United News of Bangladesh

Ryan Rickelton smashed his maiden double hundred and Kyle Verreynne made an aggressive half-century as World Test Championship finalist South Africa cruised to 429-5 on Day 2 of the second and final test against Pakistan on Saturday. At lunch, Rickelton was unbeaten on 213 and Verreynne smacked eight fours and four sixes in his 74 not out off 88 balls as they guided South Africa to a strong first innings total by sharing 106-run sixth-wicket unbroken stand. Mohammad Abbas (2-70) got the sole wicket of the session when David Bedingham edged the seamer in Pakistan's fourth over of the morning with the second new ball, giving wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan his fifth catch of the innings. Pakistan twice went for unsuccessful lbw television reviews against Verreynne, who was not only aggressive against the pace but also didn’t allow Salman Ali Agha (2-77) to settle down by reverse sweeping the off-spinner. Rickelton, resuming on 176, quietly reached his double century off 265 balls when he tapped left-arm fast bowler Mir Hamza in the covers for a single. Rickelton celebrated his highest first-class score by raising his both arms to acknowledge the applause of his teammates. Rickelton's authoritative 295-ball knock is laced with 25 fours and a six. Rickelton had laid a solid foundation of a strong South Africa total after he shared 235-run stand with captain Temba Bavuma, who scored 106, and had anchored the home team to 316-4 on Day 1. Pakistan’s four-pronged seam attack has lacked pace to trouble South Africa batters on dry wicket after visitors rested key fast bowler Naseem Shah for the second test. Verreynne came down hard on Aamer Jamal just before lunch when he pulled the fast bowler for two successive sixes over square leg and then played an exquisite straight drive off the next ball for a boundary. South Africa had sealed its place in this June’s WTC final at Lord’s with a tense two-wicket win over Pakistan in the first test at Centurion. Pakistan has already suffered a huge setback when in-form opener Saim Ayub was ruled out of the remainder of the match with a fractured right ankle after slipping awkwardly on the field on Day 1. The Pakistan Cricket Board said Saturday that Ayub will be out of competitive cricket for up to six weeks.

Pakistan all-format opening batter Saim Ayub has been ruled out of cricket for at least six weeks because of fractured ankle and has put his participation in serious doubt for next month's Champions Trophy. Ayub twisted his right ankle while fielding on the opening day of the second and final test against South Africa and was taken off the field by stretcher on Friday. “An MRI conducted Friday afternoon confirmed the fracture,” the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement on Saturday. The PCB said Ayub will remain with the team and travel back to Pakistan next week. Ayub’s injury is a big blow to Pakistan. The left-handed opener had been in prolific form, especially in white-ball cricket, scoring two centuries as Pakistan swept South Africa 3-0 in the ODI series last month. India star bowler Bumrah taken to hospital for scans during 5th test against Australia The ankle injury also put Ayub’s participation in doubt for next month’s Champions Trophy which begins Feb. 19 at Karachi when Pakistan takes on New Zealand in the opening match. Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha termed Ayub’s injury a big setback for Pakistan’s bid to level the two-test series in South Africa. South Africa won the first test to qualify for the World Test Championship at Lord's in June. “It’s a big blow, the kind of form he’s in,” Salman had said on Friday after South Africa scored a formidable 316-4 on Day 1 of the second test. “He would have been a great asset on this wicket. I wish him well and hopefully he’ll be better soon.”

Rishabh Pant's blistering counterattack capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final test between Australia and India where 15 wickets fell on Saturday and the star bowler of the series left the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. Australia was bowled out for 181, giving India a four-run lead on the first innings, and could not take advantage of India captain Jasprit Bumrah leaving the SCG for medical scans on a still unspecified injury. Bumrah later returned to the SCG but there was no confirmation on whether the star bowler would be able to bowl in the remainder of the test — or bat in India's second innings. Beau Webster top-scored for the hosts with 57 and a wicket in a bright debut, while Steve Smith narrowly fell short of bringing up 10,000 career test runs in front of his home crowd. Wickets fall at SCG as Australia 101-5 at lunch on Day 2 of 5th test against India Pant then lit up the SCG with a swashbuckling 61 off 33 balls with six boundaries and four sixes to leave the match evenly poised after the end of just the second day. At stumps, Jadeja was eight not out and Washington Sundar was unbeaten on six. Scott Boland backed up his four wickets in India's first innings with four more on Saturday. First, he bowled two near-unplayable deliveries to bowl opening pair KL Rahul (13) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22). Boland (4-42) followed that up by yet again tempting Virat Kohli outside off stump which the veteran guided straight to Smith at slip in what may be the 36-year-old Kohli's final test innings in Australia. Webster (1-24) chalked up his first test wicket, having Shubman Gill (13) caught behind after a wild swipe. Earlier, Australia conceded a four-run deficit as it was bowled out at tea. India star bowler Bumrah taken to hospital for scans during 5th test against Australia Steve Smith (33) and Webster appeared to have stabilized the host's innings after its top order was toppled in quick time by Bumrah (2-33) and Mohammad Siraj (3-51). Bumrah took Labuschagne to go with Khawaja's wicket and took his overall series tally to 32 wickets, the highest ever by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia, passing spinner Bishan Singh Bedi’s 31 during the 1977-78 series. 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. A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it would play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord’s in June. Absent Sharma says he was not dropped Former India Rohit Sharma has hit back at suggestions he was dropped from the team ahead of the decisive 5th test, saying he made the decision to stand down. The 37-year-old Sharma said that he had initiated the conversation with selectors. “I had a chat with the coach and the selector was very simple,” Rohit said on India's Star Sports. “I am not making runs at the moment. I am not in form and it’s an important game. We need an in-form player. “This was the simple thing in my mind. It was my understanding that I should tell the coach and the selector and they backed my call.”

Two Sydney Thunder players in Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash League required overnight hospital treatment after colliding while fielding in a match against the Perth Scorchers. Team officials said Cameron Bancroft’s season was over after the Thunder opener suffered a broken right shoulder blade and broken nose in a collision Friday night with teammate Daniel Sams. Sams appeared to be knocked out by the collision, and the match was delayed while both players were taken off the field. Wickets fall at SCG as Australia 101-5 at lunch on Day 2 of 5th test against India The team said both players were set to be released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. Sams will also be sidelined for at least 12 days after he and Bancroft were diagnosed with concussions. The Thunder won the match by four wickets, chasing down Perth's total on the final ball of the match. Perth had scored 177-4 and Sydney replied with 179-6.

Australia's star batter of a generation, Steve Smith, fell just short of an illustrious career milestone and a Jasprit Bumrah-led India took the advantage the second day of the fifth and final test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Smith fell five runs short of passing 10,000 test runs just moments before lunch Saturday and capped a tumble of wickets for the hosts as it slipped to 101-5, trailing India's 185 by 84 runs. New India captain Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj took two wickets each, with Prasidh Krishna picking up the prized wicket of Smith (33). At the break debutant Beau Webster was 28 not out and Alex Carey was unbeaten on four. Resuming Saturday at 9-1, it did not take long for Bumrah (2-27) to again make his influence count as he had Marnus Labuschagne (2) edge behind for his second wicket. The resumption of the burgeoning rivalry between Bumrah and Sam Konstas was what the capacity SCG crowd came to see and it didn't disappoint as the 19-year-old opener charged down the wicket to smash a four straight down the ground past the non-plussed bowler. From Bumrah's next over, Konstas (23) produced a ramp shot — which had featured heavily in his much-hyped debut innings in Melbourne — for another boundary. But the young player's luck ran out in the next over from Siraj (2-28) when a thick edge carried to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully. Siraj also removed Travis Head (4) in the same over as Australia slid to 39-4. India star bowler Bumrah taken to hospital for scans during 5th test against Australia Smith and Webster combined to stabilize Australia's innings with a 57-run stand but just as the pair looked to have the measure of India's second-line bowlers, a seaming delivery from Krishna (1-21) found the edge and was snaffled by KL Rahul at slip. On Friday, despite the absence of struggling captain Rohit Sharma, India’s batting order again crumbled as it was bowled out for 185 with Scott Boland taking 4-31. Bumrah then struck with the final ball of the to cap a drama-fueled final over which saw Konstas and the new tourist skipper needing to be separated after a terse verbal exchange just two balls prior. 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. A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it would play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord’s in June.

India star bowler and new captain Jasprit Burmrah has been taken to a hospital for scans on an unspecified injury during the second day of the fifth and final test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Bumrah, who replaced the rested Rohit Sharma as captain for this test, could be seen on the television broadcast leaving in a car from underneath the SCG grandstands about an hour after the lunch break on Saturday. India team management have not confirmed the injury or whether Bumrah, the standout player of the series, will be able to bowl again in the match. Bumrah bowled during the first session and did not appear hampered by an injury as he picked up yet another wicket for the series by removing Marnus Labuschagne, to go with his wicket of Usman Khawaja in the final over on Friday. Ayub twists right ankle as South Africa reaches 72-3 against Pakistan in 2nd test The 31-year-old has an overall series tally of 32 wickets, which is the highest by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia. Bumrah passed spinner Bishan Singh Bedi who had 31 wickets from five matches during the 1977-78 series. Veteran Virat Kohli took over the captaincy for India in Bumrah's absence.

Khulna Tigers beat Dhaka Capitals by 20 runs in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday night. Khulna’s captain Mehdiy Hasan Miraz bowled well to ensure a win for his team. Khulna posted a challenging total of 173 for 8, with contributions from Mohammad Naim, 30 off 17, Mahidul Islam Ankon 32 off 22, and Abu Hider 21 off 8. Khulna captain Mehdiy bowled brilliantly taking three wickets for just 6 runs in four overs. His early strikes reduced Dhaka to 26 for 4, leaving them struggling to recover. Dhaka’s captain, Thisara Perera, stood strong hitting a 60-ball 103 with 9 fours and seven sixes, but his effort went in vain as Dhaka suffered a defeat. Six of Dhaka’s batters failed to reach a double-digit total. Khulna’s bowlers were led by Mehidy and supported by Abu Hider, who took two for seven. Mehidy was deservedly named Player of the Match for his all-round performance.

Farque Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), has hinted that Shakib Al Hasan might be available for the ICC Champions Trophy that will take place in Pakistan and the UAE in February-March this year. Farque, while having a visit at the pressbox of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday during a BPL match, said that Shakib did not retire, so there is no issue with his availability. Shakib retired from both T20I and Test cricket. He desired to play his last Test in October in Bangladesh. But due to his political affiliation with the ousted Awami League, he was unable to return home and play cricket. “Shakib hasn’t officially retired. If he had, we wouldn’t be having this discussion,” Farque said on Friday. “The issues surrounding him need to be resolved at the government level. Once those are addressed, we can move forward. His fitness, mental state, and the selection committee’s decision will determine his participation.” After the ouster of the Awami League government in August, Shakib played for Bangladesh in India. But he was not able to return home fearing his safety due to political reasons. But the Champions Trophy will be held outside the country, so it’s understandable that the player might get a chance to play if he is fit enough to play.

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.