United News of Bangladesh

Mahidul Islam Ankon scored an 18-ball fifty, the fastest by Bangladeshi in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) history, and guided his team Khulna Tigers to beat Chittagong Kings by 37 runs on Tuesday. Khulna batted first at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and scored 203 runs for four wickets. William Bosisto was their best batter hitting 75 off 50 balls with eight fours and three sixes. However, it was Mahidul who stole the show with a 59* off just 22 deliveries. He smashed sixes. Chittagong’s bowlers struggled to contain the Khulna Tigers’ charge. While Aliss Al Islam bagged 2 for 17 in his four overs, others, including Shoriful Islam and Khaled Ahmed, were taken to the cleaners, conceding runs at over 11 runs per over. Riders set a tough target for Dhaka with 191 In reply, the Kings lost half of their wickets in just 56 runs inside the powerplay. But Shamim Hossain formed some fightback with 78 off 38 balls. He smashed seven fours and five sixes. But his fightback was not enough for the Kings to avoid a defeat to start their BPL. They were bowled out for 166 in 18.5 overs. Abu Hider took four wickets for 44 for Khulna. Mohammad Nawaz of Pakistan also bagged two for 13 runs.

Rangpur Riders posted a challenging total of 191 runs against Dhaka Capitals in the second match of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. After Dhaka won the toss and opted to field, Rangpur scored 20 runs in the first two overs. But they also lost their first wicket in the second over of the innings. With 20 runs on the board, the Riders lost two wickets. Despite this early blow, Saif Hassan and Iftikhar Ahmed steadied the innings with a 50-run partnership in the third-wicket stand. Saif fell for 40 off 33 balls with two fours and two sixes. Iftikhar played a crucial knock of 49 off 38 balls, supported by Khushdil Shah, who scored 46 off 23 balls, including three sixes, giving Rangpur a late surge. Captain Nurul Hasan contributed with a fiery cameo scoring 25 off 11 balls. Alauddin Babu was the best bowler for Dhaka. He bagged three wickets for 43 runs, while Mukidul Islam took two.

India captain Rohit Sharma says India is consistently on the “wrong side” of contentious video reviews, including Monday’s match-turning dismissal of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal was on 84 in India’s second innings in the fourth test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as the visiting side reached 140-6 in the 71st over of a scheduled 92-over innings. With a draw seemingly within India’s grasp, Australia appealed for a caught-behind off the bowling of skipper Pat Cummins, which was turned down by on-field umpire Joel Wilson. Australia called for a video referral. While the Ultra-edge technology did not show contact with bat or glove as the ball went past, replays appeared to indicate the ball came off the bat, or glove, or both. The third umpire decided there was enough evidence to overturn the on-field umpire’s original decision of not out. “Really, I don’t know what to make of that because the technology didn’t show anything,” Sharma said. “I feel we’ve been a little bit unfortunate. I don’t know how the umpires want to use the technology. “It’s about the technology which we all know is not 100 per cent. We don’t really want to look too much into that. “It’s just that more often than not, we are the ones falling on the wrong side of it. But Sharma conceded Jaiswal had made contact with the ball. “In all fairness I think he did touch the ball. With the naked eye, it seemed that he did touch something,” he said. Jaiswal’s dismissal was a key moment in India’s collapse as the visiting side lost 7-34 during the final session as Australia completed its 184-run victory in the 80th over, with only 12 more overs scheduled to be bowled in the final hour.

Sri Lanka again fell short in a tough run chase as New Zealand won the second Twenty20 international by 45 runs Monday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The tourists were edged by eight runs chasing 172-8 in the first match two days ago and again faltered late while chasing New Zealand's 186-5 on Monday. Sri Lanka was all out for 141 in 19.1 overs. “It's really important to finish the game, no matter how it started,” Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said. “The way you finish is the most important thing. In the first game we were almost there to win and again we're disappointed.” Once again, Jacob Duffy was New Zealand's key bowler, dismissing opener Pathum Nissanka for 37 and returning to remove Kusal Perera for 48 when both batters looked well placed to steer Sri Lanka to victory. Nissanka made 96 in the first match in a 120-run opening partnership with Kusal Mendis before Duffy turned that match in New Zealand's favor when he took three wickets in four balls, including Mendis, to stifle the Sri Lanka chase. He took 4-15 Monday to once again stand out as the difference between the teams. After dismissing Nissanka, Duffy produced a superb yorker to remove Perera in the 16th over when Sri Lanka was 127-4 and still in with a good chance. He then removed Wanindu Hasaranga (1) and Maheesh Theekshana (0) in the space of three balls in the 18th over as the Sri Lanka tail again failed to fire. Matt Henry took two wickets with consecutive balls in the 19th over before Zak Foulkes finished off the Sri Lanka innings with five balls remaining. New Zealand depended on a century partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell to post a competitive total in the first match. It produced a more balanced batting effort Monday to reach a testing total on a tricky pitch which sometimes skidded, sometimes held up and provided a batting challenge. A strong wind across the Bay Oval also made hitting to one side of the ground difficult and gave an edge to the bowlers. Tim Robinson made 41 from 34 balls at the top of the New Zealand innings, hitting three fours and two sixes to impart early momentum while Rachin Ravindra failed again and was out for 1. Mark Chapman made 42 from 29 balls batting at No. 3, then wicketkeeper Mitchell made a vital contribution with an unbeaten 41 from 19 balls at the death, including four fours and two sixes. His innings also separated the teams. “It was good to contribute to a good score, one we were pretty happy with and to contribute to a win,” Hay said.

Fortune Barishal, the defending champions, defeated Durbar Rajshahi by four wickets in the opening match of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday. Mahmudullah Riyad and Faheem Ashraf's 88-run seventh-wicket partnership was instrumental in securing the win. To chase a challenging target of 198, Barishal lost their opener Najmul Hossain Shanto in the very first ball of their innings. He was trapped lbw by Jishan Alam. Within the powerplay, they lost two more wickets and were reduced to 30 for three wickets. Towhid Hridoy posted 32 off 23 balls in his bid to control the early damage. But Kyle Mayers (5), and Mushfiqur Rahim (13) fell quickly to put Barishal into further trouble. Yasir, Anamul shine in BPL season opener with fifties Even before half of the overs were bowled, Barishal lost half of their wickets. In the 13th over, they lost their 6th wicket. Mahmudullah and Ashrafe stood strong at this point of the match and formed a strong match-winnings partnership. They chased down the target with four wickets in hand with 11 balls to play. Earlier, riding on Yasir Ali’s unbeaten 94 off 47 balls, and 65 off 51 balls by Anamul Haque, Rajshahi posted 197 for three. Rajshahi, who were put to bat first after losing the toss, lost their first wicket in the second over of the innings as Jishan Alam was sent back by Kyle Mayers for a duck. With 25 runs on the board, Rajshahi lost their second wicket. Cricket fans clash in Mirpur for BPL tickets When Barishal was trying to get control of the match, Anamul and Yasir formed a 140-run stand in the third-wicket partnership. Before falling in the 18th over, Anamul posted 65 off 51 balls with four fours and five sixes. However, Yasir was firm on the other end of the wicket. He remained unbeaten at 94, smashing seven fours and eight sixes. Mayers took two wickets for Rajshahi, who made a comeback to BPL after missing out on the event for years. Meanwhile, fans clashed in front of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday for tickets. They broke a gate of the stadium. Police had to use batons to disperse the crowd.

  MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia took seven wickets in the final session of the final day to claim a thrilling 184-run victory in front of a record test crowd Monday in the fourth test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. With less than 40 minutes remaining in the match, Nathan Lyon trapped Mohammed Siraj lbw to bowl India out for 155 in its second innings and complete a remarkable match that had more than 370,000 people attend across the five days. Australia now takes a 2-1 advantage ahead of the fifth and final test which is scheduled to start on Jan. 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where avoiding a defeat will be enough to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in 10 years. “It’s probably the best test match I’ve been involved in,” said man-of-the-match Cummins, who took 3-28 off 18 overs Monday for six wickets in the match, plus playing valuable innings of 49 and 41 at No.8. “I don’t know what the crowd was today, but it was huge. “Overall, it was one of those great wins.” Earlier, India had been 25 without loss when Pat Cummins produced a double-wicket maiden, dismissing Rohit Sharma (9) and K.L. Rahul (0). India went to lunch at a shaky 33-3, losing the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli in the final over of the session when the star right-hander was caught at first slip for five off Mitchell Starc’s bowling. Rishabh Pant (30 off 104 balls) and opener Yashavi Jaiswal added 88 runs for the fourth wicket. But with India seemingly playing for a draw, Pant aggressively clubbed a delivery from part-time spinner Travis Head to long-on and was caught at 121-4 just after tea, sparking a calamitous seven-wicket collapse for the visitors. India lost three wickets for nine runs as Scott Boland (3-39) removed Ravindra Jadeja (2) caught behind and first-innings century-maker Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) edged to slip off the bowling of spinner Lyon (2-37). In a pivotal moment of the innings, Jaiswal was given out after Australia called for a review when an appeal for caught-behind was turned down by umpire Joel Wilson. Despite no sound being picked up on 'snicko', video replays appeared to show the ball glanced off the bat and glove and Jaiswal had to depart for 84 off the bowling of Cummins (3-28) at 140-7. With less than an over remaining before the final hour of play was due to start, Wilson again turned Australia’s appeal down and the decision was overturned following a review by the hosts. Boland claimed his second wicket as Akash Deep fell, caught at bat-pad for 17 at 150-8. Boland struck again to remove Jasprit Bumrah for a duck and Siraj was lbw to Lyon in the last over before the second new ball was due and sparked wild celebrations among the Australian players and in the stands. But with a fifth test starting Friday and the possibility that India could still win in Sydney and draw the series 2-2 to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Cummins said there was little time for celebrations. “It’s a short turnaround. We’ll savor this for a couple of hours at least and then it will be recovery for the next three days,” Cummins said. “You gear up again for the last test of the summer. It’s a mix of happiness and rest for the next three days.” A crowd of 74,362 for Monday’s fifth day of play lifted the total attendance to 373,691, beating the previous record for a Melbourne test match of 350,534 in the 1936-37 Ashes series. Australia was dismissed in its second innings for 234 on Monday morning. Bumrah (5-57) claimed his 13th five-wicket haul by bowling Lyon (41) in the second over of the morning after the home side resumed on 228-9. Bumrah, 31, is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 30 victims at an average of 12.83. The 44-test veteran took match figures of 9-156. Bumrah is the only player in test history with at least 200 wickets and a bowling average under 20 (203 at 19.42). Steve Smith top-scored with 140 in Australia’s first innings of 474. India replied with 369, led by Reddy’s 114. “It is pretty disappointing. We wanted to fight until the end but unfortunately we couldn’t do it,” India’s captain Rohit Sharma said. “We had our chances. We just didn’t take them and we let Australia come back into the game when we had them 91 for six (in its second innings).” ___

The Dhaka University (DU) administration has announced restrictions on outsiders’ entry to the campus on the night of December 31 to ensure the safety and security of its students. According to a notice issued by the university's Public Relations Office on Monday, the restrictions will be in effect from 7 pm on December 31, 2024, to 5 am on January 1, 2025. First-ever ‘Ambassador’s Travel Grant’ awarded to Bangladeshi students  Entry points at Shahbagh, Doel Chattar, Burn Unit, Shibbari Crossing, Fuller Road, Palashi Mor, and Nilkhet will remain restricted during this period. Only DU students with valid ID cards, members of the university community, vehicles with DU stickers, and emergency service vehicles, including ambulances and those carrying doctors, patients, and journalists, will be allowed access. DU students protest over professor's Facebook post insulting Islam, July-August martyrs The notice also said no event, fireworks, sky lanterns, or explosive materials would be permitted in the university's open areas during this time.

Requiring 340 to win on the final day of the fourth test against Australia, India made a shaky start to reach 33-3 at lunch Monday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Mitchell Starc struck in the final over before lunch, capturing the key wicket of Virat Kohli (five) who was caught at first slip. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was unbeaten on 14. India had labored for 25 runs without loss off 16 testing overs before Pat Cummins produced a double-wicket maiden, dismissing Rohit Sharma (9) caught at gully and K.L. Rahul (0) caught at first slip. A crowd of over 50,000 on Monday’s fifth day of play lifted the attendance figure for the match past the previous record for a Melbourne Test of 350,534, set during the Don Bradman-era 1936-37 Ashes series. Earlier, Australia was bowled out in its second innings for 234. Jasprit Bumrah (5-57 off 24.4 overs) claimed his 13th five-wicket haul by bowling Nathan Lyon in the second over of the day. Bumrah, 31, is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 30 victims at an average of 12.83. The 44-test veteran took match figures of 9-156. Bumrah is the only player in test history with at least 200 wickets and a bowling average under 20 (203 at 19.42). Bumrah removed Travis Head (1), Mitchell Marsh (0) and Alex Carey (2) cheaply before the home side reached 228-9 at stumps Sunday. Half-century partnerships between Marnus Labuschagne (70) and Pat Cummins (41) for the seventh wicket and Lyon (41) and Scott Boland (15 not out) for the 10th wicket pushed Australia’s lead out to 339. Steve Smith top-scored with 140, his 34th test century, in Australia’s first innings of 474. India replied with 369, led by 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden century (114). The five-match series is level at 1-1. The fifth and final Australia-India test is scheduled to start on Jan. 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The spectators of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) cricket will get Ravoo Electric Bikes on every match day through a raffle draw. The seven-franchisee based teams will compete in the BPL’ 25 beginning on Monday at the home of Bangladesh cricket, Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Barisal will play Durbar Rajshahi at 1 pm while Rangpur Riders will face Dhaka Capitals at 6 pm in two opening day’s fixture in Mirpur. Two matches will be held every match day in the first round at 1 pm and 6 pm from December 30 to February 1 in Dhaka, Sylhet and Chattogram. The eliminator and first qualifier match will be held on February 3 while the 2nd qualifier match is billed for February 5 and the grand final on February 7. All spectators with confirmed admission before the 2nd match of the day will be eligible for the raffle draw and one lucky winner will get a bike every day in the preliminary round. BPL 2025: A new era dawns amidst political changeover, calling for cricket-centric focus In the 1st qualifier and eliminator matches, all spectators with confirmed admission before the 2nd match of the day will be eligible for the raffle draw and the two Revoo bikes will be given to 2 lucky winners on each of the days through raffle draws. In the final match, all spectators with confirmed admission before the 2nd innings of the match will be eligible for the raffle draw and three Revoo Bikes will be given to 3 lucky winners on the biggest day of the tournament.

The 11th season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is all set to kick off on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, making it a new era for the tournament following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government and making it the first BPL since a groundbreaking political shift in the country. In the opening match of the season, defending champions Fortune Barishal will take on newcomer Durbar Rajshahi. In this match, Barishal will have to carry the weight of expectation and the legacy of their maiden title triumph last season. “On paper, you could definitely put us among the top two teams,” Tamim Iqbal, the Barishal captain said, mentioning the balance they have. “We’ve tried to address every weakness and have assembled a very competitive squad.” He appeared at a pre-event press conference on Sunday in Mirpur. “Mugdho Corners” to provide free water at BPL matches In the challenge of defending the title, Tamim has national team stars like Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah Riyad, alongside young players like Towhid Hridoy, and Ariful Islam. They also have Najmul Hossain Shanto in the mix. In the bowling department, Ebadot Hossain and Rishad Hossain are the main strengths of Barishal. They also secured the services of Pakistan star Shaheen Afridi, and Afghanistan star Mohammad Nabi alongside Kyle Mayers, Dawid Malan and Pathum Nissanka. Despite having a strong team, Barishal captain Tamim believes that they will have to face a tough challenger after the initial rounds of matches when some of the players will leave for other T20 events around the globe like ILT20, SA20 and Big Bash. “The real test will be after seven or eight matches,” he pointed out. “That's when the ability to effectively fill those gaps will determine which teams are genuine contenders.” The changed political landscape has also contributed to shaping this year’s BPL, as the record four-time BPL winner Comilla Victorians are missing this time. The franchise is owned by former finance minister and Awami League leader AHM Mustafa Kamal. He has been missing since the mass uprising in August. How to get your BPL tickets: online platform and bank branches open for sales The political shift has also cast a shadow over the participation of veteran players Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza, both associated with the previous ruling party. Chittagong Kings, who are making a comeback in BPL, drafted Shakib for this season. But the participation of the star allrounder remained doubtful for his political affiliation. He attempted to play his last Test in October at home, but students protested against his homecoming. Mashrafe, who is a two-time member of the parliament for the Awami League, has been absent from public view since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. He was signed by his old team Sylhet Strikers, but his participation is also uncertain. Beyond the political implications, Tamim has been vocal about the need for a shift in the BPL's priorities. He criticized the emphasis on concerts and promotional events, arguing for a more cricket-centric approach. “Honestly, I haven't seen anything different apart from the concerts,” Tamim said. “If we truly want a different BPL, we need to invest in the cricket itself. That's where the real change will happen, not in the entertainment surrounding it.” Mashrafe doubtful for BPL due to fitness concerns The former Bangladesh captain said that a successful tournament is the responsibility of both players and organizers. He also added that players’ performance is crucial, and providing them with the best facilities is equally important. Along with Durbar Rajshahi, the Dhaka Capitals are the new team in this year's BPL. Both the teams heavily invested in the young local players, including the members of Bangladesh’s Under-19 Asia Cup-winning squad, which is injecting further excitement into the tournament and offering a glimpse into the future of Bangladesh cricket. The BCB started selling tickets for BPL on Sunday, with the fans being able to buy tickets from both online and offline facilities. But it met with criticism when hundreds of fans were involved in chaos in front of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday for tickets as they had no information where the tickets would be available until the afternoon. In this seven-team event, the fans will get free water drinking facilities at every venue across Dhaka, Sylhet and Chattogram. The organizers will install water drinking points called “Mugdho Corners” remembering Mir Mugdho, a protester who was martyred during the uprising, while distributing water bottles among his protesting peers.