United News of Bangladesh

Usman Khan smashed the first century of the season and guided Chittagong Kings to a big 105-run win over Durbar Rajhahi in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday. Rajshahi won the toss and sent Chittagong to bat first. Chittagong lost their first wicket in the first over of the match. But Usman’s century helped them take control. In the second wicket stand, Graham Clark and Usman added 120 runs. When Graham left 40 of 25 balls in 11th, Chittagong reached 121 runs. Despite Graham's departure, Usman continued to dominate the Rajshahi bowling attack. He smashed 13 fours and six sixes in his 123 off 62 balls. Mohammad Mithun and Haider Ali also contributed with 28 and 12, respectively, to help Chittagong post a large total of 219 for five. Taskin’s record-breaking bowling show power Rajshahi to win over Dhaka Taskin Ahmed, who bagged seven wickets in the previous match for just 19 to make BPL record, scalped two this time. In reply, Rajshahi were never in a position to offer a real threat to Chittagong. Inside the powerplay, they lost three wickets to score 50 runs. But from there, they were unable to accelerate their innings further. Opener Mohammad Haris was their best batter scoring 32 runs. Four of their other batters have also reached two-digit totals but failed to continue. Aliss Al Islam, a right-arm spinner, took three wickets for 17 runs, and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny also bagged three wickets. Shoriful Islam and Mohammad Wasim scalped two wickets each. It was the first win for Chittagong and Rajshahi’s second defeat in the event.

Pakistan had an injury scare when opening batter Saim Ayub twisted his right ankle on the field as South Africa reached 72-3 at lunch on day 1 of the second and final test on Friday. Ayub fell awkwardly in the outfield and was visibly in lot of pain as he received brief treatment on the ground before he was rushed to a hospital for precautionary scans. The Pakistan team management said an update on the extent of Ayub’s injury “will be provided in due course.” South Africa, which has already sealed its place in June’s World Test Championship final with a dramatic two-wicket win in the first test at Centurion inside four days, lost three wickets for nine runs in the latter half of first session after getting a promising start of 61. Ryan Rickleton completed his half century in the last over before lunch and was unbeaten on 50, but off-spinner Salman Ali Agha pegged the home team further when he had Tristan Stubbs caught behind for zero which gave wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan his third catch of the morning session. Young Maphaka makes debut as SAfrica wins the toss and bats 1st in 2nd test vs Pakistan South Africa settled in well despite Aiden Markram surviving a close lbw off Mohammad Abbas’ first ball after skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat on a dry wicket. Rickleton batted aggressively against an all-pace attack but Markram looked shaky in his 17-run knock off 44 balls and was also dropped at covers by Ayub’s substitute Abdullah Shafique. However, the lapse didn’t cost Pakistan as Khurram Shahzad broke the opening stand when he found the inside edge of Markram’s bat. Wiaan Mulder, one of the three changes South Africa made from its Centurion playing XI, fell to Abbas when the seamer found the thick outside edge before Agha got rid of Stubbs at stoke of lunch interval. Kwena Maphaka was among the three changes the Proteas made as the fast bowler became the youngest South African to make his test debut. At 18 years, 270 days, Maphaka broke the record of Paul Adams, who played his first test against England in 1995 at the age of 18 years, 340 days. The home team, which has six successive test wins, opted to go with the express pace of Maphaka in place of Dane Paterson, who was dropped after picking up his second successive five-wicket haul at Centurion. India's top order collapses to 57-3 at lunch vs Australia on Day 1 of 5th test Corbin Bosch was left out after making a stunning test debut in the first test where he took a wicket with his first ball and then made a scintillating unbeaten half century in the first innings which gave South Africa a match-winning lead of 90 runs. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has recovered from a groin injury and replaced Bosch. Opening batter Tony de Zorzi had a thigh strain and was replaced by Mulder as the all-rounder recovered from a finger injury and returned to the playing XI. Pakistan, which has won just two of its last nine test matches in this WTC cycle, once again went without a specialist spinner. It rested fast bowler Naseem Shah and brought in left-arm fast bowler Mir Hamza.

Kwena Maphaka became the youngest South African to make a test debut as the Proteas won the toss and elected to bat in the second and final test against Pakistan on Friday. The 18 years and 270 days old Maphaka broke Paul Adams’ South Africa record of youngest test player, who played his first test against England in 1995 at the age of 18 years and 340 days. South Africa made three changes after sealing its place in June’s World Test Championship final with a dramatic two-wicket win in the first test at Centurion inside four days. Australia, India and Sri Lanka all still in the race for the Lord’s WTC final against South Africa in June. Australia could advance to face South Africa if it wins the fifth test against India in Sydney. “It’s hot and we expect the wicket to break up,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said at the coin toss. “We’ve had time to wrap around what we’ve achieved, the preparations for this test have been the priority … a chance to finish off with a good note.” India's top order collapses to 57-3 at lunch vs Australia on Day 1 of 5th test Fast bowler Mohammad Abbas brought Pakistan close to its first test win in South Africa in 18 years with 6-54 in the second innings at Centurion but tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen shared a half century ninth-wicket stand and quashed the visitors hopes. The home team, which has six successive test wins, opted to go with the express pace of Maphaka in place of Dane Paterson, who was dropped after picking up his second successive five-wicket haul at Centurion. Corbin Bosch was left out after making a stunning test debut in the first test where he took a wicket with his first ball and then made a scintillating unbeaten half century in the first innings which gave South Africa a match-winning lead of 90 runs. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has recovered from a groin injury and replaced Bosch. Opening batter Tony de Zorzi had a thigh strain and was replaced by Wiaan Mulder as the all-rounder recovered from a finger injury and returned to the playing XI. Pakistan, which has won just two of its last nine test matches in this WTC cycle, once again went without a specialist spinner. It rested fast bowler Naseem Shah and brought in left-arm fast bowler Mir Hamza. “A bit less grass than usual, but we would have had a bowl,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said.

Despite the absence of struggling captain Rohit Sharma, India's top order again crumbled as it reached 57-3 at lunch on the first day of the decisive fifth and final test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. Sharma was replaced as skipper by Jasprit Bumrah, who earlier won the toss and batted on a green-tinged SCG wicket under overcast skies. Bumrah's decision appeared to backfire early on as the tourists lost KL Rahul and Jaiswal Yashasvi in the first eight overs and then very nearly Virat Kohli also, only for a a contentious TV umpire decision to save the star batter. Nathan Lyon saw the hosts go to the break the happier when he snared Shubman Gill with the final ball before lunch. At the break, Kohli was 12 not out. The start of the fifth test mirrored the four previous it as the bowlers dominated early. After several deliveries beat the edge of the bat outside off-stump, Mitchell Starc (1-24) found more joy bowling straighter as Rahul (4) chipped a simple catch to Sam Konstas at square leg in the fifth over when India was 11-1. Scott Boland (1-5) was then introduced into the attack and only needed four balls at Jaiswal (10) to have the young opener edge a ball through to debutant Beau Webster at third slip to reduce the tourists to a shaky 17-2. Read: Taskin’s record-breaking bowling show power Rajshahi to win over Dhaka That brought Kohli, the series' pantomime villain, to the crease. Kohli was greeted by booing from many in the the SCG crowd, stemming from his deliberate shoulder bump on Konstas on the opening morning of the Boxing Day text for which he was later fined. And fittingly, his first ball was the most dramatic of the session. Boland drew the edge and it flew low to Steve Smith's right hand at second slip. Smith appeared to get his hand just under the ball before it hit the ground and the ball popped up for Marnus Labuschagne to complete the catch, sparking wild celebrations for the hosts. The catch was referred to TV umpire Joel Wilson with replays suggesting the ball may have touched the grass as it came out of Smith hand and Kohli survived. As lunch approached, Lyon (1-1) was introduced into the attack and in his second over he had Gill (20) edging through to Smith who took a clean catch at chest-height to end the session. Australia made one change to its team that clinched a dramatic 184-run win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday to take a 2-1 series lead with allrounder Mitch Marsh dropped for Webster to make a test debut. Australia leads the series 2-1 and must avoid defeat to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15. A win by India and a drawn series at 2-2 would allow the visitors to retain the trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time. Read more: Sri Lanka beats New Zealand by 7 runs in the 3rd T20 but New Zealand wins series 2-1 A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final. Australia beat India in the 2023 decider. South Africa became the first team to qualify for the WTC final at Lord’s in June by winning a dramatic match at home to Pakistan last weekend. India drop skipper Sharma Intense speculation that Sharma would be dropped for the final test was confirmed shortly before play with Bumrah named as India's captain. With scores of 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9 at an average of 6.2 for the series, Sharma has had a wretched tour since coming back into the side for the second test after he missed India’s comprehensive first-test win in Perth on paternity leave. While the India team said Sharma had been “rested," the 37-year-old's test career would now appear in peril.

Rangpur Riders registered an eight-wicket win over Fortune Barishal in the Bangladesh Premier League match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday. Saif Hassan’s unbeaten 62 off 46 balls, and Alex Hales’ 49 guided them to chase a below-par target with 30 balls to spare. Barishal made a promising start, riding on 28 off 18 by Tamim Iqbal. But they were quickly off guard in front of the quality attack of Rangpur. They faltered under consistent pressure. Taskin’s record-breaking bowling show power Rajshahi to win over Dhaka Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Nabi contributed with 15 and 21, but those were not enough for them to stabilize the innings and pose a strong challenge to Rangpur. They were bolwed out for 124 in 18.2 overs. Khushdil Shah took three wickets for 18 for Rangpur. Nahid Rana and Iftikhar Ahmed took two wickets each. Rangpur rocked early as they lost quick two wickets while chasing as Azizul Hakim and Tawfique Khan were dismissed cheaply. BCB president assures BPL players amid payment delays by franchises But Saif and Alex were firm in the middle in the third wicket stand. In his unbeaten knock, Saif smashed six fours and three sixes. Hales scored 49 off 41 balls, with three sixes. They added 113 runs in the third wicket stand to seal the match for Rangpur. Iqbal Hossain Emon scalped both the wickets for Barishal.  

The head coach of the 2022 SAFF Women’s champions Bangladesh team Golam Rabbani Choton returned the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) as head of the Youth Development and BFF Elite Football Academy. The 56-year-old successful coach of different age group women’s teams from Bogra district Choton, who resigned from the head coach position of Bangladesh Women’s Football team in May 2023, joined the BFF again recently with new and higher job initially for one year.  The 6th round of BPL Football begins Friday Choton, a former player of Youngmen’s Club Fakirerpool, Arambagh KS and some other leading clubs, successful trained different women’s age group football teams and lastly the Bangladesh Army team. Addressing the local media after receiving BFF appointment letter on Thursday, Choton said, “My main focus is to develop the players so that they can reach the higher level” Federation Cup Football: Bashundhara Kings return to winning ways beating Police FC There will be some challenges and also scope to overcame it, the young players came here with dream, I will try my best to help them to fulfill their dreams.

The sixth-time champions Dhaka Abahani Limited and defending champions Bashundhara Kings will play in the sixth round of the 10-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football on Friday (January 3) at two separate venue across the country. Dhaka Abahani Limited will play Fortis FC at 2:45 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena while Bashundhara Kings will encounter Bangladesh Police FC also at 2:45 pm at the Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh. Brothers Union Club will face Youngmen’s Club Fakirerpool in Friday’s other match at 2:45 pm at the Shaheed Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj. After the 5th round matches, Dhaka Mohammedan SC Ltd maintained the solo lead in the league table with all-win record securing full 15 points from straight five matches. Rahmatganj MFS and six-time champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd, without any foreign players, remained at 2nd slot securing 12 points each from five matches. But, in goal differences, Rahmatganj MFS were in the 2nd slot while Dhaka Abahani in the 3rd place. Brothers Union Club are in the 4th place with eight points while  defending champions Bashundhara Kings are struggling at the 5th place with seven points, also playing five matches each.

Taskin Ahmed produced a spell for the ages as Durbar Rajshahi defeated Dhaka Capitals by seven wickets in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday. Dhaka batters had no clue against Taskin who bagged seven for only 19 runs— the best bowling figures in BPL’s history.  While making the record, Taskin took four wickets in his first three overs. When returning to bowl the last over of the innings, he bagged three more wickets conceding only two runs.  He struck early, dismissing Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan in quick succession to reduce Dhaka to  14 for 2. Despite efforts by Stephen Eskinazi, 46 off 29, and Shahadat Hossain, 50 off 41, Dhaka struggled to recover against Taskin's precision. Taskin's 7-wicket-haul blitz shatters BPL record The pacer returned in the death overs to claim three more wickets, restricting Dhaka to 174 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs. Taskin's remarkable figures surpassed Mohammad Amir’s 6 for 18 in 2020, making him the standout bowler in BPL history and earning him the Player of the Match award. While chasing, Rajshahi lost quick wickets but captain Anamul Haque led the chase with a 73 off 46 balls. He hit a fifty in the previous match for Rajshahi too.  Anamul found an able partner in Ryan Burl, who smashed an unbeaten 55 off 33 balls. The duo added an unbeaten 106-run stand for the fourth wicket, which ensured the win for them with 11 balls to play. Dhaka’s bowlers struggled to make an impact, with Mustafizur Rahman and Alauddin Babu picking up one wicket each. Mukidul Islam was expensive, conceding 37 runs in just 3.1 overs.  

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Faruque Ahmed has reassured players participating in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) that they will receive their payments despite several franchises failing to pay the first installment of their contracts on time. According to the payment schedule, franchises are required to pay 50% of a player’s fee before the tournament begins, 25% during the competition, and the remaining amount after its conclusion. The seven-team league kicked off on December 30. Faruque, who became BCB president in August and a former Bangladesh captain, confirmed the ongoing discussions with the franchises to resolve the issue. Read: Taskin's 7-wicket-haul blitz shatters BPL record However, he refrained from providing specific reasons why most franchises, except Fortune Barishal, failed to meet the bank guarantee requirement mandated by the BCB. This guarantee ensures that players are paid by the board if franchises default on payments. Although the BCB has utilised bank guarantees in previous seasons to cover unpaid dues, the absence of such guarantees this year has raised concerns about players’ financial security. "We have been engaging with the franchise owners from the outset," Faruque said. "I’ve emphasised that payments must be made. If you ask me to give a definitive reason why they didn’t provide the bank guarantee, I can’t. One has to consider the broader circumstances of the last four months." The BCB president assured that measures were being taken to address the issue. "This doesn’t mean players will go unpaid. We have adopted various strategies to work with the franchises. I’ve personally reached out as the board president to ensure they see us as partners. They are investing in Bangladesh cricket as well," he added. Read more: Defending champions Barishal start BPL with thumping win over Rajshahi The payment controversy follows a ticketing mishap on the tournament’s opening day, which led to agitated fans damaging the main gate of the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Source: With inputs from ESPNCrickinfo

Taskin Ahmed of Durbar Rajshahi creates history by taking seven wickets just for 19 runs against Dhaka Capitals in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Thursday.  This is now the best-ever bowling record in the history of the event. He surpassed Mohammad Amir’s six wickets.  Amir took 6 for 18 against Rajshahi Royals in 2020, taking the top spot in BPL’s bowling records.  Taskin’s feat is also the third-best in all recognised T20 cricket. The record for the best T20 bowling figures is held by Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus, who took 7 for 8. Taskin’s 7 for 19 is now the best bowling performance by a Bangladeshi bowler in any recognised T20 match, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan’s 6 for 6 against Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel while playing for Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2013. While making the record, Taskin took four wickets in his first three overs. When returning to bowl the last over of the innings, he bagged three more wickets conceding only two runs.  Sri Lanka beats New Zealand by 7 runs in the 3rd T20 but New Zealand wins series 2-1 At one point, Taskin was on the verge of a hat-trick, but Nazmul Islam denied him by taking a single off the fourth ball of the over.