United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions Bashundhara Kings completed their Group A engagements of the AFC Challenge League 2024-25 with all losses after conceding 1-2 goals defeat against Paro FC of hosts Bhutan at the Changlimithang Stadium in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu Friday night. The match locked at 1-1 in the first half. With day's another frustrating defeat, Bangladesh champions Bashundhara Kings maintained their  poor show in the international football and finished at bottom in the four-team group empty-handed. Kolkata East Bengal emerged group champions to reach the quarter final with unbeaten run securing seven points, Nejmeh FC of Lebanon in the 2nd slot with six points while Paro FC in the 3rd slot with four points, playing all the three group matches. BCB announces Tk 20 lakh award for Bangladesh women’s football team Bangladesh champions Kings started the Group A campaign losing to Nejmeh FC of Lebanon by 0-1 goal while they suffered 0-4 goals defeat against Kolkata East Bengal Club in the 2nd match to remain at the bottom. In the day's last group match, midfielder Valerii Hryshyn put the Kings team ahead in the 12th minute by a left footer from center of the box, off a Foysal Ahmed Fahim pass (1-0). AFC Challenge League: Bashundhara Kings suffer thrashing at hands of East Bengal Defender Nima Wangdi leveled the margin for Paro FC in the 23rd minute by a right footed shot, capitalizing on a Kezang Dorgi pass (1-1). Kings defender Jasur Jumayev scored a suicidal goal in the 54th minute to suffer another embarrassing defeat.

Alexander Zverev advanced to the semifinals of the Paris Masters by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4 on Friday and knocking the Greek player out of contention for the ATP Finals. The third-seeded German saved the only break point he faced. Zverev, the French Open runner-up, next faces 2022 champion Holger Rune for a shot at the title. He's into his third Paris semifinals in the past four years, though he's never won the hard-court tournament. The first break point opportunity came in the 11th game as Tsitsipas struggled with his first serve. Zverev got the break for 6-5 on an unforced error. Tsitsipas then saved two set points but squandered his only break point chance with his 17th unforced error before Zverev closed out the set. Zverev broke again in the third game of the second set to take full control. He rattled off 12 straight points in his final three service games. With the victory, Zverev became the first player born in the 1990s to record 100 wins over top-20 players. Daniil Medvedev is on 99. The 10th-seeded Tsitsipas, who reached the ATP Finals for five consecutive years, had 28 unforced errors to 18 winners. Rune outlasted Alex de Minaur 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a 2 1/2-hour baseline fight. Rune improved to 3-2 against the Australian. Later Friday, home favorite Ugo Humbert will face Australia's Jordan Thompson, a day after the Frenchman stunned Carlos Alcaraz. The nightcap pits eighth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov against 2018 champion Karen Khachanov. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner pulled out of the Paris Masters, as did the record seven-time champion Novak Djokovic. The ATP Finals in Turin start on Nov. 10.

Evin Lewis hit four times as many sixes as the entire England team in a commanding innings of 94 which led the West Indies to an eight-wicket win Thursday in the rain-affected first one-day international. First-time captain Liam Livingstone hit two sixes in a top score of 48 in his team's under-par total of 209. That was England's best performance as it was bowled out in 45.1 overs on a tricky pitch on which only Lewis flourished. The left-handed Lewis hit eight sixes in his innings of only 69 balls but was out 13 runs before the West Indies reached their Duckworth-Lewis System revised total of 157 to lead the three-match ODI series. No overs were lost when rain extended the interval between innings but the West Indies innings was reduced by 15 overs after a lengthy rain break after the 15th over. They already were in command, thanks to Lewis. He had reached his half century from 46 balls before the rain came and the West Indies were 81-0, 48 runs ahead of the Duckworth Lewis calculation though they had to face 20 overs for the result to count. Lewis returned to the West Indies ODI lineup for the first time in almost three years during their recent tour to Sri Lanka, scoring an unbeaten 102 in the third one-day international in Pallekele. That was his last innings before Thursday and he narrowly missed back-to-back centuries. Lewis was the only batter to command tricky conditions at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium. During the England innings, deliveries from both the seamers and spinners tended to grip and hold up, making expansive stroke play difficult. Brandon King made 30 in a 118-run opening partnership with Lewis and Keacy Carty was 19 not out when the West Indies won with 9.1 overs remaining. Livingstone's 48 and Sam Curran's 37 in a 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket provided the backbone of England's innings. Both batters were undone by left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who took 4-41. England may have struggled because it was coming off a test series against Pakistan while the West Indies have been playing white-ball cricket in Sri Lanka. England named four players on debut — Jamie Overton, Jordan Cox, John Turner and Dan Mousley — though Overton and Cox previously had played Twenty20 internationals and Overton had played one test. Livingstone hit the first six of the England innings in the 32nd over, signaling the difficulty that England had getting the ball to the boundary. Phil Salt had made 18 and England was 38 in the ninth over when he swung hard at a ball from Jayden Seales which held up after bouncing and he mis-timed his shot to Alzarri Joseph, who took an outstanding running catch in the deep. Will Jacks was on 19 when he tried to crack a full delivery from Seales into the leg side. Again the ball gripped and took the leading edge of Jacks' bat flying to Motie, who ran around behind the bowler to take the catch. Cox was looking settled on 17 when he tried to hit hard down the ground and the ball, which stood up sharply, took a top edge and flew to third man. Livingstone's disciplined innings of 48 from 49 balls ended when he pushed too far forward at a ball from Motie which held up and straightened and which he patted back to the bowler. The teams are scheduled to play the second ODI Saturday and the third next Wednesday ahead of a five-match Twenty20 series.

Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan given a reward of Tk 1 crore for the seven-nation SAFF Women's unbeaten champions Bangladesh Women's Football team. The Sports Adviser gave the reward on behalf of the Youth and Sports Ministry while he made a courtesy call with the women's footballers at the BFF office in Dhaka's Motijheel Thursday evening. BCB announces Tk 20 lakh award for Bangladesh women’s football team The sports adviser said, "Our chief adviser is very keen to meet the national heroine and will accord a reception for them on Saturday (Nov 2) at 11 am at his official residence. " Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also announced an award of Tk 20 lakh for the Bangladesh women’s national football team, which won the SAFF Women’s Championship title for the 2nd time in a row, beating 6th time finalists and hosts Nepal by 2-1 goals in the final in Kathmandu on Wednesday evening. Earlier, the Bangladesh women's football team landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 2:15 pm on Thursday, where BFF officials received the players with bouquets and heartfelt congratulations. After clearing airport formalities, the celebrated team embarked on a jubilant procession to the BFF office in Motijheel, travelling by open-roof bus, mostly on elevated expressway while proudly displaying the SAFF trophy. Women footballers to receive due salaries soon: Shafiqul Alam

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will award Tk 20 lakh to the Bangladesh women’s national football team which won the SAFF Women’s Championship 2024. In a media release on Thursday evening, the BCB announced the award for the team which clinched SAFF Women's crown for the 2nd consecutive times beating 6th time finalists Nepal by 2-1 goal in final in Kathmandu on Wednesday. The team landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 2:15 pm, where BFF officials received the players with bouquets and heartfelt congratulations. SAFF Women’s Champions get hero’s welcome in Dhaka After clearing airport formalities, the celebrated team embarked on a jubilant procession to the BFF headquarters in Motijheel, traveling by open-roof bus along the elevated expressway while proudly displaying the SAFF trophy. Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud and two BFF officials welcomed the team at BFF headquarters. Women footballers to receive due salaries soon: Shafiqul Alam  

South Africa’s stand-in cricket captain, Aiden Markram, expressed satisfaction with the security and hospitality arrangements during the team’s Bangladesh tour despite security concerns. This was the first international cricket series in Bangladesh after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, which had been increasingly seen as an autocratic regime. With dismal performance, Bangladesh suffer clean sweep against South Africa Following Hasina's ouster in a popular uprising, the security situation remained volatile for weeks. Due to these concerns, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was relocated from Bangladesh, and the South Africa series also faced uncertainty. Concerns escalated when fans clashed over Shakib Al Hasan’s absence from the series. In response, the government bolstered security, deploying army and police personnel. Bangladesh vs South Africa test: Mominul fights back after Rabada takes five-for “It was quite confusing before coming here, lots of unknowns, but if I’m being very honest with you, we’ve actually had a really good time here,” Aiden Markram said after the match. “The hospitality from a hotel point of view has been really good; people are always really friendly and welcoming, and logistically, how things worked on the roads, the security side of things—it went really smoothly,” he added. South Africa won the series 2-0, with their latest victory in Chattogram, where they defeated the hosts by an innings and 273 runs—their biggest-ever win in Test cricket.

Bangladesh women’s team footballers will receive their due salaries as soon as possible, said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, on Thursday. The women’s team beat Nepal in the SAFF Championship final to claim the title on Wednesday. They arrived in Dhaka on Thursday and were given a grand reception on an open-top bus. SAFF Women’s Champions get hero’s welcome in Dhaka “The cabinet members congratulated the team,” Shafiqul said at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy. “We learnt that the footballers have not received their salaries for the last few months. It’s an issue from (Kazi) Salahuddin’s era. We will solve it soon. You will see an announcement,” he added.  Kazi Salahuddin was the former president of the Bangladesh Football Federation. Bangladesh clinches second consecutive SAFF Women’s Championship with 2-1 win over Nepal Deputy Press Secretaries Apurba Jahangir and Abul Kalam Azad Majumder were also present at the briefing. Shafiqul also said the government is discussing equal pay for women athletes in the country. “The government is discussing with the BCB and BFF about equal pay for women athletes,” Shafiqul added. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus will accord a reception to the SAFF Championship-winning Bangladesh women’s football team at the State Guest House Jamuna on Saturday.

Bangladesh lost the second Test against South Africa by an innings and 273 runs on Thursday in Chattogram. With this win, South Africa won the series 2-0. It was their biggest win in history and Bangladesh’s second-biggest defeat. Bangladesh crumble for 159, South Africa enforce follow-on Bangladesh lost 16 wickets on day three to lose the match by a big margin. Kagiso Rabada bagged five wickets in the first innings, while Keshav Maharaj took five in the second. “Incredibly proud. Hard work went into it and good to see the hard work paid off. We played some really good cricket,” South Africa’s stand-in captain, Aiden Markarm, said. In the second innings, Bangladesh’s highest runs came from Hasan Mahmud. He scored 38 with four sixes and remained unbeaten. Bangladesh vs South Africa test: Mominul fights back after Rabada takes five-for Seven Bangladeshi batters, including Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, Zakir Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, failed to reach even a double-digit total. Mominul scored a fifty in the first innings but failed to score anything in the second. Chattogram's wicket is traditionally known as batting-friendly, which was proved once again when South Africa posted 575 in their only innings. But Bangladesh failed on the same surface. Three South African batters— Tony De Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, and Wiaan Mulder — hit their maiden Test ton in this match. Both the pacers and spinners of the tourists were equally unplayable by the hosts’ batters. “They (bowlers) work really well together. Taking wickets with the new ball, no matter where you play, is important. KG was special,” Markram added, praising Rabada and other bowlers. In the first innings, they scored 159 in 45.2 overs; in the second, they scored only 143 in 43.4 overs. In both innings together, they could not bat for 90 overs. “I think we need to improve a lot of things. We bowled well for a few hours, but overall we need to improve,” Bangladesh captain Najmul said. “It's not just about mental. It is mental and skills. We need to improve in both. Taijul's bowling was a positive. Mominul showed character in the first innings,” he added.

Bangladesh women’s national football team which won the SAFF Women’s Championship 2024 returned to Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, greeted with fanfare and a warm welcome by officials, fans, and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) leaders, who proudly celebrated the team’s remarkable achievement. The team landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 2:15 pm, where BFF officials received the players with bouquets and heartfelt congratulations. This year’s victory marked Bangladesh’s second consecutive SAFF Women’s Championship title, a testament to their exceptional skills and resilience. Bangladesh clinched the title by defeating Nepal, a six-time finalist and host, with a close 2-1 score in Wednesday’s final match in Kathmandu. This win solidified their undefeated status throughout the tournament, adding to their victory over Nepal in the 2022 SAFF Women’s Championship final, where they won 3-1 to claim their first-ever title. Standout players included Ritu Porna Chakma, awarded the title of Most Valuable Player, and Rupna Chakma, named Best Goalkeeper for her stellar performance throughout the tournament. After clearing airport formalities, the celebrated team embarked on a jubilant procession to the BFF headquarters in Motijheel, traveling by open-roof bus along the elevated expressway while proudly displaying the SAFF trophy. The team will be honored in a special reception later today, hosted by Chief Adviser of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus. Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan is also scheduled to meet with the players at the BFF headquarters at 5:00 pm.

Despite a fightback from Mominul Haque and Taijul Islam, with a 103-run stand, Bangladesh ended up on 159, giving up a 416-run lead to South Africa, who have decided to enforce a follow-on.  Mominul scored 82 before falling prey to Senuran Muthusamy. Taijul posted 30. Keshav Maharaj dismissed him.  By lunch, Bangladesh were batting at 137 for eight wickets, with Mominul remaining not out for 74 and Taijul Islam for 18.  They forged out a 103-run stand in the ninth wicket, offering a fightback to South Africa, who had been in command in this Test since day one.  The wicket suddenly started to look flat to make the batter play easily. But at the start of the day, there were cracks on the wicket, as the legendary South African pacer Shaun Pollock said to the broadcaster in the morning.  Bangladesh vs South Africa test: Mominul fights back after Rabada takes five-for Rabada had already taken two wickets on Wednesday. He took three more in the first season of day three. Rabada first trapped Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto with an angling delivery that was going away lately. Shanto prodded it to the wicketkeeper. Mushfiqur Rahim fell to a soft dismissal in the next over while driving to the mid-wicket. He just flicked it straight to the fielder at the mid-off.  In his next over, Rabada took two wickets in three balls. Mehidy Hasan Miraz edged to the wicketkeeper off an outside-off delivery, and then Rabada trapped Mahidul Islam lbw for a duck.  Bangladesh lost the first Test in Dhaka and are now on the verge of another defeat unless they create any unlikely history in the second innings.  Bangladesh played 24 Tests in Chattogram, with two wins, seven draws, and defeats in all others.