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Sylhet Test: Tigers suffer day of horrors as Lankans show them how it's done with bat and ball
Bangladesh started their second innings of the ongoing Sylhet Test against Sri Lanka with an improbable target of 511 runs at the stroke of the last hour on day three. In the 13 overs Sri Lanka managed to get in during that last hour, the familiar face of Bangladesh's batters folding without almost any resistance in challenging situations was on display again, as no less than five batsmen managed to lose their wickets for the addition of some 47 runs.
As the days progressed in this match, Bangladesh’s situation only got worse. Now, with two more days to go, Bangladesh can only take the field to embrace a defeat, and probably a big defeat - they will start day 4 needing 464 to win, or to bat out two full days for a draw, with just five wickets in hand.
While Bangladesh’s story in this Test only fits the tragic story of clueless batting and average bowling, Sri Lanka’s is the story of batting prominence by their captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Kamindu Mendis; both hit a century in each innings of this match—only the third instance of such fate in the history of Test cricket spanning a century and almost a half.
In the first session, only when Bangladesh seemed to be in a dominant position in this match, Sri Lanka lost five wickets. Their dramatic collapse was indicated to a low first innings total. But Dhananjaya and Kamindu put up a big partnership, scoring a hundred each.
The pair continued their impressive partnership, scoring centuries in the second innings after Bangladesh posted a total of 188 runs in the first-innings, and they became the only third pair in Test history to achieve this feat in the same match. Dhananjaya's 108 and Kamindu's 164 propelled Sri Lanka to a formidable total of 418, giving them a massive lead of 510 runs.
Bangladesh's second innings started disastrously, losing five wickets for just 47 runs. Vishwa Fernando was the chief destroyer, claiming three wickets— Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shahadat Hossain, and Litton Das— all fell for ducks.
Mahmudul was trapped early by a ball that pitched on leg and hit him on the pads. Shahadat edged a back-of-a-length delivery after being troubled by similar balls earlier. Litton's dismissal was the most concerning, as he charged down the track and top-edged a wild slog on the first ball he faced.
These dismissals highlighted the pressure Bangladesh were under and put them in a more precarious position, which will surely haunt them for a long.
Premier Div Hockey: Mohammedan SC maintain unbeaten run beating Ajax SC by 5-3 goal
Dhaka Mohammedan SC maintained their unbeaten record in the 11-team Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League beating Ajax SC by 5-3 goal at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium here on Sunday.
With the day's feat, Mohammedan SC maintained their 2nd slot intact in the league securing 16 points from six matches after beating Victoria SC 10-1, Azad SC 4-0, drew 3-3 draw with Usha KC, crushing Dilkusha SC 11-1, Sadharan Bima KS 5-1, apart from day's 5-3 win over Ajax SC.
After the match, defending champions Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club went down to the 3rd slot in the league table securing 13 points from six matches.
Premier Div Hockey: Mohammedan SC maintain unbeaten run beating Sadharan Bima by 5-1 goals
Dhaka Abahani Ltd dominated the league with all-win record securing full 18 points from straight six matches after beating Dilkusha SC 10-1 goal, Usha KC by 2-1 goal, Azad SC by 10-1 goal, Sadharan Bima KS by 3-0 goal, Victoria SC by 16-0 goal and Ajax SC by 7-1 goal.
In the day's match, Malaysian player Faizal Bin Sarri struck twice, Amirul Islam, Rashel Mahmud Jimmy and Manoj Babu scored one goal each for the traditional black and whites Mohammedans while Tanzim Ahmed contributed two and Mridul scored one for the Elephant Road outfit Ajax SC.
Amirul opened the Mohammedan's account first in the 11th minute from a penalty corner (1-0) while Tanzim Ahmed leveled the Ajax margin in the 16th minute also from a penalty corner (1-1).
Malaysian recruit Sarri put Mohammedan SC ahead again in the 26th minute by a field goal (2-1) while Jimmy further sounded the Mohammedans margin by a field goal in the 37th minute (3-1).
Premier Div Hockey: Holders Mariner Youngs Club manage hard-fought 4-3 victory over Ajax SC
Tanzim pulled back the Ajax margin in the 44th minute scoring his 2nd goal (3-2) while Malaysian
Sarri again widen the Mohamnedan margin in the 47th minute scoring his 2nd goal (4-2).
Manoj Babu scored the 5th goal for Mohammedan in the 52nd minute (5-2) while Mridul sealed the fate of the match scoring the 3rd goal for Ajax SC just one minute before the final whistle (5-3).
Sylhet Test: Bangladesh Face Uphill Task as Sri Lanka Rewrite Rare Record
In the history of Test cricket spanning more than 150 years, there were only two pairs of batters who have scored centuries in each innings of the same Test. Now, Sri Lankans Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis have done the same for Sri Lanka in the ongoing Test in Sylhet against Bangladesh, etching their names in the Test cricket history.
Fueled by those centuries, Sri Lanka posted a mammoth 418 in their second innings, setting Bangladesh a big target of 510 – a total never before successfully chased in Test cricket.
The first instance of this remarkable achievement was in 1974 when Australian brothers Ian Chappell and Greg Chappell accomplished it against New Zealand in Wellington. Four decades later, Pakistan's Misbah Ul Haque and Azhar Ali replicated the feat against Australia in Abu Dhabi.
Sylhet Test: Dhananjaya Smashes Second Ton as Sri Lanka Builds Massive Lead
Now, a decade after Misbah and Azhar's display, Dhananjaya and Kamindu have done the same, leaving Bangladesh in a precarious position. The hosts were bowled out for a meager 188 in reply to Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 280.
In the first innings, Bangladesh displayed a lean batting show. Most of their top-order batters failed to settle down in the middle. At the stroke of day one, Taijul Islam came in to stop the floodgate of wickets falling, and eventually, he came out to be the highest runs getter for the hosts with 47.
Sri Lanka secured a 92-run lead in the first innings and they built up on that. In the first innings, Sri Lanka lost five wickets in the first session, but from there, they wrote a comeback story riding on the centuries of Dhananjaya and Kamindu. They stood strong again for their team.
While Dhananjaya posted 108, Kaminud ended up on 164-- best in his Test career so far.
Women’s ODI: Australia Clinch Series with Comfortable Victory against Bangladesh
Australia secured the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh with ease, claiming a comprehensive six-wicket win on Sunday, leaving one match remaining.
In the second ODI, Bangladesh batted first, managing only 97 runs in 44.1 overs, with Nahida Akter, batting at number nine, top-scoring with 22 runs.
Sylhet Test: Dhananjaya Smashes Second Ton as Sri Lanka Builds Massive Lead
In response, Australia chased down the target in just 23.5 overs, with six wickets in hand and 157 balls to spare.
Sophie Molineux led Australia's bowling attack with three wickets, supported by Ashleigh Gardner, Alana King, and Georgia Wareham, who each took two wickets.
Ellyse Perry anchored the chase of a paltry target with an unbeaten 35.
Sultana Khatun and Rabeya Khan claimed one wicket each for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh failed to prove their mettle in both batting and bowling departments. Their ground fielding was also an area of concern.
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Palestine team arrive in Dhaka
Ahead of the series, Bangladesh promised a better performance against the World Champions, but that promise did not materialise.
The third and final ODI of the series is scheduled for March 27. Following the ODI series, both teams will contest in a three-match T20I series.
Sylhet Test: Dhananjaya Smashes Second Ton as Sri Lanka Builds Massive Lead
Sri Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva notched another century in the ongoing Sylhet Test against Bangladesh after lunch of day three, propelling Sri Lanka to a lead closing 400 runs in the second innings.
In the first innings, Sri Lanka posted 280 runs with centuries from Dhananjaya and Kaminud Mendis, despite losing five wickets in the first session.
In response, Bangladesh struggled, managing only 188 runs, with Taijul Islam, who is a spin bolwer, top-scoring with 47.
Sylhet Test: Sri Lanka lead after Bangladesh's 188 in 1st Innings
Vishwa Fernando claimed four wickets for Sri Lanka, while Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara took three each.
Before the Test series, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka clashed in T20Is and ODIs, with Sri Lanka winning the T20I series and Bangladesh securing victory in the ODIs.
Following the Sylhet Test, both teams will head to Chattogram for the second Test of the series.
Rishabh Pant returns as Punjab opens season with win over Delhi in IPL
Star Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant returned to action as Punjab Kings beat Delhi Capitals by four wickets in their opening encounter of the Indian Premier League season on Saturday.
Pant, injured in a car accident in December 2022, marked his return to high-profile cricket by leading out the Capitals. He scored 18 off 13 balls in his comeback innings.
Delhi reached 174-9 in 20 overs after Shai Hope top scored with 33 off 25 balls, while impact batter Abishek Porel smashed 32 not out off 10.
Punjab relied on Sam Curran’s 63 off 47 balls to scale the target in 19.2 overs and finished with 177-6 in reply.
Put into bat, the Capitals got a speedy start from David Warner (29) and Mitchell Marsh (20) as the duo put on 39 off 20 balls for the first wicket.
Police arrest Mariners' winning run in Premier Div Hockey
Punjab struck back through its pacers — Marsh was out caught off Arshdeep Singh, while Harshal Patel bounced out Warner.
Pant walked in to a rousing reception but played a scratchy knock even as Hope smacked two fours and two sixes off 25 balls.
Patel picked his second as Pant was out caught in the 13th over. With Hope gone as well, Delhi was down to 111-4.
It became 111-5 as Ricky Bhui only managed three runs, out caught behind to spinner Harpreet Brar (1-14). South Africa's Tristan Stubbs also fell for just five runs.
Axar Patel scored 21 off 13 balls before he was run out. Porel was then subbed in at 138-7 and played a rescuing hand for the Capitals.
Porel smacked four fours and two sixes off the 10 balls faced as Delhi finished with an unlikely par-score in its first outing this season.
In response, Punjab was down to 42-2 as Ishant Sharma inflicted a double blow. He bowled skipper Shikhar Dhawan for 22 runs.
Then, Jonny Bairstow was run out for nine at the non-striker’s end. Sharma just managed to get his fingers onto the ball as the English batter was backing out too far.
Sylhet Test: Sri Lanka lead after Bangladesh's 188 in 1st Innings
Curran then added 42 off 33 balls with Prabhsimran Mann for the third wicket. The latter took the lead, scoring 26 off 17 balls, before he was caught at long on off Kuldeep Yadav (2-20).
Yadav picked his second as Jitesh Sharma was out stumped for nine.
It left Punjab at 100-4 in 11.3 overs, but Curran and Liam Livingstone came together to save the day.
Curran hit six fours and a six in his 39-ball 50, while Livingstone smacked three sixes and two fours in a 21-ball 38-run knock.
The duo added 67 runs off 42 balls, before Khaleel Ahmed (2-43) bowled Curran in the penultimate over. Livingstone though stayed on to the end.
Delhi dropped a couple catches which allowed Punjab to scale the target with ease.
Kolkata Knight Riders host Sunrisers Hyderabad later.
Police arrest Mariners' winning run in Premier Div Hockey
Bangladesh Police SC forced defending champions Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club to play 5-5 draw in a crucial match of the 11-team Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.
With the day's debacle, Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club went down in the league securing 13 points from six matches to share the 2nd slot with Mohammedan SC, who also bagged 13 points, playing one match less than the Mariners.
Mariner Youngs Club, which made a frustrating start after suffering a shocking 1-5 goals defeat against Usha KC in the league opener, today (Saturday) again lost important points against a mediocre Police team in their sixth match.
Earlier, Mariners Youngs strongly came back in the race in their 2nd match outplaying Azad SC 13-2, crushing Dilkusha SC 18-1, defeating Victoria SC 11-2, beat Ajax SC 4-3, apart from the day's 5-5 draw against Police SC.
Dhaka Abahani Ltd dominated the league table with all-win record securing full 18 points from straight six matches after beating Dilkusha SC 10-1 goals, Usha KC by 2-1 goals, Azad SC by 10-1 goals, Sadharan Bima KS by 3-0 goals, Victoria SC by 16-0 goals and Ajax SC by 7-1 goals.
In the day's match, league's top scorer Shohanur Rahman Sabuj struck twice while Fazle Hossain Rabbi, Moinul Islam Koushik and Indian, Rajender Singh scored one each for the Mariners.
On the other hand, Indian recruit Gurjit Singh and Abdul Malek struck twice each while Rezaul Ahmed Ratul scored the other goal for Police SC.
In the day's other league match, a brilliant hattrick by Indian player Mohammad Shariq guided the old Dhaka outfit Usha SC to outplay Sadharan Bima KS by 5-1 goals at the same venue Saturday afternoon.
Mohammad Shariq made a hattrick scoring three goals while Taiyub Ali and another Indian player Aniket Gurav scored one goal each for Usha KC.
Parvez Mosharraf scored the consolation goal for the Insurance men's team.
END/UNB/MMK/ssk
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Palestine team arrive in Dhaka
Palestine national football team arrived Dhaka Saturday morning to play their Group I away match of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against hosts Bangladesh on March 26 at 3:30 pm local time at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka.
Bangladesh team also returned home from Kuwait Friday night to play their home match against Palestine here.
After returned from Kuwait, Bangladesh team made their first practice session Saturday afternoon at the practice ground of the Basundhara Kings Arena here.
Earlier on Thursday night, Bangladesh National Football team suffered a huge 0-5 goals defeat against war-torn Arab nation Palestine in their 3nd Group I match of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at the Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait city.
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Bangladesh to play Palestine in their away match Thursday night
It was the biggest defeat for Bangladesh against their much superior Arabian rivals Palestine in seven matches since their first meeting in Dhaka in 2006.
Bangladesh conceded defeat in every match except making 1-1 draw in their first meeting in the AFC Challenge Cup held in Dhaka in 2006.
Palestine is 86 steps ahead of Bangladesh in the current FIFA men's world ranking with a ranking of 97 against the Bangladesh ranking 183.
In Thursday's match, striker Oday Dabbagh made a hattrick for Palestine scoring three goals in the 43rd, 53rd and 77th minutes while another forward Shehab Qumbor netted twice in the 45+2 and 49th minutes respectively.
Bangladesh Football team to play Palestine March 21 in World Cup Qualifiers
Bangladesh boldly faced Palestine till the 40th minute of the first half to restrict their stronger opponents goalless, but, made some mistakes in the dying moments of the first half.
In the 2nd half, Bangladesh were totally off-colour, specially the defense line up, suffering a huge defeat.
Bangladesh custodian Mitul Marma made some good saves to deprive Palestine from more goals.
Ahead of the World Cup Qualifying match against Palestine, Bangladesh national team conducted an intensive two-week long preparatory camp at the King Fahd Sports City Stadium in the Saudi Arabian City of Al Taif from March 3 to 17 and also played two preparatory matches there against Sudan, but all of their efforts went in vain.
Bangladesh football team leaves Saudi Arabia for Kuwait on Sunday to play FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Earlier, Bangladesh suffered a 0-7 goals defeat against Australia in their first away match on November 16 and drew 1-1 with another Arabian nation Lebanon in their home match in Dhaka on Nov 21.
In the remaining two FIFA World Cup Qualifying round group matches, Bangladesh will play World Cup playing Australia in a home match on June 6 and will play Lebanon in the away match on June 11.
Sylhet Test: Sri Lanka lead after Bangladesh's 188 in 1st Innings
Sri Lanka has seized control of the ongoing Sylhet Test against Bangladesh. At the close of day two, they hold a commanding lead of 211 runs with five wickets in hand.
Batting first after losing the toss, Sri Lanka posted 280 runs, buoyed by centuries from Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis. Bangladesh's Khaled Ahmed and debutant Nahid Rana impressed with three wickets each.
Sri Lanka lost half of their wickets before first day lunch, but from there, de Silva and Kamindu put up a partnership of 202 runs—that remarkable comeback guided Sri Lanka to a fighting score of 280 runs.
In response, Bangladesh faltered for 188 in their first innings, losing wickets at regular intervals. Taijul Islam, coming in after three wickets fell on day one, top-scored with 47, while Litton Das contributed 25. Sri Lanka secured a significant 92-run lead.
Vishwa Fernando led Sri Lanka's bowling attack with four wickets, supported by Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara with three apiece.
In their second innings by day two's end, Sri Lanka reached 119 for five, extending their lead to 211 runs with five wickets intact. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne notched a half-century.
Nahid Rana starred for Bangladesh with two crucial wickets, dismissing Nishan Madushka and Kusal Mendis, both caught behind. Shoriful Islam, Taijul, and Mehdiy Hasan Miraz chipped in with a wicket each.
Sylhet Test: Bangladesh lose quick wickets after Dhananjaya, Kamindu help Sri Lanka post 280
Bangladesh stumbled to 32 runs for the loss of three wickets at the conclusion of day one of the Sylhet Test on Friday. This came after Sri Lanka posted 280 runs in their first innings, with Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis orchestrating a remarkable recovery from 57 for five.
In response to Sri Lanka's total, Bangladesh lost Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Mominul Haque. Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Taijul Islam remained unbeaten on 9 and 0 respectively. Vishwa Fernando claimed two wickets, while Kasun Rajitha took one.
For Sri Lanka, Captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis displayed exceptional resilience, forging a formidable partnership of 202 runs for the sixth wicket, with both batters notching up centuries.
Despite Bangladesh's initial dominance, Sri Lanka proved resilient, surviving numerous attempts to break the partnership. The early stages of the match hinted at Bangladesh's fortunes favoring them, especially with the overcast conditions providing assistance to their pacers.
Sylhet Test: Khaled takes three wickets as Bangladesh make impressive start
Sri Lanka suffered early setbacks, losing their first wicket in the second over when Mehidy Hasan Miraz took a stunning catch at third slip. Even before posting 50 runs on the board, they lost four wickets. They lost the veteran Angelo Mathews before lunch too.
However, the partnership between Dhananjaya and Kamindu thwarted Bangladesh's hopes of a swift conclusion to Sri Lanka's innings. The breakthrough eventually came from Nahid Rana, the debutant pacer, who dismissed both centurions with his pace and bounce.
Kamindu fell to a back-of-length delivery outside off, edging it to wicketkeeper Litton Das, while Dhananjaya's innings ended with a catch at square leg by Mehidy off short ball. Both batters scored 102 runs each before Nahid claimed his third wicket by removing Prabath Jayasuriya.
Sri Lanka finished their innings at 280 runs. Despite their recovery from a precarious position at 57 for 5, they might rue missed opportunities to score more, considering their score of 259 for 5.
Tawhid enters Test squad to replace injured Mushfiqur
Khaled Ahmed and Nahid Rana were the standout performers for Bangladesh, claiming three wickets each, while Shoriful Islam and Taijul Islam contributed with two wickets apiece, with two dismissals coming from run-outs.