United News of Bangladesh

Cricket fans in Sylhet can begin purchasing tickets for the first Test between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, scheduled to be held at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS), starting on Saturday. Both the teams have already started their preparation camps in Sylhet. Ticket sales will officially open at the stadium counter from 9AM on Saturday, 19 April, while another sales point will open at Modhumoti Bank PLC’s Ambarkhana Branch from 10AM on Sunday, 20 April. Fans can grab the tickets at different price points starting at BDT 50 for the Green Hill Area, Eastern Gallery (Gate-3), and Shaheed Turab Stand (West Gallery). Four women athletes to join CA Yunus on state visit to Qatar Tickets for the Shaheed Abu Sayeed Stand are priced at BDT 100, while the Eastern Gallery (Gate-2) tickets cost BDT 150. The Club House seats are available for BDT 250, and the Grand Stand tickets are priced at BDT 500. While the first match of the series is in Sylhet, the second and final match of the series will be played in Chattogram.

The final round berth of Bangladesh in the ICC Women’s World Cup’2025 was delayed after conceding a three-wicket defeat against West Indies in their 4th qualifying round match of the ICC Women's World Cup at the Lahore City Cricket Association ground on Thursday. Bangladesh’s direct qualification in the ICC Women’s World Cup was also hampered losing to West Indies by eight wickets in the 3rd ODI about three months back in St Kits and later New Zealand earned the direct qualification to the World Cup by virtue better run rate ahead of Bangladesh. Despite the day’s maiden defeat, Bangladesh Women’s team dominated the points table securing six points from four matches with a comfortable net run rate of 1.033 while hosts Pakistan followed Bangladesh securing full six points from straight three matches with a net run rate of 0.857. After the day’s match, Scotland and West India are also in the Women’s World Cup race securing four points each from four matches with one match to spare having a net run rate of + 0.136 and –0.286 respectively. Earlier, Bangladesh made a flying start crushing Thailand by a record 178 runs, beat Ireland by two wickets in hard fought 2nd match and earned 34 runs victory over Scotland in the 3rd match. In the day’s match, Bangladesh batted first after winning the toss and scored a moderate 227 runs for 9 in stipulated 50 overs.   Why are IPL umpires suddenly measuring bats? After the departure of opener Sobhana Mostary (6) for 16 runs in 4.2 overs, another opener Fargana Hoque pairing with one down Sharmin Akter contributed 118 runs in the 2nd wicket stand to make a good foundation of Bangladesh innings, but the remaining batters, except Nahida Akter (25) and Rabeya Khan (23), failed to continue rhythm to fold the innings for 227 runs for 9 in quota 50 overs. Sharmin Akter hammered the team highest 67 runs off 79 deliveries hitting 10 boundaries while opener Fargana Hoque scored 78-ball 42 runs,featuring three fours.   Aallyah Alleyne made major damage in Bangladesh inning grabbing four wickets for 39 runs and was adjudged player of the match while Hayley Matthews and Afy Fletcher took two wickets each. In relay, West Indies Women’s reached their target scoring the match winners 228 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 46 overs with number six batter Chinelle Henry making the team highest 51 runs off 48 balls hitting five fours and two sixes. Marufa Akter claimed two wickets for 38 runs while Ritu Moni, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter and Rabeya Khan and Jannatul Ferdous took one wicket each.      

Fans have seen something unusual in the Indian Premier League (IPL): umpires measuring bats during matches using a special tool called a gauge. This has led many to ask why. According to the reports of the media who cover IPL so closely, the reason is fairness. The IPL wants to make sure that the batters and the bowlers get a fair chance to prove their mettle. And there were always some concerns that some players might be using bats that are bigger than the official rules allow, giving them an unfair advantage. Cricket's official rules (specifically Law 5) limit how wide a bat can be (10.8cm), how thick its edges are (4cm), and its overall depth (6.7cm). The new checks make sure bats used in the IPL stick to these rules. Another common question hovers in the minds of the fans is: How do the checks work? Before this season, bat checks were less strict. They happened before match days, not all players were checked, and a player might use a different bat in the actual game. But now, the process is more thorough. On-field umpires carry a bat gauge – a template with a cutout matching the legal bat dimensions. Every batter's bat is checked as they come to the crease, including openers and any replacement bats brought out. The result of the checks is clear— if a bat is too big and doesn't pass through the gauge, it cannot be used in that match. Teams were told about this rule change before it started and were even given gauges so players could check their own equipment. So far, only a couple of bats have failed the test. If a bat is found to be oversized, the player simply can't use it in the game. Rupganj, Abahani, Gulshan register wins in first round of Super League in DPL Interestingly, unlike some other cricket leagues (like in England, where teams can lose points for illegal bats), the IPL currently doesn't have any further penalties like fines or point deductions. The main goal seems to be preventing the use of oversized bats during play to keep the contest fair. Some players were reportedly surprised by the strict checks, with one player finding none of his bats passed the test. This move came at a time when IPL was seeing more runs that might have left the bowlers feeling helpless.

Legends of Rupganj, Abahani Limited, and Gulshan Cricket Club registered wins on a rain-hit day in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League Super League first round on Thursday. All three Super League first-round matches were hit by rain.  At Mirpur, Legends of Rupganj beat Mohammedan Sporting Club by nine wickets in a match shortened to 22 overs per side. Put in to bat, Mohammedan could only manage 117 for 7 in 29.4 overs, with Anisul Islam Emon top-scoring with 35. Tanvir Islam starred with the ball, returning figures of 3 for 37. In reply, Rupganj chased a revised target of 93 in just 13.2 overs, thanks to a 55-run knock from Saif Hassan and an unbeaten 36 from Soumya Sarkar. At the BKSP Ground 4 in Savar, Gulshan Cricket Club edged past Gazi Group Cricketers by three wickets in another DLS-affected game. Chasing 162 in 22 overs, Gulshan rode on a blistering 56 not out from Naeem Islam and a quick 43 from Mehedi Hasan to reach the target with two balls to spare. Earlier, Gazi Group posted 110 for 3 in 23.3 overs, with Sadikur Rahman contributing 36. In another venue in BKSP, Abahani Limited kept their title push on track with a four-wicket win over Agrani Bank. Chasing a target of 157 from 22 overs, Abahani recovered from an early double blow to seal the win with 16 balls in hand. Jishan Alam led the way with 46 off 27 balls, while Shamsul Islam and Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby provided the finishing touches. Agrani had earlier reached 109 for 3 in 24.4 overs, with skipper Imrul Kayes remaining unbeaten on 48.  

India captain Rohit Sharma has named Australian pacer Scott Boland as the most challenging bowler he has faced on Australian soil. He said his name while reflecting on India’s 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series during an interview with Michael Clarke. “When we checked his pitch map, 90% of his deliveries were just on the spot – no width, no full balls,” Rohit described. Boland claimed 21 wickets in just three Tests as Australia came from behind to win the series 3-1. The Indian skipper endured a difficult series with the bat, scoring just 31 runs in five innings. World Cup 2023: Kohli, Rohit Sharma take wickets as India crush the Netherlands “I had to be honest with myself,” Rohit said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball well, and I didn’t want to play just for the sake of it. We really wanted Gill to play. He missed the previous Test, and he deserved a shot,” he added. While selectors and coaches gave mixed responses to Rohit’s decision, he said that it was taken with the team’s interests in mind “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Every decision you make—there’s no guarantee,” Rohit said.

 Fast bowler Mitchell Starc inspired table-toppers Delhi Capitals to a tense victory in the super over against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday. Starc forced the game into the super over with a brilliant eight-run 20th over as Rajasthan finished at 188-4 in reply to Delhi’s 188-5. Two run-outs in Starc’s super over limited Rajasthan to 11-2 before Lokesh Rahul and Tristan Stubbs smashed Sandeep Sharma’s first four balls for 13 runs and took Delhi on top of the points table with five wins from six games. Rajasthan has plenty to catch-up as they dropped to No. 8 with just two wins from seven games. Rajasthan slips against Starc Rajasthan seemed to have controlled the chase until Starc nailed a perfect yorker to half century-maker Nitish Rana (51) in the 18th over and had the left-hander plumb leg before wicket. Starc bowled four more yorkers in the final over and with two needed on the final ball, Dhruv Jurel drove Starc to mid-wicket but got run out while going for the winning run. Rajasthan had an injury scare when their captain Sanju Samson walked off with a side strain after he had provided a brisk start with Yashasvi Jaiswal (51). India to tour Bangladesh for white-ball series in August Samson clutched his left side in pain after hitting three sixes and two boundaries in his 19-ball knock of 31 balls as he walked off in the sixth over with Rajasthan cruising to 61-0. Delhi captain Axar Patel finally got his first wicket of the season when he clean bowled Riyan Parag for 12 and Jaiswal holed out at long-on soon after completing his third half century of the season. Patel should have dismissed Rana on 20 in the 15th over but Stubbs dropped a sitter at long-on before Rana eased the target by smashing Kuldeep Yadav for a six and a four in the next over. However, Starc turned the tide in his return spell with flurry of yorkers and pushed the game into the super over. Delhi prospers in death overs Opening batter Abishek Porel smashed fast bowler Tushar Deshpande for four boundaries and a six in the second over but Jake Fraser-McGurk’s poor season continued when he holed out in Jofra Archer’s second over after scoring nine off six balls. Rahul and Porel put on 63 runs off 57 balls, but the slowness of the wicket didn’t allow them to accelerate against either spin or pace. Rahul was eventually dismissed in the 13th over when he pulled Archer to mid-wicket where Shimron Hetmyer took a good low catch and Porel got dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga when he holed out at long-off after scoring 49 off 37 balls as Delhi slipped to 4-105. Kolkata thrashes Chennai, extends their IPL losing streak But Patel and Stubbs provided late flurry by contributing 34 runs each. Axar countercharged against Hasaranga and smashed 34 off 14 balls while Stubbs, dropped on 18 off Hasaranga, consumed 18 balls for his unbeaten 34 as the last three overs provided Delhi 42 runs.

The six-team super league of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket begins on Thursday (Apr 17) with three teams playing at three separate venues in the capital and adjoining areas. Six top teams of the 12 teams Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League --have earned the rights to play in the Super League, the main battle for the league crown. The six super league teams are: Dhaka Mohammedan SC, Dhaka Abahani Limited, Gazi Group Crickters, Gulshan Cricket Club, Agrani Bank CC and Legends of Rupganj Siddiquee, Robiul, Ahrar star as DPL sees bowling brilliance and big runs On the opening day (Thursday), league leader Dhaka Mohammedan SC will play Legends of Rupganj at the Sher-e- Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka Abahani Ltd will face Agrani Bank CC at BKSP ground -3 while Gazi Group Cricketers will encounters Gulshan Cricket Club at BKSP ground -4 All the matches will kick- off at 9: am and the points of the first phase league will added in the super and delegation leagues Every match will have a reserve day after one round. Meanwhile, the delegation league of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket will begin on April 18. In the delegation league, Partex SC will play Shinepukur Cricket Club on Friday, Brothers Union Club will play Shinepukur CC on Monday while Brothers Union will play Partex SC on April 24 in the last match.

Bangladesh came close to qualify for the ICC Women's World Cup beating Scotland by 34 runs in their 3rd match of the six- nation ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers at the flood light Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore Tuesday night. This was the 3rd consecutive victory for Bangladesh in the ongoing Women's World Cup qualifiers after beating Thailand and Ireland and now they needed just a victory in their remaining two matches against West Indies and hosts Pakistan to assure their World Cup berth. After the day's match, Bangladesh topped the six- team list securing full six points from straight three matches with comfortable net run rate of 1.494 while hosts Pakistan also bagged full six points from three matches and were in the 2nd slot with net run rate of 0.857 Bangladesh, which made a flying start crushing Thailand by a massive 178 runs in the first match featuring a lot of records last Thursday, were struggled hard in the l 2nd match last Sunday. But, a sensible and career best batting in a disasterous position by player of the match Ritu Moni powered Bangladesh to beat Ireland by two wickets with eight balls remaining in the 2nd match last Sunday In the remaining league basis matches of the ongoing meet, Bangladesh will play West Indies on April 17 and hosts Pakistan on April 19.  Siddiquee, Robiul, Ahrar star as DPL sees bowling brilliance and big runs In the day's 3rd match, Bangladesh opened the innings first after winning the toss piled up a good total of 276 runs for 6 in quota 50 overs featuring three half centuries by captain Nigar Sultana Joty, opener Fargana Hoque and one down Sharmin Akhter. Captain cum number four batter Nigar Sultana, who made her maiden and Bangladesh's quickest century against Thailand in the first match, today also scored the team highest not out 83 runs off just 59 balls, featuring eleven boundaries. Sharmin Akhter and Fargana Hoque made 57 runs each playing 79 and 84 balls and hitting seven and six boundaries respectively. Besides, lower order Fahima Khatun (26), opener Ishma Tanjim (14) and Ritu Moni (12) were the other Bangladesh batters reaching the double figures Kathryn Bryce took two wickets giving away 58 runs. Chasing a target of 277 runs, the Scotish Women's scored 242 runs for 9 in stipulated 50 overs featuring 115 runs runs in the 8th wickets stand by Priyanaz and Rachel Slater. Number eight batter Priyanaz Chatterji contributed 61 runs off 63 balls hitting seven fours while number nine Rachel Slater also scored 61 runs off 73 balls with five boundaries. Besides, middle order batter cum wicket keeper Sarah Bryce made 58-ball 42 runs including three hits to the fence while Ailsa Lister and opener Pippa Sproul added 18 and 17 runs respectively. Nahida Akhter took four wickets for 40 runs, Jannatul Ferdous grabbed two wickets for 43 runs while Marufa Akter and Rabeya Khan took one wicket each. Mohammedan break 9-year hoodoo against Abahani with DPL win Earlier, Bangladesh women's made a very good practices too in Pakistan crushing hosts Pakistan Women's by a massive 167 runs in their second warm-up match after beating Scotland by five wickets in the first warm up match ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday confirmed the itinerary for India’s upcoming white-ball tour of Bangladesh in August this year. The series will feature three OdIs and three T20Is. The Indian team is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on August 13. The ODI series will kick off on August 17 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur. The second ODI, also at Mirpur, will follow on August 20. The third and final ODI is scheduled for August 23 at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Cricket Stadium — which was formerly known as Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium— in Chattogram. Women's World Cup Qualifiers: Ritu Moni power Bangladesh to a precious two-wicket win over Ireland The T20I series will begin on August 26 in Chattogram and then move back to Mirpur for the remaining two matches on August 29 and 31, respectively.  This will be the first time Bangladesh hosts a bilateral T20I series against India on home soil. “India has set the benchmark in international cricket across all formats. The cricket-loving millions in both countries are sure to enjoy this contest,” BCB Chief Executive Officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said. “Bangladesh and India have played some very competitive matches in recent years, and I am confident that this will be another hard-fought and entertaining series,” he added.    

Gazi Group, Agrnai Bank and Partex Sporting Club register victories in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League on Sunday. At the BKSP in Savar, Wasi Siddiquee led Gazi Group Cricketers to a 51-run win over Brothers Union. After Gazi posted 301, riding on Shamsur Rahman’s 84 and Salman Hossain’s rapid 51 off 27 balls, Siddiquee tore through Brothers’ batting with figures of 6 for 52. Despite a 122 off 92 balls from Zahiduzzaman, Brothers fell short at 250 in 43.1 overs. In Mirpur, the Agrani Bank Cricket Club cruised to an 89-run victory over the Legends of Rupganj, thanks to both a solid batting foundation and disciplined bowling. Agrani posted 306 for 6, with Shadman Islam (87), Imranuzzaman (50), and Amite Hasan (59) all contributing. Mohammedan break 9-year hoodoo against Abahani with DPL win In reply, Rupganj struggled against a disciplined attack, bowled out for 217. Robiul Hoque claimed the spotlight with 4 wickets for 39 runs, while Arif Ahmed and Shohidul Islam supported with two wickets each. In another match in BKSP, Partex Sporting Club edged out Dhanmondi Sports Club by 2 wickets in a tense chase. Chasing 230, Partex relied on their captain Ahrar Amin, who played a captain’s knock of 85 not out off 126 balls after earlier taking 3 wickets for 42. His calmness under pressure helped Partex recover from 44 for 4 to reach the target with 12 balls to spare. Moin Khan (80) and Yasir Ali (90) earlier rebuilt Dhanmondi’s innings after a top-order collapse, but their efforts went in vain. Bowling also played a key role for Dhanmondi, with Sunzamul Islam returning figures of 5 for 32, though it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat.