United News of Bangladesh

Who will play with whom in the Super 12 Round has been revealed after the confirmation of four qualified teams from the first round on Friday. The Super 12s is set to start on October 22 with a match between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney. Let’s have a look at which teams have a strong possibility of reaching the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2022. Who will play with whom in the Super 12s? There are two groups in the Super 12 Round, each containing six teams. The top teams in the points table of each group will secure a place in the semifinals. In Group 1, Australia, New Zealand, England, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Ireland will compete for the top two spots in the points table. On the other hand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Zimbabwe will take on each other in Group 2 in the quest for a semi-final berth. Read: T20 World Cup: Zimbabwe knock out Scotland to book place in Super 12s Which teams are the early favourites to reach the semifinals? Seven teams are realistically in the race for a semi-final spot in the T20 World Cup 2022 and have the squads to fight for it. Here are the teams that can qualify for the semi-finals. Group 1 Sri Lanka advanced to Group 1 after finishing first in Group A in the first round. The reigning Asia Cup 2022 champions will try to emulate their recent success in the Super 12 round. However, it won’t be easy for the Lankan side as Australia, England, and New Zealand are the top three teams in this group. Afghanistan and Ireland are the other two teams in Group 1 and are unlikely to make it to the semifinals as their main target would be to finish as high as possible in the points standings. Australia The reigning World Cup champions, Australia, are the hot favourites in the eighth edition of the competition. Australia are currently the sixth T20I ranked team, but they are way better than their current rankings. The Aaron Finch-led team has what it takes to win a big event. They have the right balance in the squad and have had decent momentum in recent series. The Australian side has 9 wins in 17 outings in 2022. The hosts will start their campaign against New Zealand on October 22. New Zealand The New Zealand team was the runner-up in the 2021 ICC Twenty20 World Cup, and they will have a better chance of winning the competition this year due to the familiar conditions. The Kiwi side is led by charismatic captain Kane Williamson, who is back in form. Besides, the team has some seriously talented all-rounders who are well capable of taking a game away from the opposition. The world’s fifth-ranked team has a strong chance of reaching the semi-finals and their 12 wins out of 15 this year have indicated that they are on the right momentum. The New Zealand team will play their opening game against arch-rivals Australia on October 22. England The Jos Buttler-led English T20I team will be one of the major teams to watch in this competition. England will try to win their second trophy of the competition after disappointingly failing to advance to the final last year. They have a strong batting unit from top to middle-order and also have a strong bowling unit to do the job for them. What England need is consistency, especially when it matters the most. The world’s no.2 team, England, have 10 wins in 21 outings this year and they should find a place in the semi-finals, given their overall squad strength. The English side will start their campaign against Afghanistan on October 22. Sri Lanka The Lankan team will be an outsider in the contest for a place in the semi-finals. The Sri Lankan side has some promising young talents to do the job in the crucial moments. Success in the 2022 Asia Cup would be their biggest inspiration. But can they repeat the same performances in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022? That would be a big question. Sri Lanka have 9 victories in 20 matches this year so far. The Lankan side will play their first Super 12 Round fixture against Ireland on October 23. Read: Ireland ousts 2-time champion West Indies at T20 World Cup Group 2 The West Indies were big favourites to move into Group 2 of the Super 12s, but their journey to this year’s event ended with an early exit from the first round. Therefore, only three teams will understandably fight for a place in the knockout round from Group B and they are India, Pakistan, and South Africa. The other participating teams in this group are Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and Zimbabwe, who will try to overcome each other in this round. India The world's number one ranked team, India, are one of the favourites in the tournament. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team has been on a good run in the T20 format this year, winning 23 of 32 games. Their only disappointment this year was failing to qualify for the Asia Cup 2022 final in September. India have multiple match-winners to stand out for the side. But they will surely miss one of their main weapons in bowling, Jasprit Bumrah, in the tournament. India should advance to the last four with this squad, but if they don't, that would be a huge blow. India will play their first match against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23. Pakistan Pakistan have improved a lot under Babar Azam's captaincy and are currently the world's No.3 ranked team. But Pakistan's team relies heavily on their two openers in batting and have lacked depth in the middle-order. However, their bowling line-up is one of the best in the world and will have to shoulder major responsibility in winning games. With 10 wins in 19 games, Pakistan's team is not in their best of form at the moment but are a strong candidate to move to the semi-finals. Pakistan’s opening match will be on October 23 against India. South Africa The Proteas national side has improved over the last one year and they have promised to give a strong fight against India and Pakistan in their quest for a semi-final berth. The South African side’s ICC T20I ranking has improved thanks to their consistent performances over the big opposition. The team has some world-class all-rounders who have the ability to win games on their own. The Proteas team has 7 victories in 13 outings this year and will definitely take part in the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup with the intention of winning it. South Africa will play their first match against Zimbabwe on October 24. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh to face Netherlands on Oct 24 Verdict The teams who usually play on the fast and bouncy wickets are the strong favourites for the T20 World Cup 2022. In that sense, Australia, New Zealand, England, and South Africa have an advantage over the Asian teams, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. However, momentum is key in any big event. The team that can ignite at the right time has the best chance of advancing to the semifinals.

Zimbabwe claimed the final spot in the Super 12s stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup, beating Scotland by five wickets in Hobart on Friday. Scotland won the toss and their captain Richie Berrington opted to bat first. But the decision didn't turn out well as they failed to post a big total on the board against an opponent who have been doing well for a while now. Scotland lost quick wickets that put pressure on this early in the match. George Munsey, the opener, hit a fifty but others in the top-order failed to deliver well, and thus they only managed to score 132 for six in 20 overs. Zimbabwean pacer Tendai Chatara bowled superbly to take two wickets conceding only 14 runs in four overs. Sikandar Raza, who made it a habit to perform consistently, also bowled well to take one wicket conceding 20 runs in four overs. In reply, Zimbabwe had a shaky start. They lost Regis Chakabva and Wesley Madhevere in the first two overs. Sean Williams also fell early scoring seven runs. But there were Craig Ervine, the Zimbabwean captain, and Raza who helped Zimbabwe to come out of this early damage and guided the team to a victory in an all-crucial match. Ervine posted 58 off 54 while Raza hit 40 off just 23 balls. Both of them were sent back with Zimbabwe needing only a few runs to seal the match. Josh Davey bagged two wickets for the Scots, but that was not enough for them to turn the match their way. With this one, Zimbabwe joined Bangladesh, Netherlands, South Africa India and Pakistan in Group 2 in the Super 12s of the World Cup. In their first match in the Super 12s, Zimbabwe will take on South Africa on October 24 in Hobart.

Ireland knocked the two-time champion West Indies out of the Twenty20 World Cup in the preliminary stage and earned a spot in the Super 12s with a 9-wicket upset victory on Friday. Opener Paul Stirling scored 66 from 48 balls to guide Ireland to 150-1 in reply to West Indies’ total of 146-5, reaching the target with 15 balls to spare. Stirling shared a 73-run opening stand with skipper Andy Balbirnie (37) to get the chase away to a positive start and then combined in an unbroken partnership of 77 with Lorcan Tucker, who capped an unbeaten 45 by hitting the winning boundary. West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss and elected to bat at Hobart but his lineup didn't make the most of the ideal conditions, with Brandon King's 62 from 48 balls the only standout innings. It was a disappointing tournament for the West Indies, which opened with an upset loss to Scotland. Spinner Gareth Delany took career-best T20 international figures of 3-16 in a tight, economical spell that frustrated the big-hitting West Indies batters. “It's a dream come true. As a group we're ecstatic," Delany said. “Incredible day for us. To get over the line today, in the fashion that we did, is amazing." All four teams in Group B were still in contention to advance with one win and one loss apiece going into the last day of the first round. Zimbabwe was playing Scotland in the later game in another winner-takes-all contest. Former champion Sri Lanka and Netherlands finished first and second in Group A to advance to the Super 12 round, where they'll join the top eight ranked teams.

The Netherlands cricket team finished second in the first round of Group A after losing their third match against Sri Lanka on Thursday. The Dutch team advanced to the Super 12s of the T20 World Cup 2022 and will play in Group 2, where they will meet Bangladesh in their first match. The Netherlands' performances in Group A The Netherlands started their campaign with two consecutive victories. They beat the UAE by 3 wickets in the opening fixture, followed by a 5-wicket victory over Namibia. However, the Dutch side experienced their first defeat in the tournament when they lost to Sri Lanka by 16 runs in their third game. Read: T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka qualify for Super 12s The match against Sri Lanka on Thursday was the Netherlands side’s do-or-die contest to secure a place in the Super 12 phase if Namibia fails to win against the UAE. However, Namibia couldn’t maintain their good performances in the opening match in the next two encounters and were knocked out of the competition.After overcoming the Dutch side in their third match, Sri Lanka finished first in their group and moved to Group 1 of the Super 12 Round. The Netherlands finished second in the group, while Namibia missed out on qualification after finishing third in the group. Among the players, Maxwell Patrick O'Dowd has been the most in-form Dutch batter in the competition. He has 129 runs in 3 innings with a strike rate of 121.69. Top-order batter Bas de Leede (58) and opener Vikramjit Singh (56) are also having a good time with the bat, but they should work on their strike rate. The Dutch bowlers have done relatively better than the batters. Their main strike bowlers have taken wickets by maintaining good economy rates. BFW de Leede has been the best among them, picking up 7 wickets in 3 innings with an economy rate of 7.55. Besides, FJ Klaassen (3) and PA van Meekeren (3) have also done well with the ball. Read: Shakib reclaims his position as No. 1 T20I all-rounder Bangladesh vs Netherlands: Match schedule, H2H Record The Netherlands will be Bangladesh’s first opponent in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The match will be held on October 24 (Monday) at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The scheduled start time of the contest is 10 a.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time). Both teams have previously met, most recently in the ICC World Twenty20 2016, which Bangladesh won by 8 runs. Overall, both teams have faced each other on 3 occasions, where Bangladesh have led head-to-head contests with 2 wins. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has 1 victory. Bottom Line The Netherlands team has displayed respectable performances during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 campaign, and they have the ability to surprise formidable opponents. The Bangladeshi team should be well-prepared in order to defeat the Netherlands on Monday.  Read: India to arrive in Bangladesh on Dec 1 for cricket series: BCB

As the first team of the forthcoming edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Sylhet Strikers revealed the names of their icon and some initially contracted players. Let’s have a look at what Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the icon of Sylhet, and Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir, Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera, Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva can bring for Sylhet Strikers in the next BPL. Read:BPL 2023: Syhet Strikers ropes in Mashrafe, Amir, Perera Mashrafe — the most successful captain in BPL history As the first and only captain to date to win the BPL title for three different franchises, Mashrafe is the icon and the main force of the Sylhet Strikers. Mashrafe is no longer a regular face on the cricket field due to various personal commitments as a lawmaker. He has also moved away from the national team. Still, Mashrafe said he is putting his best foot forward to make his inclusion count in the BPL for Sylhet. Mashrafe played 171 T20s in the domestic circuit and 54 T20Is for Bangladesh. He bagged around 200 wickets in this format. His vast experience is surely going to help Sylhet shine in this BPL. And if Mashrafe leads the team, it will be a bonus for the Strikers. Thisara Perera — who knows Bangladesh like most Bangladeshis! Thisara Perera is one of the best all-rounders that Sri Lanka has ever produced. He represented more than 20 teams around the globe including the Sri Lanka national team and several teams in BPL. The pace-bowling allrounder played in almost all seasons of BPL and proved his impact on nearly every occasion. The most important thing about Perera is his experience in Bangladesh. The allrounder, along with BPL, took part in Dhaka Premier League, Bangladesh’s main 50-over contest, on more than one occasion. So, he knows Bangladesh very well which will help him perform well as well. Perera played 327 T20s at the domestic level around the world and bagged 266 scalps while scoring more than 4000 runs. He has 12 fifties under his belt as well. So, Perera is a great recruit for the Strikers. Mohammad Amir — a pace-bowling hero It is true that when Mohammad Amir is talked about, his controversies also come up. But that doesn't hide his pace bowling skills at all. Avoiding many controversies, Amir has been conquering the world for a long time with his pace bowling personality. Even though he is not considered for the national team, Amir continues to play well in different franchise-based leagues around the globe. Amir has previously played for Chittagong Vikings and Khulna Tigers in BPL and proved his mettle on the soil of Bangladesh. It is expected that he will continue showing his pace and swing for the Strikers as well. Amir has more than 250 wickets in T20s. Read: BPL: From “world’s second-best” to “best domestic” league Dhananjaya de Silva — one of the best in Sri Lanka A right-handed batter and a right-arm off-break bowler. He is one of the best cricketers that Sri Lanka have currently. Dhananjaya scored more than 1700 runs and bagged 29 wickets in T20s. He is more useful as a batter at the top of the order. In 2016, he was one of the best T20 batters in Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket. Kamindu Mendis — the ambidextrous bowler! A special talent who can bowl with both right and left hands! He is also a good batter whose best innings in T20s is 99 not out. Kamindu Mendis grabbed 13 wickets in 45 T20s and scored more than 800 runs at an average of 24.36 in the format. These five players can bring a good fortune to Sylhet Strikers. They are a mix of experience and talent, which events like BPL need most. The next BPL will commence in early January 2023.

In their cut-throat clash against the Netherlands on Thursday in Geelong, Sri Lanka won by 16 runs and progressed to the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.  At Kardinia Park, Sri Lanka was slow after they decided to bat first winning the toss. The Netherlands bowling attack bowled remarkably well to restrict the island nation to 60 runs after the first 10 overs. Sri Lanka has nothing to do but press the accelerator to go up and post a challenging total.  Riding on the well-composed and watchful 79 off just 44 balls by the wicketkeeper batter Kusal Mendis, they posted a big total of 162 for six in 20 overs. It was enough for Sri Lanka to offer a tough time for the Netherlands.  In reply, the Netherlands did well but fell short of 16 runs while facing a quality bowling attack from Sri Lanka which is well-mixed with spinners and pace bowlers who recently won the Asia Cup in the UAE.  Max O'Dowd was the tragic hero of the Netherlands. He made 71 off 53 deliveries and remained not out but his team failed to seal the game.  Wanindu Hasaranga bagged three wickets conceding 28 runs while Maheesh Theekshana scalped two.  It was Sri Lanka’s second win after the shocking defeat to Namibia in their event opener. After the defeat to Sri Lanka, the Netherlands' chances of qualifying for the Super 12 will now depend on the outcome of the match between Namibia and the United Arab Emirates. Only a win for the UAE can help them qualify for the next leg.

Bangladesh’s T20I captain, Shakib Al Hasan, has risen to the top spot of the ICC’s latest rankings for all-rounders in the shortest format of the game. The ace all-rounder has been in good form with the bat lately, which has impacted his rankings. Let’s take a look at who made the top 10 on the list. Shakib Al Hasan’s T20I performances in the recent international series After being named the T20I captain of Bangladesh's national men's cricket team, Shakib Al Hasan has played in five games and lost each one. His bowling performance hasn't been effective either; he just has 1 wicket and a 7.50 economy rate. Therefore, Shakib has recaptured the top spot in the ICC's T20I all-rounder rankings from Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi based on his batting performances. Read: India to arrive in Bangladesh on Dec 1 for cricket series: BCB The ace all-rounder has scored 189 runs in 5 innings with an average of 37.80. His strike rate of 142.10 has been impressive as well. Shakib played two aggressive knocks in the recently concluded tri-nation series; 70 off 44 balls against New Zealand and 68 off 42 balls against Pakistan, respectively. These two performances clearly helped Shakib to boost his overall rating points. Who made the top 10 in the updated ICC T20I all-rounder rankings? The top 10 all-rounders in the ICC T20I rankings are represented by players from ten different nations. Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan dropped to second place after Shakib took the top spot. Moeen Ali, England's impactful all-rounder, is ranked third but is much below the top two in terms of rating points. Other prominent all-rounders who are among the top 10 include Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka, Hardik Pandya of India, Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe, and Glenn Maxwell of Australia. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Group phase scenarios for Sri Lanka, West Indies The ICC's latest T20I rankings for the all-rounders Position Player Rating 1 Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)  266 2 Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)  246 3 Moeen Ali (England)  188 4 J.J. Smit (Namibia)  183 5 Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)  176 6 Hardik Pandya (India)  173 7 Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)  164 8 Zeeshan Maqsood (Oman)  158 9 Glenn Maxwell (Australia)  152 10 Dipendra Airee (Nepal)  151 Bottom Line According to the latest ICC rankings, Shakib Al Hasan has a 20-rating point edge over Mohammad Nabi in the all-rounder rankings for the T20 format. Shakib will have the chance to improve his overall rating points when Bangladesh begins their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign on Monday (October 24). The Tigers will compete in five games in the Super 12 Round, and the team is counting on Shakib Al Hasan to perform at his maximum capacity. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Key stats for Bangladesh match venues

India's national cricket team is slated to arrive in Dhaka on December 1 to play a series of three ODIs and two Tests. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) revealed the schedule on Thursday.  It will be India’s first series in Bangladesh since 2015. In their last tour, India played two Tests and three ODIs. Bangladesh won the ODI series 2-1, with Mustafizur Rahman being the light of Bangladesh’s bowling line taking 11 wickets in the first two matches.  In the forthcoming series, the ODIs will be played on December 4, 7 and 10 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium while the first Test will be played in Chattogram’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and the second in Dhaka. The first Test will be played from December 14-18 and the second Test will take place from December 22-26.  These two Tests of this series are parts of the ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship.  Read: T20 World Cup: Rain plays spoilsport for Bangladesh “The Bangladesh-India matches in recent history have given us some epic contests and fans from both the countries are eagerly waiting for another memorable series,” Nazmul Hasan, the BCB president,  said in a release. “I thank the Board of Control for Cricket in India for working closely with the BCB in confirming the schedule. We look forward to welcoming the Indian team to Bangladesh,” the release said. Bangladesh played 11 Tests against India and lost nine of them with two draws. In ODIs, the two neighbouring countries faced each other in 36 matches, with five wins, 30 defeats and with one no result.    

Two-time champions West Indies kept their Super 12 hopes alive from Group B of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup beating Zimbabwe by 31 runs in a must-win match in Australia's Hobart Wednesday. The Caribbean side suffered a 42-run defeat against Scotland in their first group match but came back strongly against Zimbabwe, who made a flying start by beating Ireland by 31 runs Monday. In Wednesday's other Group B match, Ireland beat Scotland by six wickets, also in Hobart. After the day's first phase Group B matches, all four teams – Scotland, Zimbabwe, the West Indies and Ireland – secured two points each from as many matches. Friday's deciding final round of matches will see Ireland face the West Indies before Scotland take on Zimbabwe. Read: T20 World Cup: Rain plays spoilsport for Bangladesh The top two sides from each group will qualify for the Super 12s, which start Saturday. The winner of Group A and the runner-up from Group B will go into a group. In today's crucial match, the West Indies batted first after winning the toss and scored 153-7 in 20 overs. Opener Johnson Charles was the top scorer for them (45 runs off 36 balls). In today's match, Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe claimed three wickets for 19 runs in four overs. In reply, Zimbabwe were all out for 122 runs in 18.2 overs. Lower-order batter Luke Jongwe (29) and opener Wesly Madhevere (27) were the top scorers for them. Alzarri Joseph ripped through the Zimbabwe batting order, grabbing four wickets for 16 runs in four overs and was adjudged the player of the match. Jason Holder took three wickets for 12 runs in 3.2 overs.    

The first round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 has heated up after West Indies and Sri Lanka’s losses to Scotland and Namibia in their respective groups' opening fixtures. The former two World Cup winners are now in danger of being eliminated from the first round. Let’s have a look at the West Indies and Sri Lanka’s current group phase scenarios. 2022 ICC Twenty20 World Cup: Group A’s present scenario Namibia's victory over Sri Lanka in the tournament's opening match on October 16 came as a surprise. But their victory over the Lankan side has made the group A’s point standings wide open. Sri Lanka came back strong against the UAE after losing their first match by 55 runs. They beat the United Arab Emirates by 79 runs and moved up to the third spot in the point standings. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Key stats for Bangladesh match venues On the other hand, Namibia failed to maintain the momentum after their historic triumph over Sri Lanka. They were defeated by the Netherlands by 5 wickets and dropped to second place. The Netherlands are currently the unbeaten side in this group after two consecutive victories over the UAE and Namibia, respectively. They have taken the top spot with 4 points, but their run rate is the major concern at the moment. Despite winning two matches, the Dutch side is still behind in net run rate compared to Namibia and Sri Lanka. They have to beat the Lankan team in their final group stage fixtures on Thursday in order to qualify for the Super 12s. Otherwise, they have to rely on the match between Namibia and the UAE, where the latter is already out of the competition. Both Namibia and Sri Lanka will move to the next round if they win their respective final fixtures in the group. However, who will top the group depends on the run rates. Given the current scenario, Namibia will likely top the group if they beat the UAE and advance to the Group 1 Super 12 Round. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are most likely to finish second in the final point table of this group if they overcome the Netherlands on Thursday. The Lankan side will join Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and South Africa in Group 2 of the Super 12s if they finish second in the standings. 2022 T20 World Cup Group A points table Team Match Win Lose Points NRR Netherlands 2 2 0 4 +0.149 Namibia 2 1 1 2 +1.277 Sri Lanka 2 1 1 2 +0.600 UAE 2 0 2 0 -2.028   Read: T20 World Cup: Rain plays spoilsport for Bangladesh ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022: Group B’s current scenario Like Sri Lanka, the two-time Twenty20 World Cup champions, West Indies, suffered a huge defeat against Scotland by 42 runs in their tournament opener on October 17. The Caribbean side made a comeback in their second match, beating Zimbabwe by 31 runs on Wednesday. The West Indies moved up to the third position in Group B's point standings. The Scottish side remained in the top spot despite losing to Ireland by 6 wickets in Hobart thanks to better run rates. Zimbabwe remained in second position, while the Ireland team is in fourth place at the moment. Group B is wide open and any team can finish top in the points standings depending on the final match day’s outings. On Friday, West India will meet Ireland, while Scotland will face Zimbabwe. The winners of these two fixtures will advance to the Super 12 Round. Depending on the current run rate, the West Indies are in a difficult position. They have to beat the Irish side by a big margin in order to finish top of the group. The Caribbean side will advance to Group 2 of the Super 12 Round if they finish at the top of the points table. T20 World Cup 2022 Group B points table Team Match Win Lose Points NRR Scotland 2 1 1 2 +0.759 Zimbabwe 2 1 1 2 +0.000 West Indies 2 1 1 2 -0.275 Ireland 2 1 1 2 -0.468 Verdict No team has yet secured a spot in the Super 12 Round after the end of two games for each side. Which two teams from each group advance to the next round will be determined by the outcomes of the first round's remaining matches. Sri Lanka and West Indies must win their respective games against the Netherlands and Ireland in order to advance to the Super 12s of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. Read: ICC T20 World Cup: Only Shakib and Rohit have competed in all events to date