The Cricket World Cup attracted a tournament-record 1.25 million spectators during the 6 1-2-week event which ended Sunday with Australia beating India by six wickets for its sixth title. The ICC said Tuesday that the tournament had 1,250,307 spectators. With six games to go, the spectator figures had already surpassed the one million mark. Read: 'It Takes One Day': Australia clinch 6th World Cup title stunning India in one-sided final  The India attendance figures surpass the earlier marks of the 2015 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand which attracted 1,016,420 spectators and the 2019 edition in England and Wales which had 752,000 fans. The 10-team tournament in India saw each team play the others once to advance to the semifinals. There were 48 matches played overall for a total average attendance of about 26,000. Read: World Cup 2023 Final: Early wickets pose challenge for Australia in pursuit of 241  It was the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup first held in 1975.

Bangladesh suffered a disastrous defeat in the first match of the two-match series against India in Chattogram. They were unable to display the batting prowess that is essential for a successful Test match performance. The hosts needed a marathon effort in order to draw the match or triumphantly reach 241 runs with only four remaining wickets. In the end, this proved to be an insurmountable task. In pursuit of an imposing 513 runs in the fourth innings of the match, Bangladesh fell short with a final score of 324, having started from a paltry 150 in the first innings -- thus resulting in a humiliating 188-run defeat. Zakir Hasan, the left-handed batter, delivered a stunning debut century, while Shakib Al Hasan scored 84. Najmul Hossain Shanto rebounded brilliantly from a first-ball duck in the first innings by notching 67; unfortunately, the rest of the Bangladeshi batters were unable to stand firm against the relentless Indian bowling attack. Axar Patel was the best bowler for the visiting team in the second innings, taking four wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with three of his own. In the initial innings of the match, India mustered up 404 runs after winning the toss. Cheteshwar Pujara was the star of the batting show with a well-composed 90, while Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin also added to the run tally with respective scores of 86 and 58. For Bangladesh, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagged four wickets each. In response, Bangladesh crumbled to 150 all-out. The Bangladeshi batsmen were flummoxed by the quality spin of Kuldeep, who scalped five wickets for 40 runs, while Mohammad Siraj also made his presence felt with three wickets of his own. In their second innings of the match, India declared at 258 for two with Shubman Gill registering his maiden Test century and Pujara notching up yet another ton. Ultimately, they set an immense target of 513 runs for Bangladesh, with only five sessions to attempt a miraculous chase. This total was uncharted territory for Bangladesh in the fourth innings of a Test match. Kuldeep rightly earned the player of the match accolade for his stellar eight-wicket haul in the match. The second and concluding Test of the series will commence in Dhaka on December 22nd.  

The Prime Bank National School Cricket Tournament advanced to the semifinal stage at the different venues across the country on Thursday (June 9). Four teams—Meherpur Govt High School, Khulna Gazi Memorial High School, Rangpur Shishu Niketan School and Sunamganj Govt. Jubilee School--reached the semifinals eliminating their rivals in the day’s rain-interrupted quarterfinals. Read: Australia’s tour to give Sri Lanka Cricket a financial boost The fate of the day’s all four quarterfinals were decided by toss as all the matches were abandoned due to rain in mid-day.  In the semifinals on Saturday, Rangpur Shishu Niketan School will play Sunamganj Govt. Jubilee School while Meherpur Govt High School will encounter Khulna Gazi Memorial High School. The final match will commence on June 13 at the Shamsuzzoha Sports Complex in Narayanganj.     

The Embassy of Bangladesh in Portugal organised a cricket tournament in Lisbon on Tuesday to mark the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and highlight his work and ideals to today's youth. The Bangabandhu Cricket Tournament 2022 was held amid much enthusiasm and interest among members of the Bangladeshi community in Portugal, particularly the youth, the Bangladesh Mission said in a release on Wednesday. The semi-final and final matches were held at Jamur Stadium, with the participation of 20 teams. Lisbon Sixers emerged as the champion, while Young Tigers were the runners-up. Read: FM inaugurates Bangabandhu Gold Cup football tournament in Sylhet Tariq Ahsan, Bangladesh Ambassador to Portugal, was the chief guest at the event. At the prize distribution ceremony, Ambassador Tariq said the Bangabandhu Cricket Tournament would be continued as an annual event by the Bangladesh Mission in Lisbon to pay tribute to the Father of the Nation and promote cricket among the youth in Portugal. He hoped that the bond of harmony among the expatriate Bangladeshis would be further strengthened through this event.

Mohammedan Sporting Club registered their second win in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division T20 Cricket League Thursday against Partex Sporting Club at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Partex batted first after winning the toss and posted a challenging total of 157 runs for five wickets in 20 overs. Abbas Musa, who played only his second T20, hit 64 off 44 balls with five fours and as many sixes, and captain Tasamul Haque also hit a fifty. For Mohammedan, Taskin Ahmed bagged two wickets while Shakib Al Hasan and Abu Jayed took one wicket each. In reply, Irfan Sukkur hit an unbeaten 52 off 29 balls with five fours and two sixes and Nadif Chowdhury also remained not out for 27. The batters guided their team to a six-wicket victory with 14 balls to play. Mahmudul Hasan and Shamsur Rahman also did well with the bat scoring 38 and 19. However, Mohammedan captain Shakib was dismissed for a golden duck. Mohammedan will take on Prime Bank Cricket Club in their next game at the same venue on June 5, while Partex will take on Old DOHS Sports Club on the same day.

Khulna Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh Saturday became champions in the Inter-Zone Cricket Tournament 2021, beating Sylhet Zone by 21 runs in the final match. Islami Bank Officers' Welfare Association organised the meet where 18 teams – from Islami Bank branches from across the country – locked horns. Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director and chief executive officer of the bank, distributed prizes among the winners after the final match at BKSP ground in Savar. Also read: Islami Bank organises discussion meeting, prayers on 50th anniversary of Independence Islami Bank Additional Managing Director Md Omar Faruk Khan and Deputy Managing Director Md Mosharraf Hossain were present on the occasion. Islami Bank Officers' Welfare Association President AKM Mahbub Morshed, General Secretary ASM Rezaul Karim, Comilla Zonal Head Md Mahbub A Alam, Sylhet Zonal Head Sikder Md Shehabuddin were also there. In the final match, Sylhet Zone won the toss and chose to field. Khulna Zone scored 76 runs for 7 wickets in 10 over. Also read: IBBL Dhaka zone holds online conference Sylhet scored 55 runs in eight overs, losing all the wickets. Earlier in the morning, Sylhet reached the final beating Chottogram South Zone by 24 runs in the first semi-final and Khulna Zone confirmed their place in the final, beating Cumilla by eight wickets in the second semifinal.

The first-ever Dhaka South City Corporation Inter-Ward Sports Competition’ 2021 begins on February 10 through football tournament at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here.

West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite has said the squad that came to Bangladesh is not a second-string team and that they are capable of doing well at the international level.

Bangladesh spin bowling allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz says he is eager to get back to his old shape, and he believes that he has a good chance to shine against his familiar foe West Indies.

Bangladesh allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin said that he is keen to show his best effort in the forthcoming series against West Indies which is all set to begin from January 20 with the maiden ODI of the three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.