Test cricket
West Indies leading Sri Lanka despite Mendis’ 6 wickets
Offspin bowler Ramesh Mendis fueled a Sri Lankan fightback with a maiden five-wicket haul but the West Indies still led by three runs in the second innings at stumps on the third day of the second test on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka was 46-2 in its second innings at close having conceded a 49-run first innings lead to the visitors, who were bowled out for 253. Sri Lanka scored 204 in its first innings.
Read:Nissanka hits unbeaten 61 as Sri Lanka closes Day 1 at 113-1
Captain Dimuth Karunaratne (6) was run out to a brilliant direct hit from Kyle Mayers and Oshada Fernando (14) was also run out. Pathum Nissanka was batting on 21 with Charith Asalanka on 4.
Mendis had bowling figures 6-70 while left-arm spinners Praveen Jayawickrama and Lasith Embuldeniya took two wickets each.
Sri Lanka went to lunch strongly placed on 145-2 but lost the remaining wickets for the addition of another 59 runs.
Resuming Wednesday on 69-1, the West Indies had batted remarkably well to add 76 runs in the first session, losing only one wicket.
But the slide started post lunch when West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who was batting with confidence, was bowled by Embuldeniya for 72. The bowler ran over the wicket and pitched a flighted ball outside the right-handed Brathwaite’s leg stump and the ball turned sharply and hit the top of off stump.
Mendis had Roston Chase (10) caught at leg slip by Asalanka and trapped Shai Hope (22) lbw.
Read:New Zealand ekes out dramatic draw in 1st test against India
Jason Holder (4) unsuccessfully reviewed an lbw decision against him because a ball delivered by Mendis appeared to bounce over the stumps. In the next ball, Joshua da Silva played through the wrong line expecting a ball from Mendis to turn more than it did and was bowled. His fall left Sri Lanka 197-7.
Mayers (36 not out) with Kemar Roach (8) ensured that the West Indies took a lead in the first innings and extended it in a 38-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Veerasammy Permaul (8).
Sri Lanka won the first test by 187 runs at the same venue, meaning the West Indies must win here to draw the series.
New Zealand trails India by 280 runs after day 4 of 1st test
Shreyas Iyer and Wriddhiman Saha struck half-centuries on Sunday before India declared its second innings on 234-7 on day four of the first test against New Zealand to set the tourists a target of 284 in Kanpur.
Iyer scored 65 runs, while Saha was unbeaten on 61 runs as they resurrected the Indian innings from a precarious 51-5.
At stumps, New Zealand was on 4-1 with Tom Latham on 2 and William Sommerville on nought after losing Will Young (2) shortly before the close of play.
Earlier, India had reached 84-5 at lunch after Kyle Jamieson (3-40) and Tim Southee (3-75) ran through the Indian top-order in the morning.
Cheteshwar Pujara (22) nicked off his gloves down leg side off Jamieson. Southee had Mayank Agarwal (17) caught at slip and then trapped Ravindra Jadeja lbw for nought.
Azaj Patel (1-60) trapped Ajinkya Rahane (4) lbw to reduce India to 51-5 after starting from an overnight 14-1.
Then, Iyer put on 52 runs for the sixth wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin (32) on either side of lunch and rescued the Indian innings.
Following his debut hundred in the first innings, Iyer's half-century in the second innings came off 125 deliveries and included eight fours and a six.
Sunil Gavaskar was the last Indian batsman to score 50-plus in both innings of his debut test, a feat he managed against the West Indies in 1971 .
"I had been in this situation before as well in domestic cricket. My mind set was to play the session and play as many balls as possible. I wasn't thinking too far ahead," Iyer said.
He also became the first Indian batsman to score a hundred and a half-century on his test debut.
"It feels good (to have that record) but the most important thing is to win the match... We felt that 250 including the first innings lead would have been a good score, so we're very happy with where we are now," Iyer added.
Jamieson bowled Ashwin after India crossed 100. Iyer then added 64 runs with Saha as they helped India reach a defendable total.
Southee dismissed Iyer before tea as India reached 167-7 at the break.
Saha scored his sixth test half-century and put on 67 runs with Axar Patel (28 not out) for the eighth wicket.
India declared with little time left in the day but Ashwin managed to remove Young before stumps. The ball seemed to be missing leg but the batsman ran out of time to use a DRS review.
New Zealand will need 280 runs on the final day for victory.
India scored 345 in the first innings thanks to Iyer's 105 and New Zealand was bowled out for 296 in reply as Axar Patel took 5-62 on day three.
Test Cricket: Mahmudullah finally says goodbye
A little hope was there that Mahmudullah Riyad would continue to play Test cricket despite announcing his retirement in an abrupt move in July this year, but the hope finally got dashed on Wednesday.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has issued an official statement of Mahmudullah ending his 12-year-long Test career.
Mahmudullah was upset when he was axed from the Test squad last year. His omission was mainly enforced by head coach of the Bangladesh team Russell Domingo.
Read: 'Heartbreaking': Mahmudullah on Tigers' T20I blowout v Pakistan
“Leaving a format of which I’ve been a part of for such a long time is not easy. I had always thought of going on a high and I believe this is the right time to end my Test career,” Mahmudullah was quoted as saying in a statement provided by the BCB.
The 35-year old played his 50th and last Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in July this year with Bangladesh recording a 220-run win. In his final innings, the right-hander made an unbeaten 150, his fifth hundred in Tests, and was adjudged the player of the match.
The all-rounder got his Test cap back in 2009 against West Indies. He scored a total of 2914 runs in Tests at an average of 33.49 and took 43 wickets with the five-wicket haul in his debut. He has also captained Bangladesh in six Test matches.
Read: Mahmudullah punts future as captain to BCB
“I want to extend my gratitude to the BCB president for supporting me when I returned to the Test team. I thank my teammates and the support staff for always encouraging me and believing in my ability. It has been an absolute honour and privilege to play Test cricket for Bangladesh and I will cherish the many memories,” Mahmudullah added.
However, the right-handed off-spinning all-rounder will continue to play limited-over cricket at the international level.
Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 220 runs in one-off Test
Riding on three wonderful centuries and brilliant bowling, Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 220 runs in the one-off Test in Harare on Sunday.
Mahmudullah won the man of the match award for his unbeaten 150 in the first innings of the match. The right-hand all-rounder shocked everyone after scoring his best innings in the format as he announced he was retiring from Test.
Shadman Islam (115) registered his maiden ton in the format in the second innings; Najmul Hossain Shanto his second (117). They posted 196 runs in the second-wicket stand of the same innings, which helped Bangladesh set a target of 477 for the hosts.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who bagged five wickets in the first innings, took four in the second one. He took nine wickets conceding 148 runs, the best bowling figures for a Bangladeshi in an away Test.
Also read: PM greets Tigers for Test series win against Zimbabwe
The all-rounder surpassed right-hand pacer Robiul Islam, who claimed nine wickets for 155 runs against the same opponent at the same venue in 2013.
Mahmudullah says “dramatic” goodbye to Test cricket, given guard of honour
Bangladesh allrounder and T20 captain Mahmudullah Riyad was presented a guard of honour by his team mates as he bade an emotional farewell to Test cricket ahead of the fifth day’s play in the Harare Test against Zimbabwe.
The right-handed allrounder reportedly informed his teammates about his retirement ahead third day’s play of the match. He, however, didn’t say anything about it to the media.
Read:Bangladesh seven wickets away from a win in Harare
Before getting selected for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, Mahmudullh was out of the longer version of the game for more than 17 months. He hit an unbeaten 150 in this comeback Test, which will now be his last Test innings.
A Bangladeshi media reported from Harare that Mahmudullah last night gave an impression that he is going to rethink this retirement. But he didn’t.
“He didn’t inform me anything officially about it,” Nazmul Hasan, the BCB president, told a national daily earlier. “I came to know from someone else. But it’s not acceptable to me. It’s unusual. We are playing a Test now. The match is yet to end.”
Nazmul also said that the decision of Mahmudullah surprised him more because the allrounder agreed to play in all formats for the Tigers what he has said to the board in the written consent.
“He was a last-minute inclusion to the Test side because he wrote to us that he would play Test if he gets a chance,” Nazmul added. “We asked every national team member to inform us in what formats they prefer to play, and Mahmudullah told us he is up for every format.”
Read:Shadman, Shanto hit centuries as Bangladesh secure 476-run lead
Bangladesh seven wickets away from a win in Harare
Bangladesh need seven more wickets to register a win in Harare Test against Zimbabwe.
Aiming to score 477 runs to win the game, Zimbabwe ended day four at 140 for three in 40 overs. Brendan Taylor was tremendous with the bat. He scored 92 off 73 balls with 16 fours.
A century looked imminent for him, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz tricked him with a loose ball outside off. Taylor tried a big shot at the last moment and ended up sending a return catch to the bowler.
He was the second wicket to fall for the hosts after Milton Shumba who fell for 11 to Taskin Ahmed. Shakib Al Hasan, who bagged four wickets in the first innings, scalped the third wicket removing Takudzwanashe Kaitano, who was the highest scorer for Zimbabwe in the first innings.
Earlier, Bangladesh declared their second innings on 284 for one in 67.4 overs, with Shadman Islam and Shanto Mahmud remained unbeaten for 115 and 117 respectively.
Shadman needed 180 balls to reach his maiden three-figure score in international cricket. He smashed eight fours along the way. While going to 100 from 85, Shanto hit two sixes and reached his hundred in 109 balls.
Also read: Shadman, Shanto hit centuries as Bangladesh secure 476-run lead
In the second-wicket stand, they added 196 runs, which is now the third-highest stand in the second wicket for Bangladesh in Tests.
With the 192-run first-innings lead, Bangladesh secured a huge lead of 476 runs with a little over fours sessions to play.
In their first innings, Zimbabwe tumbled for 276 while replying to Bangladesh’s first innings total of 468.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagged five wickets, and Shakib Al Hasan took four.
For Zimbabwe, the debutant Takudzwanashe Kaitano scored 87 which was the highest by any Zimbabwean batsman. Brendan Taylor also hit a fifty for the hosts.
Earlier, Mahmudullah Riyad scored an unbeaten 150 for Bangladesh while Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Mominul scored 95, 70 and 75 respectively to post a huge first-innings total despite losing two early wickets.
Also read: Five-for in overseas Test will boost my confidence: Mehidy
Brief score:
Bangladesh first innings: 468/10 in 126 overs (Mahmudullah 150*, Liton 95, Taskin 75, Mominul 70); Muzrabani 4/94, Tiripano 2/58, Nyauchi 2/92
Zimbabwe first innings: 276/10 in 111.5 overs (Kaitano 87, Taylor 81, Shumba 41); Mehidy 5/82, Shakib 4/82
Bangladesh second innings: 284/1 declared in 67.4 overs (Shanto 117*, Shadman 115*); Ngarava 1/36,
Zimbabwe second innings: 140/3 in 40 overs (Taylor 92, Myers 18*); Shakib 1/23, Taskin 1/39, Mehidy 1/45.
Shadman, Shanto hit centuries as Bangladesh secure 476-run lead
Left-handed openers Shadman Islam smashed his maiden ton in the one-off Harare Test against Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Najmul Hossain Shanto also picked up his second Test hundred. Riding on their wonderful batting display, Bangladesh secured a lead of 476 runs.
Read: Five-for in overseas Test will boost my confidence: Mehidy
Zimbabwe will now have to score 477 to win this match in with a full one day and one session plus some overs remaining in this match.
Read: Breach of Code of Conduct: Taskin and Muzarabani fined
Bangladesh declared their second innings on 284 for one in 67.4 overs, with Shadman and Shanto unbeaten on 115 and 117 respectively.
Read: Bangladesh secure huge first-innings lead after Mehidy bags five
Shadman needed 180 balls to reach three-figure score in international cricket. He smashed eight fours along the way. While going to 100 from 85, Shanto hit two sixes and reached his hundred in 109 balls.
Bangladesh only lost the wicket of Saif Hasan before declaring on second innings.
In the second-wicket stand, they added 196 runs, which is now the third-highest stand in the second wicket for Bangladesh in Tests.
Earlier, Zimbabwe tumbled for 276 while replying to Bangladesh’s first innings total of 468, and Bangladesh secured a huge lead of 192 runs.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagged five wickets, and Shakib Al Hasan took four.
For Zimbabwe, the debutant Takudzwanashe Kaitano scored 87 which was the highest by any Zimbabwean batsman. Brendan Taylor also hit a fifty for the hosts.
Earlier, Mahmudullah Riyad scored an unbeaten 150 for Bangladesh while Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Mominul scored 95, 70 and 75 respectively to post a huge first-innings total despite losing two early wickets.
Five-for in overseas Test will boost my confidence: Mehidy
Bangladesh off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz, fresh off a superb afternoon in Harare as Zimbabwe were bowled out, has said that having a five-wicket haul in an overseas Test will surely increase his confidence.
In the ongoing Harare Test against Zimbabwe, Mehidy bagged five wickets conceding 82 runs, which is his second overseas and overall eighth five-for in Tests. His previous five-for in an overseas Test was in 2018 against West Indies.
Read: Bangladesh secure huge first-innings lead after Mehidy bags five
“I got a five-for in Test after a long time. It’ll surely boost my confidence. I had got a five-for against West Indies in 2018, and now again I did the same,” Mehidy said over a video message sent by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Riding on his bowling performance, Bangladesh secured a huge 191-run lead in the first innings of the Harare Test. At the end of the third day, Bangladesh started their second innings and scored 45 without losing any wicket.
“The wicket was slightly slow and flat. So my job as a spinner was so tough. I tried to bowl at the right areas, and contain the run. I wanted their batsmen to make errors and they eventually did it,” Mehidy added.
In reply to Bangladesh’s 468, Zimbabwe lost eight wickets in 51 runs, and they tumbled for 276 runs. Mehidy added that the strategy to contain the runs has helped them a lot to take some quick wickets.
Bangladesh's Predicted XI: If ODI and Test Teams Played on the Same Day
Cricket resumed at the end of last year after a notable number of international cricket series were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020. However, we missed some FTP fixtures due to the pandemic. Cricketers are now not getting enough rest while playing the international series. In light of this, the BCCI has confirmed that India will play two international series at the same time in July and August. What would the XIs be if Bangladesh's ODI and Test Teams Played on the Same Day? We form two separate Bangladesh national teams for Test and ODI format in this article.
ICC's initiatives to resume cricket
Bringing cricket back to the field was the biggest challenge for the international cricket council. Initially, ICC’s medical board handed over a guideline manual to the cricket boards across the world, and the cricket committee had taken some important decisions to create a bio-secure environment for the players.
Read: Ban vs SL 2021: How Bangladesh can clinch the ODI series against Sri Lanka
Following their advice, Cricket boards across the world are now organized international series by encapsulating the players in a bio-secure bubble. However, spectators are not permitted to come into the stadium for the time being in order to maintain social distance.
Is playing two international series simultaneously realistic?
It was predicted that ICC will face difficulty organizing the suspended matches when the situation gets normal. That prediction came true as we saw ICC had to cancel a notable number of international series due to the complexity of the schedule. Many think that two international series can be played simultaneously to solve this problem. But is it possible to make two squads for teams other than Australia, England, New Zealand, and India?
The Indian Cricket Board has already confirmed that two separate teams will be announced for the July and August tours to England and Sri Lanka. Both teams will be representing India simultaneously. In July, the Indian white-ball team will face Sri Lanka for ODI and T20I series, while Virat Kohli will lead the Indian red-ball team in a five-match Test series against England in July-August. India has shown that two separate international teams can be formed.
Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka ODI series 2021: Expected personal milestones to Reach
Is BCB ready to accept two separate teams for Test and ODI?
If a circumstance like this appears in the near future, is BCB ready to develop entirely independent Test and ODI teams? The Cricket Board has a lot of very good players, but the reality is, BCB is not ready to accept the formation of two separate national cricket teams for Bangladesh at this moment.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board officials previously told the media that they are exploring the option of forming separate teams for each format, but little has been done other than the selection of different captains for each format. The pandemic coronavirus has taught us that we must be ready for any situation that arises.
Senior players are picked for Test cricket because the longer version format requires a test of maturity and patience. Mominul Haque is our choice to lead the Bangladesh Test side. On the other hand, Bangladesh thrives in limited-over cricket. However, we put an emphasis on selecting young cricketers for the One-Day International format. We believe they can provide the team with a lot of energy and variety. We pick veteran Mahmudullah Riyad to lead the Bangladesh ODI team.
Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka series 2021: ODI Ranking Prediction
Bangladesh Test XI:
Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam
Bangladesh ODI XI:
Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah Riyad (captain), Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahadi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain
Bottom Line
Several international and domestic cricket series were deferred last year in the wake of the pandemic coronavirus. By the end of 2020, all kinds of cricket-related activities resumed cricket and we've had a good amount of international series in the last six months. BCB has now realized that they should be prepared for any circumstance. Then all kinds of problems will be easy to solve. If Bangladesh's ODI and Test Teams Played on the Same Day, the cricket board would have no trouble forming separate squads if they developed players for each format.
Read: Who will host the T20 World Cup and the rest of IPL 2021?
We should play spin better: Najmul Hossain
In the ongoing Kandy Test against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh have lost 15 wickets so far, and of them, 13 went to the Lankan spinners. The Lankan spinners put Bangladesh on the backfoot.
Bangladesh batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto said they should play spin better if they really want to shine in Tests. In both innings of the Kandy Test, Shanto fell prey to the spinners. In the first innings, he was haunted by Ramesh Mendis, and in the second, he got dismissed by Praveen Jayawickrama.
“It was tough to play against spin in this sort of tracks,” Shanto said in a virtual press conference after the day’s play. “There was much more spin than usual, but if we want to play Tests, we should play spin better.”
Also read: Tigers have mountain to climb to save Kandy Test
The first Test of the series ended in a draw when the bowlers got nothing from the wicket. A total of 17 wickets fell in the first game at the same venue. So it was expected that the hosts will provide a better wicket in the second match.
“It’s normal that the bowlers will get substantial help from the wicket on the fourth day of a Test match. Most of us have had a good start to their innings but we failed to carry on. Had we lost three wickets, we would have a good chance in this game,” Shanto added.
At the end of day four, Bangladesh need to score 260 in 98 overs to win this game or bat the entire day to save it with only five wickets in hand. Shanto believes that if Bangladesh can bat for two sessions without losing a wicket, they have something to get from this Test.
Also read: Sri Lanka set 437 for Bangladesh to win in Kandy
“We still have two batsmen in the wicket. If we can bat well in the first two sessions, we have something to think about this game,” he further added.
In the first innings of the first Test, Shanto hit his maiden ton Test. But in the next two innings, he suffered a duck each before coming up with 26 in the third. His inconsistency cost Bangladesh a lot.
“The important thing for me is not to be too happy because of success or not to be too broken because of failure. I have done badly in the last two innings after a good one. I failed to play a longer innings despite having a good start today (Sunday). I am not worried about these things much. I rather am looking forward to doing well when I get the next chance,” Shanto added.