cricket
BPL 2023: Shakib continues to shine with the bat as Barishal beat Dhaka
Fortune Barishal emerged victorious in their sixth match in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023 against Dhaka Dominators, played in Chattogram. Chasing a target of 174 runs, Dhaka Dominators fell short by 13 runs, finishing with 160/4 in 20 overs.
In reply to Barishal’s challenging total of 173, Dhaka Dominators began their chase with an opening partnership between Usman Ghani and Soumya Sarkar. Ghani was the first to go, caught by Kamrul Islam Rabbi off the bowling of Karim Janat for 30 runs.
Sarkar followed soon after, caught by Salman Hossain off the bowling of Chaturanga de Silva for 16 runs. Mohammad Mithun and Nasir Hossain kept the chase alive with a partnership of 89 runs, with Mithun scoring 47 runs before he was dismissed by Mohammad Wasim. Nasir remained not out on 54 runs, but it was not enough to secure a victory for the team as they finished with 160/4 in 20 overs.
Earlier, Fortune Barishal set a target of 174 runs for Dhaka, scoring 173/5 in 20 overs. Saif Hassan and Anamul Haque got the team off to a slow start, with they dismissed for 10 and 6 runs, respectively.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Chaturanga de Silva also fell cheaply, but Mahmudullah Riyad and Iftikhar Ahmed's partnership of 84 runs helped to boost the team's score. Iftikhar finished not out on 56 runs and Mahmudullah on 35 runs. Before their partnership, Shakib Al Hasan hit a fifty for Barishal and guided his team to a big total.
It was the third fifty of Shakib in the ongoing edition of BPL.
BPL 2023: Joy guides Khulna to 2nd victory
Mahmudul Hasan Joy hit a fifty and guided his team Khulna Tigers to their 2nd win in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday in Chattogram.
They beat the home side Chattogram Challengers by seven wickets with four balls to play.
The Challengers, who were put in to bat first, were off to a slow start as they lost their opening batter Max O'Dowd for just 6 runs in the second over. They were able to recover somewhat thanks to a 45-run knock from Usman Khan and a 35-run innings from Afif Hossain, but they were ultimately unable to build a big enough total, only scoring 157 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
Read: BPL 2023: Comilla continue on winning run
Wahab Riaz was the standout bowler for the Tigers, taking 4 wickets in his four overs while conceding just 36 runs. Mohammad Saifuddin also chipped in with 2 wickets, while Amad Butt and Nasum Ahmed were economical.
The Tigers got off to a shaky start in response, losing Munim Shahriar for a duck in the first over. But Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudul Hasan Joy then came together and built a crucial 104-run partnership for the second wicket to steady the innings.
Tamim was the first to fall, scoring 44 runs off 37 balls with 4 fours and 1 six before getting caught by Afif Hossain off the bowling of Nihaduzzaman. Mahmudul followed soon after, dismissed for 59 off 44 balls with 5 fours and 1 six by the same bowler.
Read: BCB appoints David Moore as head of programmes
But Azam Khan and Yasir Ali then saw the team home with an unbeaten partnership of 50 runs. Azam remained not out on 15 runs while Yasir remained not out on 36 runs, which included 2 fours and 4 sixes. The Tigers reached the target in the 20th over with 7 wickets in hand.
Nihaduzzaman was the most successful bowler for the Challengers with 2 wickets, while Shuvagata Hom took 1 wicket.
While it was the 2nd win for the Tigers, the Challengers suffered their fourth defeat in the event.
ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023: How Far Can Bangladesh Go?
The first Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) started on January 14, 2023. However, the inaugural event was scheduled to take place in January 2021 but was postponed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was finally started in South Africa in 2023, and Bangladesh automatically qualified for the tournament as a full member of the ICC.
And the team proceeded to the super six rounds by beating Australia, Sri Lanka, and the USA. Bangladesh’s team is in great rhythm as they have won all three group stage matches. So, how far the U-19 Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team can go? Let’s analyze their performance.
Bangladesh’s Under 19 Women’s T20 World Cup Team
On December 29, 2022, BCB announced the Bangladesh squad for the Women’s Under-19 World Cup, including three players who made their debut in the national team. Disha Biswas is the captain of the Bangladesh U-19 team in the tournament.
Leg spinner Rabeya Khan, wicketkeeper-batter Dilara Akhtar and all-rounder Marufa Akhtar are in Bangladesh's 15-member team. All three made their international debuts on the recent New Zealand tour. Despite being with the national team, the pace bowling all-rounder captain Disha did not play the match.
Read More: U-19 Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh to play South Africa in opening super six match on Saturday
For the team selection, the BCB selectors prioritize the synchronization in the team. Hence, they have selected a team that has been together for two years.
Players of The Team:
Afia Humaira Anam Prottasha, Asrafi Yeasmin Arthy, Dilara Akter, Disha Biswas (captain), Jannatul Maoua, Leky Chakma, Marufa Akter, Misty Rany Saha, Mst Dipa Khatun, Mst Eva, Mst Unnoti Akter, Rabeya Khan, Reya Akter Shika, Shorna Akter (vice captain) and Sumaiya Akter.
Stand by Players List:
Subarna Karmakar, Nishita Akhter, Rabeya Khatun, and Zuairia Ferdous
Performance of Bangladesh Team in U-19 Women's World Cup's Group Stage
16 teams were divided into four groups for the World Cup, and Bangladesh was in group A. Apart from Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka, and the USA were in the ‘A’ group of the tournament.
Bangladesh vs Australia
Bangladesh won the first match of the first U-19 World Cup in women’s cricket history. Bangladesh U-19 team beat Australia’s U-19 powerhouse by seven wickets at Willomoor Park in Benoni, South Africa, on January 14.
Read More: U-19 Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh emerge unbeaten group champions beating USA by 5 wkts
Australia batted first and scored 130 runs for five wickets. Bangladesh passed the target of 131 runs with 12 balls in hand. After the winning run, the girls of Bangladesh floated with joy at Willomoor Park. However, at the beginning of the run chase, it was not predicted that Bangladesh would win so easily. It started as badly as possible as opener Misty Saha was out on the first ball of the innings.
From there, Dilara Akhtar and Afia Prottasha made a partnership of 66 runs from 60 balls. Dilara, who started batting in one down, returned with 40 runs from 42 balls, leaving the team at 66 runs in the first ball of the eleventh over. After five balls and five runs, Prottasha also returned with 24 runs off 22 balls. There were 2 four-sixes in the Prottasha’s innings. Dilara’s innings were lined with 7 fours.
After losing 2 wickets quickly, Sshorna and Sumaiya did the job without any pressure. They did the work by counter-attacking when they formed a partnership; at that time, Bangladesh needed 60 runs from 54 balls. From there, Bangladesh won with 12 balls in hand. DIlara Akter became the player of the match.
Read More: ICC U-19 Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh clinch second consecutive win
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
After defeating Australia, the U-19 women’s team won by 10 runs against Sri Lanka in the second match. The team went to bat after losing the toss. Aafia Prottasha and Misty Shaha gave a great start. The pair scored 75 runs in 11.1 overs.
Prottasha got out after playing a stormy inning of 53 runs off 43 balls. Five fours and three sixes came from her bat. Misty was out after that. She scored 14 runs off 24 balls but played a major role in keeping wickets at one end. When she was out, the team had 79 runs with 8 wickets in their hand. The team did not lose any more wickets after that.
Shorna Akter played a great inning, and she scored 50 runs off 28 balls. With three fours and two sixes, Shorna gave hope for a win. Bangladesh lost 2 wickets and scored 165 runs in total. On the other hand, Sri Lanka Under-19 women’s team lost 4 wickets and got stuck at 155 runs. Afia Prottasha won the player of the match award.
Read More: Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup: Bangladesh upset Australia by 7 wickets
Bangladesh vs USA
Bangladesh Women Under-19 team bowled first after losing the toss in Benoni. The US innings stopped at 103 runs for 4 wickets in the scheduled 20 overs without being able to handle the controlled bowling of the Bangladeshi bowlers. In bowling, captain Disha took two wickets, and Marufa took one wicket for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh lost two openers within the team’s 21 runs. However, Shorna Akter paired with Dilara Akter in the third wicket pair and gave a good pace in Bangladesh’s score. The pair scored 38 runs, and Shorna scored 22 runs from 14 balls.
Dilara also returned to the pavilion by scoring 17 runs. However, Rabeya Khan’s 18 (not out), Disha Biswas’s 10, and Misty Saha’s 14 runs led Bangladesh to victory in 17.3 overs. Disha Biswas became the player of the match. Bangladesh U-19 women’s team had already qualified for the Super Six after defeating Australia and Sri Lanka. This time Tigresses went to the next round as the group champion after winning the match against the USA.
Read More: BPL Fixtures 2023: Icon Players, Complete schedule – Dates, Venues & Match Time
Potentials of Bangladesh U-19 Women's Team in T20 Women's World Cup Super 6
Bangladesh will face South Africa and the United Arab Emirates in the Super Six stage on January 21 and 25, respectively. So far, Bangladesh’s U 19 women’s team has had a great performance with their unbeaten streak in the world cup. However, Bangladesh may face difficulties against South Africa. Although they lost one match in the group stage against India, South Africa tends to take more runs and be consistent compared to other teams in the tournaments except for India.
On the other hand, Bangladesh tends to play mixing the defending and attacking cricket. As a result, Bangladesh is able to play 20 overs without losing many wickets. As a result, if Bangladesh can keep up its group stage performance, the tigress can win the match against South Africa.
On the other hand, Bangladesh should get an easy win against the United Arab Emirates. UAE won only one game in the group stage, and comparatively, they are weaker than the Bangladesh team.
Read More: BPL 2023: All Teams Squad, Captain, Players List details
So, winning both games will surely lead Bangladesh to the semifinals. However, if Bangladesh loses to South Africa, still the team will have a chance for the semifinal. But, in that case, Bangladesh will need to achieve a big win against the UAE.
Can Bangladesh Reach the Final of ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023?
If Bangladesh reaches the semifinal, there is a big chance that the team may face any of the teams among Pakistan, New Zealand, England, and the West Indies. And all these teams are playing incredible games on the group stage. So, Bangladesh’s Under 19 Women’s team has very little hope for the final.
Final Words
Bangladesh Under-19 Women’s team has already achieved impressive results in the group stage and will continue to strive for excellence as they prepare for the Super Six stage. With consistence performance, Bangladesh has the potential to go to the semifinal and make a mark in the international cricket arena. However, we will have to wait until January 25 to see the outcome.
Read More: BPL 2023: Who Can Win the 9th Bangladesh Premier League
BPL 2023: Comilla continue on winning run
Comilla Victorians registered their third win in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Thursday, beating Dhaka Dominators by a margin of 33 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
It had been their sixth match in the competition. Before three consecutive wins, they had unfortunately suffered three consecutive losses.
Comilla batted first and, despite Liton Das' unfortunate duck, posted a total of 184 runs for four wickets in 20 overs.
After falling behind early with the loss of Liton in the first over, Mohammad Rizwan steadied the ship with a superbly crafted 55-run knock off 47 balls, featuring 1 four and 3 maximums, as he remained unbeaten. Imrul Kayes then helped the Victorians' total with 33 off 26 deliveries, punctuated by 3 fours and 2 sixes.
Read more: BPL 2023: Comilla break out of cycle of defeat in fourth match
But Khushdil Shah was the stand-out batter of the Victorians, smashing 64 runs off 24 balls, peppered with seven fours and five sixes, helping the Victorians set a big target of 185 for the Dominators.
The ill-fated run chase of the Dominators began with a setback as Ahmed Shehzad could only manage 19 runs before getting dismissed, while Soumya Sarkar and Robin Das failed to even get off the mark and were both sent back to the pavilion for a duck.
Mohammad Mithun made 36 from 34 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six, before he was dismissed by Mosaddek Hossain. Nasir Hossain, the captain of Dhaka, posted 66 off 45 balls, including 7 fours and 2 sixes, but it wasn't enough to steer the Dominators to victory.
Read more: BPL 2023: Liton stars as Cumilla end Sylhet’s undefeated run
The Victorians emerged victorious and earned two points from the match, making it their third victory in six games that they participated in. But this left the Dominators with four losses and a single win in five matches the played in the tournament.
U-19 Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh to play South Africa in opening super six match on Saturday
Bangladesh, the unbeaten champions of Group A, will play Group D runners up and hosts South Africa in the opening super-six match of the ICC U-19 Women's T20 World Cup on Saturday (January 21)
The vital super six match between two teams will kick-off at 1:45 pm local time at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, South Africa while Group D champions India will play Group A runners up Australia in the day's other super six match at the same time at the Absa Puk Oval in South Africa.
Bangladesh needed just a win against the hosts South Africa to assure the semifinal berth while the hosts Proteas team will face Bangladesh in a must-win situation to keep their semifinal hope alive.
Read more: U-19 Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh emerge unbeaten group champions beating USA by 5 wkts
In the remaining super six match, Bangladesh will play United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday (January 25) at the Absa Puk Oval in Potchefstroom at the same time.
Earlier, Bangladesh clinched the Group A crown with all-win record securing full six points from straight three matches after a creditable seven-wicket victory over giant Australia, 10-run win over Sri Lanka and five wickets victory over USA.
Hosts South Africa finished Group D runners-up to reach the super six stage securing four points from three matches after beating Scotland by 44 runs, United Arab Emirates by 45 runs and lost to India by seven wickets.
BCB appoints David Moore as head of programmes
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Wednesday announced the appointment of David Moore as its head of programmes.
The 58-year-old Australian cricket professional has agreed to a two-year term with the BCB which starts next month.
Moore will be responsible for planning, devising strategies, and implementing the high performance (HP) and Tigers' programmes to ensure that they serve the senior team. He will also oversee the development programmes for coaches.
The 58-year-old brings extensive experience as a high-performance general manager and coach developer with expertise in coaching, player and coach development and administration, both internationally and in Australia.
He served Cricket NSW as its general manager of Cricket Performance and head of Coach Development and was a senior coach at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence.
Moore worked as an assistant coach of the West Indies cricket team and became the side's head coach for the England tour in 2007. He also coached the Bermuda national team.
"I am delighted to have been appointed to oversee and develop some very important programmes that will provide opportunities for elite cricketers to perform in the international arena," Moore said in a media statement.
"I'm very excited to be commencing my role as head of programmes at the BCB. I look forward to working with the head coach, his coaching and support staff, and players to help them unleash their potential," he added.
U-19 Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh emerge unbeaten group champions beating USA by 5 wkts
Bangladesh emerged unbeaten Group A champions to reach super-six stage of the ICC U-19 Women's T20 World Cup beating all losers USA by five wickets in a low scoring 3rd and last group match at Willowmoore Park B field in Benoni, South Africa on Wednesday.
With the day's feat, Bangladesh clinched the Group A crown with all-win record securing full six points from straight three matches after a creditable seven-wicket victory over giant Australia by and 10-run win over Sri Lanka.
Read more: ICC U-19 Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh clinch second consecutive win
In their last group match, USA team batted first after winning the toss and scored 103 runs for the loss of four wickets in stipulated 20 overs with one down batter Snigdha Paul scoring 26 runs and opener Disha Dhingra making 20 runs.
Bangladesh captain Disha Biswas grabbed two USA wickets for 13 runs in her four over spell and was adjudged the player of the match while Marufa Akter took one wicket for 17 runs in four overs.
In reply, Bangladesh lost five wickets to score match-winner 104 runs in 17.3 overs.
Shorna Akhter contributed 22 runs off just 12 balls hitting two fours and six, Rabeya Khan scored not out 18 off 24 balls with two boundaries, wicket keeper Dilara Akter 15-ball 17 runs with two boundaries while Misty Shaha made 13-ball 14 runs also with two fours while opener Sumaiya Akter scored 12-ball 10 runs, were the notable Bangladeshi batters reaching the double digit.
Read more: Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup: Bangladesh upset Australia by 7 wickets
Aditiba Chudasama claimed two Bangladesh wickets for 15 runs in her four over spell while Sai Tammayi Eyyunni and Bhumila Bhanriraju captured one wicket each conceding 19 and 23 runs respectively.
BPL 2023: Liton stars as Cumilla end Sylhet’s undefeated run
Liton Das smashed an impressive 70 off a mere 42 deliveries, leading the Cumilla Victorians to an emphatic five-wicket victory over the Sylhet Strikers, who suffered their first loss in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after winning five matches on the trot.
Cumilla won the toss and elected to bowl first, restricting Strikers to a moderate total of 133 runs off of 20 overs, losing seven wickets in the process.
Imad Wasim and Thisara Perera put together an impressive 80-run partnership for the eighth wicket after the Strikers had lost seven wickets for just 53 runs inside 10 overs.
For Cumilla, Hasan Ali and Mukidul Islam took two wickets each.
In response, Liton and Mohammad Rizwan put together a solid 57-run opening stand in pursuit of a below-par target. Rizwan fell for 15, but Liton remained steadfast and shepherded the team to a safe position.
Read more: BPL 2023: Comilla break out of cycle of defeat in fourth match
Liton was outfoxed by Sylhet captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza when Comilla were just 23 runs away from victory.
Despite the Strikers' efforts, Cumilla achieved their goal with five wickets to spare, resulting in the Strikers' first loss of the season.
BPL 2023: Khulna break the deadlock to register first win
Khulna Tigers have finally claimed their first victory in the current season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), coming to their fourth match.
They secured a dominant victory against Rangpur Riders on Tuesday in Chattogram, as Tamim Iqbal scored an unbeaten 60. Following the match, Khulna's captain Yasir Ali expressed relief upon the team's success.
Read more: BPL 2023: Comilla break out of cycle of defeat in fourth match
Khulna won the toss and opted to bowl first in this match.
The Riders were restricted to 129 for all wickets in 20 overs, courtesy of a well-executed bowling effort by the opposition. Unfortunately, they lost their opener Rony Talukdar in the first over, causing an early setback.
However, Parvez Hossain Emon and Mahedi Hasan managed to recover with respective scores of 25 and 38, limiting the damage and keeping the Riders in the game.
But the other batter down the order failed to do well. Captain Shoaib Malik scored a mere nine runs.
Wahab Riaz and Amad Butt scalped a combined total of seven wickets for Khulna, with Wahab claiming four and Amad bagging three.
Tamim responded impressively by notching up 60 off just 47 balls, including four fours and two sixes. Mahmudul Hasan Joy also performed admirably, contributing 38 runs to the total.
Read more: BPL 2023: Chattogram romp to easy win over Dhaka
Khulna reached the target in 18.2 overs.
The Riders' captain, Shoaib expressed his disappointment, saying that they had to score more runs to win the match, but they were unable to do so.
BPL 2023: Comilla break out of cycle of defeat in fourth match
Comilla Victorians earned their first win of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in their fourth match, defeating home team Chattogram Challengers by six wickets Monday.
Liton Das, who scored 40 off 22 balls with four fours and three sixes, led the charge for Comilla. Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Mohammed Rizwan also scored 37 off 35 balls.
Choosing to bat first, Chattogram managed to post 135-8 in 20 overs.
Read more: BPL 2023: Chattogram romp to easy win over Dhaka
Chattogram captain Shuvagata Hom top scored 37 runs off 23 deliveries. Max O'Dowd and Afif Hossain scored 24 and 29, respectively.
Tanvir Islam, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat and Khushdil Shah bagged two wickets each for Comilla.
In reply, Liton and Rizwan made a 50-plus-run opening stand that set a solid foundation for Comilla, who eventually won the match with 15 balls to play.
It was the third defeat for Chattogram in five matches in the event.
Read more: BPL 2023 Chattogram phase begins Friday