | SR: 140.59 | 100s: 4
The BCCI made the right decision by appointing Rohit Sharma as a permanent captain of Team India across all formats, replacing Virat Kohli earlier this year. The Rohit-led team won six straight bilateral T20I series before their disappointing outing in the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE. Surely, India will rectify their Asia Cup mistakes during the Twenty20 World Cup as Rohit knows what it takes to win big events. Under his leadership, the Mumbai Indians have won five IPL trophies. Besides, he has the best winning percentage as a T20 captain for India who has led at least 5 matches. Rohit has led India to win 35 matches out of 45 with a 77.77 winning percentage. The coveted top order batter is among the top run-getters in the T20I as well. The Indian side will be hoping Rohit finds his best form during the main event to guide them to win their second trophy.
Babar Azam (Pakistan)
T20I Inn: 84 | Runs: 3140 | HS: 122 | SR: 130.02 | 100s: 2
One of the finest batters of this generation, Pakistan’s Babar Azam will be his side’s main hope in the upcoming T20 format World Cup. The Babar-Rizwan opening pair have scored the bulk of runs in T20Is for Pakistan since last year because their middle-order has become a non-performer in recent times. Babar has led the team very well and was praised by the cricket pundits for guiding his team to the semifinals of the 2021 World Cup. He has some quality bowlers in the squad who have the potential to defend any total. Can Babar inspire Pakistan to lift their second T20 World Cup trophy?
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
T20I Inn: 101 | Runs: 2061 | HS: 84 | SR: 120.52 | 50s: 10 | Wickets: 122 | BBI: 5/20 | Econ: 6.67
The BCB replaced Mahmudullah Riyad with Shakib Al Hasan as T20I captain just before the Asia Cup 2022. Bangladesh didn’t do well in the competition, getting knocked out in the group stage. However, Shakib got some ideas about what should be a good strategy for the T20 World Cup through this competition. As Bangladesh's team has struggled in their recent T20I outings, Shakib has a big job on hand to fix the problems and put up a fighting display against big opponents. The ace all-rounder is known to be a smart cricketer who knows how to fix a problem. Shakib probably has to shoulder extra responsibilities as a player in comparison to other captains of the competition. But Shakib has done it before whenever Bangladesh is in a difficult situation. There is no reason he wouldn’t be able to do it in the forthcoming World Cup in his quest to finish in the top half of the group stage points table.
Read: At a Glance: ICC T20 Men's World Cup 2022 Venues
Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka)
T20I Inn: 70 | Runs: 1126 | HS: 74* | SR: 118.52 | 50s: 4 | Wickets: 20 | BBI: 3/16 | Econ: 8.13
Dasun Shanaka has been praised for his leadership ability and his performance as a player over the last one year. Shanaka has led Sri Lanka to win 17 matches out of 34. More importantly, he guided the team to win the 2022 Asia Cup Twenty20 in September, the tournament the Lankan side started as a dark horse. This Sri Lankan side will be one of the exciting teams to watch in the coming World Cup as they love to attack the opposition bowlers all the time. Besides, they have some quality spinners and their fast bowlers are impressive too. Shanaka’s decision-making ability on the field is very impressive. Besides, he is the country’s second-highest scorer this year so far, with an impressive 143.49 strike rate. Shanka can dare to dream of lifting another major trophy this year if the Sri Lankan players continue to shine the way they did in the Asia Cup.
Aftermath
The 16-nation T20 World Cup 2022 is scheduled to get underway on October 16 in Australia. Not every country will be aiming to win the tournament. Only five to six teams are anticipated to advance to the finals, where captains will play a crucial role.
Read: Nigar Sultana nominated for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for Sept
Cristiano Ronaldo: Portuguese star completes 700 club goals
Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled to find his usual form with Manchester United since the beginning of the season and has been labelled as finished by some parts of the football world. There is no denying the fact that age is catching up to Cristiano, and at 37 he can’t make the same impact that he used to do a few years ago. But on Sunday (October 9), the Portuguese superstar made a huge impact by scoring the winning goal for Manchester United against Everton and also completing his 700th club goal.
Everton vs Manchester United: Match Report
Manchester United’s coach, Erik ten Hag, was under pressure prior to the contest after being hammered 6-3 by city rivals Manchester City last week. He was determined to get a full three points at Goodison Park against Everton. But United made an awful start to the game by going down 1-0 within 5 minutes with a superb outside D-box strike by Alex Iwobi.
Read: Will Argentina’s 36-year trophy drought end with Messi's final World Cup?
The Brazilian, Antony, cut off the lead for the home side in the 15th minute with a nice placement goal in the right bottom corner. However, Man Utd suffered a huge blow when Anthony Martial was subbed off in the 29th minute. Coach ten Hag had to send Cristiano on the field to replace Martial.
Ronaldo didn’t disappoint, finding the net just before halftime to give the United a 2-1 lead in the match. Taking the ball 40 yards from the goalpost, Ronaldo ran down the left flank and cut inside the D-Box and eventually placed the ball nicely into the back of the net.
Manchester United ‘s 2-1 lead in the first half remained intact in the remainder of the contest. Both teams tried to find the net in the second half. In particular, Everton were desperate to equalise but failed to level the scoreline.
Breakdown of Cristiano Ronaldo's club career goals
Cristiano Ronaldo started his senior career in 2002 with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon and has represented four clubs in four different leagues in his 21-year career so far.
Read: Qatar World Cup 2022: Viewer's guide
In 2003, he joined English club Manchester United after a year with Sporting CP. While playing for the Red Devils, Cristiano rose to prominence and won the Ballon d'Or in 2008.
Real Madrid bought him for a record-breaking amount in the 2009 summer window. He spent his best time in his football career while playing for the Los Blancos and scored 450 goals in 438 matches.
Cristiano also played for Italian giant Juventus for three seasons before moving back to Manchester United in the summer of 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal stats in his club career (as on October 9, 2022)
Club
Matches
Goals
Sporting CP
31
5
Manchester United
340
144
Real Madrid
438
450
Juventus
134
101
Aftermath
Cristiano Ronaldo may still have some left in him judging by the way in which he scored against Everton to help Manchester United earn an important Premier League victory. Cristiano could have a massive impact on Ten Hag's team for the remainder of the season, and Sunday's match against the Toffees could be the beginning of it.
Read: 'It is the last one': Messi on World Cup 2022
AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Yemen emerge Group E champions outplaying Bangladesh 4-0
Yemen emerged Group E champions with an all-win record to reach the final round of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023, outplaying hosts Bangladesh by 4-0 goals in the last group match here on Sunday.
In the day's last Group E match of the qualifying round, the Arabian gulf nation Yemen clearly dominated the first half by 3-0 goals at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur Sunday evening.
With the feat, Yemen smartly booked a seat for the 16-team final round of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Championship to be held in May 3-10 next year, scoring 18 goals without conceding any, playing three group matches.
With the day's frustrating and first defeat in front of home crowd, Bangladesh finished group runners-up, but their hope of reaching the final round of the meet as one of the six best group runners-up teams has became uncertain.
‘We need to improve’, Shakib says after another batting disaster
After the first defeat in the ongoing Tri-Series against Pakistan, Nurul Hasan Sohan, the stand-in Bangladesh captain, said they have to improve to do well in T20Is.
Now, after the second defeat to New Zealand, the regular Bangladesh captain, Shakib Al Hasan, has echoed Sohan and said: “We need to improve.”
Bangladesh is regarded as one of the strongest teams in ODIs. But when it comes to T20Is, Bangladesh is a team who seems to have no idea about what they should do.
“We started well but we couldn't handle their quality spinners and we never got any momentum,” Shakib said to the broadcaster after the match. “The top three had to put their hands up and bat till 15-16 overs.”
Surprisingly, when the top three failed to deliver what Bangladesh needed to pose a tough challenge to the Blackcaps, Shakib decided to go down in the batting order. Reason? Shakib said he wanted to see a left-right combination in the middle!
“Batting is one of the areas where we need to improve and will keep working on that. It is hard to keep the energy up when you lose two games, but the World Cup is coming up, so the next two games will be crucial for us,” Shakib added.
Despite playing 25 T20Is over the last two years, Bangladesh team management is still sweating over having a permanent opening pair. The problem intensified after Tamim Iqbal's retirement from T20Is.
In recent matches, Bangladesh fielded Mehidy Hasan and Sabbir Rahman as experimental opening pair. Mehidy has done well in the new role so far. But Sabbir proved he has little to offer in international cricket. Now, Bangladesh team management returned to Najmul Hossain Shanto who did nothing to get a place in the T20 team.
Overall, with the World Cup just around the corner, the Bangladesh T20 team became more of a laboratory to test the players if they are capable of representing Bangladesh in this format.
Tri-Series: Uninspired Tigers slide to routine defeat
Devon Conway smashed an unbeaten 70 off 51 balls with eight fours and one six to guide New Zealand to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Bangladesh at Christchurch today, in the third game of the ongoing tri-series ahead of the World Cup later this month.
Bangladesh batted first and posted a disappointing total of 137 for eight. New Zealand chased it down in 17.5 overs losing just two wickets.
It was yet another uninspired display from the team under Shakib Al Hasan today - at no point of the match did they seem to pose even a challenge, let alone any threat to their opponents.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and sent Bangladesh to bat first.
Bangladesh made two changes in this match— Mustafizur Rahman and Sabbir Rahman have been overlooked to pave the way for Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan.
Shanto, who was playing his first match in this event replacing Sabbir Rahman, scored 33 off 29 balls while Nurul Hasan Sohan posted 25 off just 12 balls with two sixes.
Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has been establishing himself as an opener, scored 5 in this match.
Afif Hossain posted 24 while Shakib scored 16. The Bangladesh captain, Shakib, made a comeback after the UAE series but his inclusion didn't change the fragile batting approach of Bangladesh.
Mosaddek Hossain (2) and Yasir Ali (7) failed to do well this time.
For the hosts, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Micheal Bracewell and Ish Sodhi bagged two wickets.
Before this match, both Bangladesh and New Zealand lost their respective first matches to Pakistan.
These two teams will take on each other again on October 12 at the same venue.
Tri-series 3rd T20: Bangladesh tumble for 137 vs New Zealand
Bangladesh posted 137 for 8 wickets against New Zealand in their second match of the ongoing Tri-Series in Christchurch today.
Bangladesh made two changes in this match — Mustafizur Rahman and Sabbir Rahman have been overlooked to pave the way for Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan.
Bangladesh lost the toss and were sent to bat first.
Shanto, who was playing his first match in this event replacing Sabbir Rahman, scored 33 off 29 balls while Nurul Hasan Sohan posted 25 off just 12 balls with two sixes.
Bangladesh lost wickets in regular intervals. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has been establishing himself as an opener, scored 5 in this match.
Read: Tri-series 3rd T20: Kiwis send Tigers to bat first
Afif Hossain posted 24 while Shakib scored 16. The Bangladesh captain, Shakib, made a comeback after the UAE series but his inclusion didn't change the fragile batting approach of Bangladesh.
Mosaddek Hossain (2) and Yasir Ali (7) failed to do well this time.
For the hosts, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Micheal Bracewell and Ish Sodhi bagged two wickets.
Before this match, both Bangladesh and New Zealand lost their respective first matches to Pakistan.
Tri-series 3rd T20: Kiwis send Tigers to bat first
The Tigers lost the toss and were sent to bat by the Kiwis today in the third match of the T20I tri-series in Christchurch, New Zealand.
This series is the last buildup for the teams ahead of the T20 World Cup which begins in Australia on October 16.
Bangladesh made three changes to their XI as they look to rebound in the series. Shakib Al Hasan, regular captain of Bangladesh, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shoriful Islam returned. Sabbir Rahman, Nasum Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman were dropped.
New Zealand made one change, bringing in Adam Milne for Blair Tickner.
In the first match of the competition, Bangladesh lost to Pakistan by 21 runs. Also, Pakistan beat New Zealand six wickets in the second match. So, the Tigers and the Kiwis are looking for their first points in the series.
Read: Will Bangladesh’s brand of T20 cricket work in New Zealand?
New Zealand
Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (capt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Adam Milne
Bangladesh
Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam