Tigers
‘We are capable of doing well in Sri Lanka’, says Khaled Mahmud
Bangladesh national cricket team is capable enough to play well in Sri Lanka, insisted Khaled Mahmud, the former captain and the team leader of Bangladesh during the Sri Lanka tour.
The team flew for Sri Lanka on Monday. They’ll face the hosts in a two-match Test series starting from April 21. Both matches will be played in Kandy.
This series is a part of the ongoing World Test Championaship. Bangladesh played five Tests of this event and failed to win any of them. Sri Lanka, in contrast, played 10 matches and won one of them with six defeats and three draws.
Also read: Bangladesh preliminary Test squad leave for Sri Lanka
“I think we are capable of doing well in Sri Lanka,” Mahmud told the reporters before taking on the flight of Sri Lanka. “Although we failed to do well in New Zealand, we’ll have a different condition in Sri Lanka. We know that we have the capability.”
Bangladesh faced the Blackcaps in a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series and lost all the matches.
“The condition of Sri Lanka is more familiar to us. We played many matches in Sri Lanka. So it’ll be easy for us to do well there ,” he added. “At the same time, we know that Sri Lanka is a tough team in their home backyard. But I believe, in terms of skillset, we are not behind them. If we can play our natural game and keep the process well, we can win in Sri Lanka.”
Also read: ‘We can win in Sri Lanka even without Shakib, Mustafizur,’ says Mominul
For the Sri Lanka tour, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced a 21-member preliminary squad recently including a few new faces.
Due to the Covid-19 restriction in Sri Lanka, the Bangladesh team will not get any local players or support staff. So the Bangladesh team will play a practice game being divided into two teams.
Before taking the field, the touring side will have to maintain a strict three-day quarantine period in Sri Lanka. Mahmud believes that maintaining a quarantine period will not be a problem for them.
“The players are now habitant to the system of quarantine,” Mahmud told the reporters. “We will stay in the hotel for three days. During this time, the boys will be able to contact each other and talk among themselves. I think it’ll help them to stay fit and fresh.”
Also read: BCB announces preliminary Test squad with three new faces
Bangladesh played a total of 12 Tests in Sri Lanka and won one of them, which was Bangladesh’s 100th Test match, and they lost 10 matches with ending up in no-result.
The 21-member preliminary Test team of Bangladesh for the Sri Lanka tour:
Mominul Haque (captain), Litton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Abu Jayed Rahi, Taijul Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Saif Hassan, Yasir Ali, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Mukidul Islam Mugdho, Shuvagata Hom, Shohidul Islam and Nurul Hasan Sohan
Tigers return home after disastrous New Zealand tour
After a disastrous tour to New Zealand, Bangladesh national cricket team returned home on Sunday morning.
Tigers faced the hosts in the three-match ODI and three-match T20 series but failed to end the winless drought in New Zealand.
The Tigers’ next assignment is to play a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which is a part of the World Test Championship. The Bangladesh team is scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka on April 12.
Bangladesh failed to play a good brand of cricket in every department against New Zealand. They lost the ODI series 3-0 before enduring the same result in the T20I series.
Also read: New Zealand hit 141 in 3rd T20I vs Bangladesh
The Tamim Iqbal-led ODI team fought in the second match scoring 271 runs while batting first. Tamim and Mohammad Mithun hit a fifty each in that game, but the hosts chased it down with 10 balls to play. Bangladesh disappointed to show any resistance in the other matches.
It was expected that the pace-bowlers would shine in the fast and bouncy surface of New Zealand. But the Bangladeshi pacers failed to do that. Taskin Ahmed bowled some good spells during this series but failed to reach the expectation. The country’s premium pacer Mustafizur Rahman was also below-par during this tour.
Many eyes were on Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam— the two new weapons in Bangladesh’s pace-bowling armoury. Hasan’s New Zealand tour ended with only one ODI as he suffered an injury while Shoriful showed some glimpses of his potential bagging two wickets in three T20Is.
Shoriful got some bounce and movement in New Zealand wicket and he managed to trouble the hosts’ batsmen in all three matches of the T20I series.
Also read: Bangladesh want to end New Zealand tour with consolation win
In terms of batting, the New Zealand tour was one of such tours that Bangladesh would love to forget. In the ODI series, Bangladesh failed to pass the 200-run mark twice, and in T20Is, they were more ineffective against the bowling attack of the hosts.
Mushfiqur Rahim played only the ODI series and failed to come up even with a fifty. He missed the entire T20I series due to an injury while Mahmudullah Riyad hit a 76 in the last ODI, but that wasn’t enough of what was expected from the experienced campaigner. At the top of the order, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar were also out of luck in this tour.
Nasum Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan demonstrated some decent spells of spin-bowling. Mahedi bagged a few wickets as well, but like the other departments, Bangladeshi spinners were also failed to do something memorable in New Zealand.
Also read: Bangladesh opt to bowl first in 2nd T20 vs New Zealand
The Bangladesh team members were supposed to play at least one round of First-class cricket in the National Cricket League (NCL) ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.
But due to the recent surge of Covid-19 aross the country, the NCL is halted temporarily by the BCB. So the Tigers will have to travel to Sri Lanka without playing any longer version cricket for a long time. However, they might have a three-day practice game in Sri Lanka before the main series takes place.
Tamim Iqbal wants to retire from one format
Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal is planning to retire from one format of international cricket in the coming months.
The left-handed batsman recently led the Tigers in a three-match ODI series in New Zealand. He returned home after the series and skipped the T20 series citing personal reasons.
"There are many cricketers around who retired from one format to prolong their career," Tamim told Cricbuzz. "So, if I want to play for five or six more years, I won't be able to play all three formats of the game."
Also read: Tamim to skip New Zealand T20Is for personal reasons
"Like many other cricketers, I have to quit at least one format so that I can give my best to the other two formats," he continued.
Tamim came under immense criticism over the last few years for his slow batting in limited-over cricket. So, it was assumed that the left-hander would leave the T20 first, but he said otherwise.
"T20 cricket is still not out of my mind," Tamim said. "I don't want to mention what format I would like to leave first. It can be any format of international cricket."
Also read: New Zealand Series will define Tamim’s captaincy
"Of course the T20 World Cup in 2021 in India is on my sight," Tamim said when he was asked if he is going to quit T20 before this year's T20 World Cup. "I am not 36 or 37; so why not? I have a plan for my career."
"I know which format I want to play longer and which format I want to leave early. But for now, I don't want to disclose everything to everyone."
Tigers all-out in 9.3 overs to suffer another clean sweep
While chasing a huge total of 141 runs in 10 overs in the third T20I against New Zealand, Bangladesh got all-out for 76 in 9.3 overs on Thursday at Auckland.
This is the first time for Bangladesh to lose all 10 wickets in less than 10 overs in any format of international cricket. And with losing this game by 65 runs, Bangladesh losing-streak against New Zealand in New Zealand reached 32 international games— the longest losing streak in International cricket against a team in their backyard.
Also read: New Zealand hit 141 in 3rd T20I vs Bangladesh
Soumya Sarkar started well hitting two fours off the first three balls he faced but got out of the fourth delivery of the first over bowled by the New Zealand captain Tim Southee. Off the last ball of the first over, Liton Das, captain of Bangladesh in this game as the regular captain Mahmudullah Riyad was ruled out due to an injury, tried to scoop off the first ball but Southee shattered his stumps.
Bangladesh were never in a position in this game to offer some challenge to the hosts who won the T20I series 3-0. They had also won the sealed ODI series by the same margin.
Mohammad Naim smashed some watchful sixes and one four, but that was not enough to run for the win in the game which was reduced to 10-over a side due to rain before the match.
Naim was the highest runs getter in this game for the visitors with 19 off 13 balls with two sixes and one four while Mosaddek Hossain scored 13 and Soumya posted 10.
For the hosts, leg-spinner Todd Astle bagged four wickets conceding 13 runs in two overs while Tim Southee took three wickets giving only 15 runs away in three overs.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl first under the overcast condition.
In the three-over powerplay, New Zealand smashed 43 for none. Nasum Ahmed started bowling conceding nine runs in the first over. In the second over, Taskin Ahmed conceded 14 runs, and Nasum came in the third over and gave away 23 runs with three fours and one six.
Also read: Liton to lead Tigers in 3rd T20I vs Kiwis
New Zealand continued to smash boundaries as Finn Allen completed his first T20I fifty off 18 balls with eight fours and two sixes.
Finn got dismissed by Taskin in the last over as the substitute fielder Mehdiy Hasan Miraz took a tough catch at the boundary in the third man area. Finn ended up on 71 off 29 balls with 10 fours and three sixes.
Bangladesh got the first wicket when Martin Guptil skied off Mahedi Hasan to the deep area and Afif Hossain took an easy catch. Guptil ended up on 44 off 19 balls with five sixes and one four.
Eventually, New Zealand ended up 141 for four with Finn hitting the highest score of 71.
For Bangladesh, Mahedi, Taskin and Shoriful bagged one wicket each while the other wicket fell prey to runout.
Also read: Bangladesh want to end New Zealand tour with consolation win
Before coming into the T20Is series, the Tigers have lost the three-match ODI series 3-0. Bangladesh played a total of 31 international matches in New Zealand but failed to come up victorious in any of them.
Bangladesh made three changes in this game as Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mosaddek Hossain and Rubel Hossain came in to replace Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun and Mohammad Saifuddin.
Soumya hit fifty but Tigers lose T20Is series against Kiwis
Despite a blazing fifty from Soumya Sarkar, Bangladesh lost the 2nd T20I of the three-match series against New Zealand at Napier on Tuesday by 28 runs in DL method.
At the end of the match, there are many talks are about the DL method under which Bangladesh’s revised target in the rain-hit game raised from 148 to 170 and then to 171. There was no official explanation about it after the game.
New Zealand batted first and scored 173 for five in 17.5 overs and right after that the rain hit the game and that was the end of the New Zealand innings.
2nd T20I: Bangladesh need 170 in 16 overs as rain hits the game
Bangladesh started chasing knowing that they have to score 148 in 16 overs to level the series. But the game stopped after 1.2 overs and the target changed to 170 by the match referee Jeff Crowe. And later, the target was reset again to 171 runs in 16 0vers.
Liton Das fell early once again, and the right-hander continued on a poor run. He scored six this time around. Some came at number three and for the first time in this series, he looked like his expected form. The southpaw hit 51 off 27 balls with five fours and three sixes.
But his aggression came to the end when he tried to clear Tim Southee and Adam Milne took a fine catch at the long-on area. The onus was on Mahmudullah Riyad to carry on the good batting display. He tried as well hitting 21 off 12 balls with four fours. But while scooping Milne through the leg area, he missed the ball and his stumps were shattered.
Also Read: Bangladesh opt to bowl first in 2nd T20 vs New Zealand
With the dismissal of Mahmudullah, Bangladesh lost the race to the Kiwis. Eventually, the Tigers ended up on 142 for seven in 16 overs and lost the game by 28 runs under the DL method.
For New Zealand, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett and Adam Milne scalped two wickets each.
Earlier, after losing the toss and opted to bowl first, Bangladesh leaked away many runs in the first few overs. But in the fourth over of the game, Taskin Ahmed bagged the first wicket removing Finn Allen for 17 off 10 balls.
In the same over, Finn was dropped by the captain Mahmudullah Riyad. However, in the last ball of the over, Mohammad Naim took an easy catch to dismiss Finn who was playing his second ODI.
New Zealand lost two more wickets when Martin Guptill and Devon Conway fell prey to Mohammad Saifuddin and Shoriful Islam respectively. While Guptill fell in the last ball of the sixth over by a stunning catch from Taskin, Conway was dismissed off the first ball of the seventh over.
The rain hit the game for the first time in the match during the 13th over when the Kiwis were batting at 102 for four in 12.2 overs. The game was delayed by 10 minutes and no over was lost.
The rain came back when the Kiwis were batting at 173 for five in 17.5 overs and that was the end of their innings with Glenn Phillips scoring the highest— 58 off 30 balls.
For Bangladesh, Mahedi Hasan took two wickets while Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful took one wicket each.
The third and final T20 of the series will take place on April 1.
Before the T20Is series, the Tigers faced off the Kiwis in three ODIs and lost the series 3-0. Bangladesh are yet to register any win in New Zealand.
Tigers collapse to 131 in series opener against New Zealand
Bangladesh collapsed to 131 all-out in 41.5 overs in the three-match ODI series opener against New Zealand on Saturday at the University Oval, Dunedin.
Domingo sees great opportunity to beat New Zealand
Ahead of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, Bangladesh’s head coach Russell Domnigo said he sees a great opportunity for the Tigers to beat the hosts for the first time.
Tigers end practice camp at Queenstown
Bangladesh national team ended their practice camp in Queenstown with an intra-squad practice game on Tuesday. The Tigers are now set to travel to Dunedin for the first match of the three-match ODI series starting from March 20.
BCB to replace Vettori with a local coach
Bangladesh’s spin-bowling consultant Daniel Vettori won’t be available after the forthcoming New Zealand series of the Tigers. To replace him in the next series, which will take place in Sri Lanka, the Bangladesh Cricket Board will appoint a local coach, confirmed the cricket operation chairman of BCB Akram Khan.
Tigers to leave managed isolation and move free in New Zealand
After completion of the managed isolation and quarantine in New Zealand, the Bangladesh team will be free to move around from Wednesday, a Bangladesh Cricket Board statement reads.