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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
Tri-series 2nd T20: Pakistan beat New Zealand by 6 wickets
Pakistan captain Babar Azam struck an unbeaten 79 from 53 balls and shared a 61-run partnership with Shadab Khan in a six-wicket win over New Zealand Saturday in the T20 tri-series.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson made the unusual decision to bat first after winning the toss and the Black Caps managed only 147-8 in their 20 overs, stalled by tight bowling from Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim.
The New Zealanders then had to bowl as spring temperatures dropped to single figures and the outfield at Hagley Oval became damp and dewy. The bowlers could do little to arrest Babar and Shadab as the ball became wet and slippery.
New Zealand were 70-1 after 10 overs with Devon Conway and Kane Williamson at the crease. Conway made 36 from 35 balls and Williamson 31 from 30 in an innings which promised a more robust total. But the pair were out within two overs of each other as New Zealand slumped to 137-6.
Mark Chapman produced a defiant innings for the home side with 32 from 16, including three fours and two sixes. But he was out at 142 as New Zealand lost five wickets for 33 runs in the last five overs.
New Zealand might have had some hope when top-ranked T20 batter Mohammad Rizwan fell lbw to Tim Southee for 4 in the fifth over, leaving Pakistan on 36-1.
But the partnership between Babar and Shadab, which came as the cold settled in, shut New Zealand out of the game.
Shadab batted higher in the order than usual and struck two fours and two sixes in a 22-ball innings of 34.
Babar reached his half century from 33 balls and was able to control Pakistan's run chase, leading his team to victory with 10 balls remaining. He struck the ball with superb power and placement to tally 11 boundaries.
New Zealand had a faint hope still as Pakistan needed 24 runs from the last 18 balls. But Babar struck two fours, and Haider Ali hit a four and a six in the 18th over, bowled by Blair Tickner, to make the finish to the run chase a cakewalk.
"Me and Shadab decided that I was going all the way and he would take the chances," Babar said. "When we settled down and assessed the wicket I decided I was going to play to the end and managed to do that."
Pakistan won the opening match of the tri-series by 21 runs over Bangladesh. New Zealand will play Bangladesh Sunday.
The series is the last buildup for the teams ahead of the T20 World Cup which begins in Australia on October 16.
T20 Tri-Series: Bangladesh take on New Zealand on Sunday
Aiming to bounce back in the Tri-Series, Bangladesh is set to take on the hosts New Zealand on Sunday.
The match will begin at 12 pm (Bangladesh Time) in Christchurch.
In the first match of the competition, Bangladesh lost to Pakistan by 21 runs.
Shakib Al Hasan, the regular captain of Bangladesh, is also set to make a comeback in Sunday’s match. He couldn't play the first match due to jet lag— he joined the national team on Thursday after taking part in CPL in the West Indies.
It was learnt that Shakib couldn't buy an air ticket to New Zealand in time due to heavy demand, and eventually, it made him unable to take part in the first match of the event.
After the defeat in the first match, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Bangladesh’s stand-in captain, said they have to improve in certain areas to do well in T20Is.
Read: Will Bangladesh’s brand of T20 cricket work in New Zealand?
Bangladesh might bring a change in the opening slots. Sabbir Rahman, who was playing as an experimental opener, has failed to justify his inclusion. But the other opener, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who is also in an experimental phase, has done well so far.
Mustafizur Rahman might also lose his place in the playing XI. He conceded 48 runs in his stipulated four overs in the last match, without taking any wickets.
On Saturday, New Zealand took on Pakistan and lost the match by six wickets. Pakistan chased down a target of 148 with 10 balls to play.
After playing this Tri-Series, all the participating teams will fly to Australia to take part in the T20 World Cup. All these three teams have secured their places in the Super 12 of the T20 World Cup.
AFC U-17 Asian Cup: Bangladesh face Yemen to in group-deciding match
Two unbeaten teams--hosts Bangladesh will play formidable Arabian nation Yemen on Sunday in a title deciding Group E match of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur hereThe last match of the four-team Group E between two teams will kick-off at 7 pm Bangladesh time.The winners will clinch the group title to qualify for the 16-team final round of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Championship to be held from May 3-10 next year.After the two group matches, both the Yemen and Bangladesh have secured full six points each, but in the goal differences Yemen top the group list scoring 14 goals against Bangladesh's four goals, conceding one (4-1).
Read: AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers kick off: Bangladesh play Singapore on WednesdayYemen needed just a draw to be the group champions with a better goal difference, but Bangladesh have an outside chance to reach the final round as one of the six group runners-up.Earlier, Bangladesh made a good start in the qualifying meet beating Singapore by 2-1 goals in their first match, featuring two gifted goals and defeated Bhutan by 2-0 goals in the 2nd match on Friday.Yemen enjoyed an upper hand, crushing Bhutan by 8-0 goals in the inaugural match and outplaying Singapore by 6-0 goals in the match.
Women's Football League begins Nov 15
The 12-team Women's Football League 2021-22, organized by BFF Women's Football Committee, begins here on November 15.The decision was taken at a meeting of the BFF Women's Football League Committee held at the federation board room on Saturday, chaired by women's football committee chairman and FIFA council member Mahfuza Akhter Kiron.In this connection, the inter-club players registration formalities of the Women's football league will be from October 15 to November 10.
Read: Rise and rise of Bangladesh women and footballParticipating teams: Bashundhara Kings, Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan College SC, FC Brahmanbaria, Cumilla United Club, Kacharipara Ekadosh, Nasrin Sports Academy, Sadhyapushkaroni Jubo Sporting Club, Barishal Football Academy, Dhaka Rangers Football, Farashganj SC, Siraj Smriti Sangsad and Uttara Football Club Ltd.
Women’s Asia Cup: India beat Bangladesh to secure top spot
Bangladesh failed to bowl well and then fell far short of the target set for them by India in Saturday’s Women’s Asia Cup match.
India beat Bangladesh by 59 runs and cemented their place at the top of the table. They now have four wins out of five matches played in the first phase of the event.
India won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted 159 runs losing five wickets. The top three batters of India scored 137 runs including a fifty from Shafali Verma. Smriti Mandhana, the Indian captain in this match, scored 47, and Jemimah Rodrigues hit 35 off 24 balls as well.
Rumana Ahmed was the most successful Bangladeshi bowler taking three wickets conceding 27 runs. But the other bowlers were a complete mess in this match. They could not take wickets, they also failed in their plans to not leak too many runs.
In reply, the top three of Bangladesh’s batting line up all reached double digits, but failed to kick on and get a big score, as Bangladesh kept falling behind the ever-growing asking rate.
Fargana Hoque played 40 balls to score 30 runs while Murshida Khatun faced 25 balls to score 21 runs. Nigar Sultana, the Bangladesh captain, was the only batter to score at a strike rate exceeding 100. She made 36 off 29 deliveries. No of the other Bangladeshi batters could score more than four runs.
While chasing a challenging target of 160, Bangladesh was never in a position to offer some resistance to the Indian side. Bangladesh ended up on 100 for seven in 20 overs.
For India, Deepti Sharma and Shafali bagged two wickets each.
While India are at the top of the table with four wins in five matches, Bangladesh are at four with two wins in four matches. Thailand also have two wins, but Bangladesh are ahead of the for a better run rate.
The seven teams in the competition all play each other once in the first phase, with the top four qualifying for the semifinals.
Will Bangladesh’s brand of T20 cricket work in New Zealand?
The Bangladesh national men’s cricket team expectedly lost its opening match of the Bangla Wash tri-series against a high-ranked T20I side, Pakistan, by 21 runs on Friday (October 7) in Christchurch. The experts have the right to criticize the Bangladesh team, especially the batting unit, after their dismal display against Pakistan. Will their current strategy for T20 cricket work in New Zealand conditions?
Bangladesh’s T20I record in New Zealand
The men's national cricket team of Bangladesh is taking part in a tri-nation series in New Zealand. The series serves as a warm-up for the 2022 T20 World Cup. Fans of Tigers cricket shouldn't have too much hope based on their team's overall T20I record in New Zealand. Bangladesh team has failed to win a T20I match in New Zealand in eight attempts. They have lost seven out of their eight games against New Zealand, showing how challenging it is to compete at their highest level under these circumstances.
Read: At a Glance: ICC T20 Men's World Cup 2022 Venues
Did Bangladesh’s strategy for the T20 format work against Pakistan in the first match?
Simply stated, Bangladesh's T20 strategy against Pakistan didn't work out. Captain Nurul Hasan Sohan chose to bat first in order to have a definite goal to play for. The fast bowlers did not live up to expectations, with the exception of Taskin Ahmed, who was by far the best player for Bangladesh in the match. As usual, Bangladesh's batters were disappointing and did not put Pakistan's bowlers under any significant strain.
Bowling
Mustafizur Rahman is considered the main weapon of Bangladesh’s pace bowling unit. But his outing in the first match once again proved that the left-hand pacer is currently going through a bad phase and can’t be trusted as a death-overs bowler. Mustafizur was hammered by the Pakistan batters all around the ground and was the costliest bowler of the contest with 12 economy rates.
The Bangladesh campaign should be even more worried by witnessing how Mustafizur has performed in 2022. He has the worst average (42.37) and strike rate (29.2) among the Bangladesh bowlers who have bowled at least 10 overs in the last year. His 8.69 economy rate is also among the worst among the Bangladeshi players. This stat clearly suggests that Bangladesh shouldn’t trust Mustfaizur Rahman as one of their death-overs specialists, at least in Oceania conditions.
Young Hasan Mahmud was expensive against Pakistan. He needs to work with pace bowling coach Alan Donald on adjusting his line and length for these conditions. The performances of pace bowler Taskin Ahmed and spinner Nasum Ahmed were the two positives for Bangladesh. Taskin, in particular, was magnificent in his approach and the way he put pressure on the Pakistan batters. He finished his spell with 2/25 in 4 overs. Nasum Ahmed, on the other hand, conceded only 22 runs in his spell.
Read: Women's Asia Cup: Pakistan win thriller against India
Batting
Mehidy Hasan Miraz was sent to start the innings with Sabbir Rahman as Bangladesh continued to experiment with the opening position. They were having trouble timing the ball when trying to settle into the wicket. Both of them failed and headed to the pavilion after having fewer than 100 strike rates.
The only chance Bangladesh had was during the middle overs, when Afif Hossain and Litton Das were forming a partnership. They tried to break free by hitting some shots, especially on the leg side. However, the bulk of their shots weren't solid enough, and they might easily fall into the hands of the fielders on any given day.
Bangladesh’s innings fell apart when Litton-Afif’s 50-run stand came to an end in the 13th over. Yasir Ali impressed many Bangladesh cricket fans by hitting some big shots and ending his innings with an unbeaten 42* off 21. However, one needs to understand that when Yasir tried to smack Pakistan bowlers, by then Bangladesh’s hope in the contest was done and dusted. He needs to show his power-hitting ability when under pressure. But Yasir has given a hint to the team management that promoting him to the top order could be a good idea.
Overall, Bangladesh's batters' strategy was shaky and ineffective under these circumstances. The batters had better be well-prepared to chase 200 runs in upcoming matches. They must possess the skills necessary to play shots confidently and the attitude needed to consistently pressure the opposing bowlers. Because their cautious strategy didn't work in the first game and it won't work in the following games either.
Read: Tri-series: Dismal batting continues to haunt Bangladesh
Will Argentina’s 36-year trophy drought end with Messi's final World Cup?
The 35-year-old Lionel Messi will make his final World Cup appearance in the upcoming edition in Qatar. The Argentine star footballer confirmed his decision while giving an interview to Star Plus. "There's some anxiety and nerves at the same time. It is the last one, " Messi was quoted as saying. Argentina hadn’t won the World Cup in the previous eight editions where Messi took part in the last four of them. Can Argentina finally end their trophy drought in Lionel Messi’s final World Cup appearance?
When did Argentina last take home a World Cup trophy?
In front of 114,000 people at the Estadio Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Diego Armando Maradona-led Argentina won their second World Cup title on June 29, 1986, defeating West Germany 3-2 in the title match. This was the final FIFA World Cup title won by Argentina's senior men's team.
Read: Qatar World Cup 2022: Viewer's guide
Argentina’s recent World Cup performances
One of Latin America’s footballing powerhouses, Argentina had to remain without a World Cup title in the previous eight editions. Although the Albiceleste played in the finals in 1990 and 2014, they lost 1-0 against the Germans on both occasions and had to sink into despair.
Argentina was the favorite to defeat Germany in the championship match eight years ago at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Argentines would have brought home the World Cup trophy for the third time had striker Gonzalo Higuain not squandered several straightforward opportunities. After a goalless regular 90 minutes, Mario Gotze's goal in extra time gave Germany their fourth World Cup victory.
Argentina's finest performances from 1994 to 2010 included making the quarterfinals in 1998, 2006, and 2010. Even the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan saw them eliminated at the group stage. Argentina's national team was unsuccessful in winning any international trophy from 1994 to 2020, not just in world cup competitions.
From 2014 to 2016, Argentina participated in three finals. The Albiceleste advanced to the finals of the 2015 Copa America and 2016 Copa America Centenario, but both times Chile won in penalty shootouts. This led to mental instability in the Argentine camp after losing three straight finals.
Read: 'It is the last one': Messi on World Cup 2022