United News of Bangladesh

What a start to the T20 World Cup! After Namibia defeated Sri Lanka yesterday (October 16, 2022), Scotland today (October 17, 2022) stole the show – beating West Indies by 42 runs – in Hobart. Scotland batted first in the match after losing the toss, and riding on George Munsey’s 66 off 53 balls, they posted a big total of 160 for five. West Indies, the former T20 champions, have failed to chase it down. The West Indies, while chasing a target of 161, tumbled for 118 all wickets in 18.3 overs. They got a good start with Kyle Mayers and Evin Lewis playing a few big shots, but the Scotland bowlers did not allow them to continue on the good run. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh may play Sri Lanka, West Indies in Super 12s Mark Watt bagged three wickets for the Scottish conceding only 12 runs in four overs. Brad Wheal and Michael Leask scalped two wickets each to seal the game. Jason Holder was the only West Indian batter to offer some resistance scoring 38 off 33 balls, but that was never enough to chase a tall target of 161 runs. The way West Indies played in this match, it’s quite safe to say that it was not really “an upset”. The former champions never were in a position to challenge the total of Scotland. They rather kept losing the wickets when they needed to come up with partnerships. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Namibia stuns in opening match by beating Sri Lanka In the last World Cup, Scotland were close to beating New Zealand, but they failed to do so. But this time, they finally beat a Test-playing nation.

Bangladesh bowl first in their first warm-up match against Afghanistan on Monday in Brisbane. The Tigers will play two warm-up matches ahead of the main event. While the first match is against Afghanistan, the Tigers will take on South Africa in the second on October 19 at the same venue. Bangladesh will test their final squad in these two matches. Ahead of the World Cup, Bangladesh played a Tri-Series in New Zealand where they lost all four matches against the hosts and Pakistan. Prior to the Tri-Seris, Bangladesh failed to do well in the Asia Cup as well. Due to consecutive failures in the T20 format, the supporters do not expect much from the Bangladesh team in the World Cup. Bangladesh playing XI: Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Afif Hossain, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Liton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam.  

Bangladesh was expecting at least one associate nation in their Super 12 round group, but Namibia gave a huge blow to that after beating Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the T20 World Cup 2022 opener yesterday. The Tigers now should be ready to face both Sri Lanka and West Indies, along with India, Pakistan, and South Africa in their group fixtures. How can Sri Lanka and the West Indies end up in Group 2? Two teams from each of the two groups in the first round will advance to the Super 12s. The winner of group A and runner-up of group B will play in the next round's Group 1. On the other hand, the winner of Group B and the runner-up of Group A will play in Group 2 of the Super 12 phase. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Namibia stuns in opening match by beating Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, Namibia, Netherlands, and UAE are battling each other to finish in the top two in the first round's Group A. The West Indies, Scotland, Zimbabwe, and Ireland are playing against each other for a spot in the next round. If Sri Lanka finishes second in group A and the West Indies finishes first in Group B in the first round, then both teams will play in Group 2 in the Super 12 phase. Group A Scenario The Sri Lankan team was considered the favourite to finish top of Group 1 prior to the tournament. But after a comprehensive defeat by Namibia on Sunday, Sri Lanka’s possibility of finishing top of the points table is not in their hands anymore. The Lankan side’s main priority at the moment is to win the remaining fixtures of the group and earn a place in the Super 12s. Namibia, on the other hand, will finish top of the group if they win all of their matches. However, if they lose one match in their remaining two fixtures of this round, they could end up being second depending on how Sri Lanka performs in their other games. The Netherlands started their campaign with a 3-wicket victory over the UAE on Sunday. They have a good chance to advance to the next round if they beat Namibia. The UAE is the weakest team in this group and will likely lose all of their fixtures. If Namibia, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka all have two points each, then net run rates will decide which two teams will advance to the Super 12s. Read: Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 Squad: Who’s in, who’s out? Bangladesh’s fixtures against Sri Lanka and West Indies if they meet in the Super 12s If Sri Lanka play in Group 2 in the Super 12s, Bangladesh will start their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign with a match against the Lankan side at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on October 24. If the West Indies play in Group 2, Bangladesh will meet them on October 30 at the Gabba, Brisbane. Bangladesh’s remaining Super 12 round fixtures are against South Africa on October 27 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. They will play against India on November 2 at the Adelaide Oval, and at the same venue, they will meet Pakistan on November 6. Bottom Line After a disappointing loss to Namibia, Sri Lanka has a good chance of finishing second in Group A. On the other hand, the West Indies are the hot favourites to win Group B. It would be quite concerning for Bangladesh's bid to win at least one game at the T20 World Cup 2022 if both Sri Lanka and the West Indies qualified to play in Group 2 of the Super 12. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Where to watch live in Bangladesh via TV, OTT, and apps

Form at the T20 World Cup has been something of an anomaly for India since it won the inaugural title in 2007. India stages cricket's biggest and most lucrative franchise T20 competition, which regularly features the biggest stars of the international game and homegrown stars such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The national team boasts some of the finest batters and bowlers in both spin and pace departments, and all-rounders who can make a difference. Yet India have not won the T20 world title since the very first in South Africa and have only reached the final once in the six subsequent editions. Even last year, as host, India did not make it out of the group stage in a surprising run that included losses to arch-rival Pakistan and eventual finalist New Zealand. For context, though, rules in place for the Covid-19 pandemic meant India was host in name and funding only, with all matches played in the United Arab Emirates or Oman. So Rohit's so-called Men in Blue are desperate to turn things around in Australia. Group After unofficial warm-ups against Australia on Monday and New Zealand on Wednesday in Brisbane, India's campaign will start with a blockbuster against Pakistan on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is sold out. They will then play Bangladesh and South Africa, as well as two qualifiers from the first round. India have been acclimatising in Western Australia, where they had a win and a loss in practice matches against a West Australian XI. Regroup Following last year's T20 World Cup embarrassment in the UAE, India made some changes to the composition of the team and coaching staff. Rohit Sharma now leads the team following Virat Kohli's decision in 2021 to step down as captain. Rahul Dravid has replaced Ravi Shastri as head coach. Under a new captain and coach, India have played 35 T20s at home and away, with 26 wins and eight losses. They hold the record for maximum wins in a calendar year, taking this form into the World Cup. India missed the final of the Asia Cup in the UAE but rallied for 2-1 T20 series wins at home against Australia and South Africa before the top squad headed Down Under for the global tournament. "We can get caught up with what happens during T20 matches in India. The boundaries are shorter there. In Australia, the boundaries are far bigger and give the bowlers a bit of licence to work with," veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said during the training camp in Perth. Strengths Suryakumar Yadav has been one of the T20 stars for India in recent months. He has scored 864 runs in 26 matches at a strike rate of 180 and is currently ranked No. 2 in the ICC's Men's T20 batting charts. He has risen to be the fulcrum of India's lineup, and its hopes for a second T20 title will rely on Yadav staying in form. India's batting depth is strong, with Rohit, Kohli and Lokesh Rahul making a formidable top-order, backed up by Yadav at No. 4. Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik are assigned finishers. Rishabh Pant is both a backup opener and wicketkeeper-batsman in the squad. Despite mercurial performances on Australian soil in the past, Pant is not expected to feature regularly in India's first-choice XI. Setbacks In a major blow to its title aspirations, India will be missing leading fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja because of long-term injuries, and Deepak Chahar was ruled out with a back injury earlier this week. Bowling remains a concern for India in the absence of Jadeja and Bumrah, who is a brilliant T20 bowler and excels particularly in the late overs. In his absence, young pacers Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh have struggled to come to terms with the high-pressure job. Even the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar struggled during the recent Asia Cup and against Australia at home. Axar Patel has come in as a left-arm spinner in place of Jadeja, who also will be sorely missed in the field. On Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said Mohammed Shami would replace Bumrah as the 15th player in the squad. Shami already landed in Australia and will join the Indian team in Brisbane for two warm-up matches against Australia and New Zealand next week. Shami has experience playing in Australia and was India's second-highest wicket-taker during the ODI World Cup in 2019. The right-arm fast bowler was due to play in the home T20 series against Australia and South Africa last month but pulled out after he tested positive for Covid-19. He has not played a T20 international in almost a year since claiming six wickets in five matches during the last T20 World Cup in the UAE. Squad Rohit Sharma (captain), Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami.

The Netherlands made a good start in a Group A match of the T20 World Cup first phase beating United Arab Emirates by three wickets with one ball left at the GMHBA Stadium in South Geelong on Sunday. In the day's low scoring match, UAE batted first after winning the toss and folded their innings at 111 runs for 8, featuring opener Muhammad Waseem's 47-ball 41 runs with the help of one four and two sixes. Besides, Vriitya Aravind (18), Kashif Daud (15) and opener Chirag Suri (12) were the other notable scorers for the Emirates team. Bas De Leede grabbed three wickets for 19 runs in his three over spell and was adjudged player of the match while Fred Klaassen took two wickets for 13 runs in four overs. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Namibia stuns in opening match by beating Sri Lanka In reply, the Netherlands reached their target of 112 for the loss of seven wickets in 19. 5 overs, featuring opener Max O'Dowd's 18-ball 23 runs with three hits to the fence and one over the fence. Colin Ackermann (17), captain Scott Ewards (16), Tim Pringle (not out 16), Bas De Leede (14) and Vikramjit Singh (10) were the other notable scorer for the Netherlands reaching the double figures. Junaid Siddiqui claimed three wickets for 24 runs in his four over spell and was adjudged most valuable player of the match.

T20 World Cup started with a big upset — Namibia beat Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the opening match of the biggest T20 event on Sunday in Victoria. In the First Round Group A match, Sri Lanka won the toss and sent Namibia to bat first. Read:T20 World Cop 2022: In opening match, Sri Lanka wins toss, bowling first against Namibia Namibia lost their first two wickets inside 16 runs. Despite this early damage, they managed to score 163 for seven. Jan Frylinck smashed 44 off 28 balls and Johannes Smit scored 31 off 16 deliveries. For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan bagged two wickets and other four bowlers took a wicket each. In reply, Sri Lanka lost four wickets before posting 50 on the board. Three of Sri Lanka's top five batters failed to reach a double-digit total. Captain Dasun Shanka scored 29, but his effort was not enough to avoid a defeat for Sri Lanka. Read: Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 Squad: Who’s in, who’s out? It was a big upset for the Lankans to suffer a defeat to Namibia. Sri Lanka have recently won the T20 Asia Cup in the UAE. A total of 16 trams are taking part in the T20 World Cup. Eight teams are participating in the first round. Four of them will qualify for the Super 12s.

Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl first against Namibia in the opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday. The Netherlands will play United Arab Emirates in the second match of the qualifying tournament, also in Geelong, which will determine four teams to advance to the main event starting later this week. Sri Lanka, the T20 World Cup champions in 2014, sustained a big blow on the eve of the tournament when left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka was ruled out with a quadriceps injury. Lineups: Namibia: Divan la Cock, Michael van Lingen, Stephan Baard, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Jan Frylinck, J.J. Smit, David Wiese, Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo . Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Where to watch live in Bangladesh via TV, OTT, and apps Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan. Umpires: Joe Wilson, West Indies, and Rod Tucker, Australia. TV umpire: Paul Reiffel, Australia; Match Referee: Andy Pycroft, Zimbabwe

There was a strong chance of a few adjustments in the final Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 squad when the selectors made the announcement last month. As expected, Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam have been included in the team in place of Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin. Let’s have a look at how strong the Tigers' twenty20 setup is for the main event. Why has the BCB included Soumya and Shoriful in the World Cup squad? All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin and hard-hitter Sabbir Rahman were excluded from the Bangladesh squad to make way for opener Soumya Sarkar and pacer Shoriful Islam.In light of Saifuddin and Sabbir's recent series performances, is dropping them justified? There are no noteworthy performances that support any of the players. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Where to watch live in Bangladesh via TV, OTT, and apps Saifuddin has the lowest economy rate (10.51) in the last two international series in the UAE and New Zealand. Sabbir Rahman, on the other hand, has the lowest strike rate (86.66) among batters. Therefore, leaving them out of the final squad was the right move. What about Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam? Do they deserve to be in the squad? Soumya played only two matches and scored 27 runs with a strike rate of 128.57, while Shoriful Islam picked up five wickets in four innings with an economy rate of 8.45 in the most recent two Twenty20 International series. Clearly, the latter has a more solid reason and has proved that he is among the best pacers in Bangladesh at the moment. Soumya’s case is a bit different. The selectors always wanted a left-handed batter in the lineup. But Soumya’s constant failure on the international stage had forced the think tanks to keep him among the standby players. Someone from the initial main squad had to play badly to make way for Soumya. Unfortunately, that cricketer was Sabbir Rahman, who once again failed to impress the selectors with the bat. But why was Soumya picked despite showing virtually nothing in the two matches he played in the tri-nation series? One valid reason is his track record on fast, bouncy pitches. Soumya’s bat usually shines when playing on hard pitches. His 153.98 strike rate in T20Is on New Zealand wickets is the best among the Bangladesh players. He is the second-most run scorer (174) in the Twenty20 format among the Bangladesh players in New Zealand. It’s not unknown that Australian conditions will be quite similar to New Zealand's. Read: ICC T20 World Cup begins Sunday The selectors' expectation of Soumya is that he will show his true potential in the top-order during the T20 World Cup 2022. Can Soumya fulfill the expectations? That will soon be revealed, but no one can deny the fact that the BCB has a clear reason to pick him up for the squad. Bangladesh’s twenty20 World Cup 2022 squad at a glance Apart from making two chances, the rest of the squad remains the same for Bangladesh. The Tigers have five genuine batters, four all-rounders, and six bowlers in the squad. Shakib Al Hasan will lead the Bangladesh team during the World Cup and wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan Sohan will act as his deputy. The most in-form batter is Litton Das, who has 180 runs in the past 6 innings with a strike rate of 140.62. Afif Hossain is in second position with 159 runs in 6 innings, followed by Shakib Al Hasan with 154 runs in 3 innings with a magnificent strike rate of 150.98. Among the bowlers, pacer Shoriful Islam bagged the most wickets with five in the last two international series. Hasan Mahmud, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, and Ebadot Hossain all had decent outings in the previous two series with satisfactory economy rates. Bangladesh will play their first Super 12 match against the runner-up of Group A on October 24. Three days later, on October 27, they will face South Africa. Bangladesh’s third match will be against the Group B winner on October 30. After that, the Tigers will take on India on November 2 and finish their group stage fixtures with a match against Pakistan on November 6. Read: Bangladesh add Soumya, Shoriful to T20 World Cup squad Bangladesh's 15-man Twenty20 World Cup 2022 squad Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam Way Forward Despite Bangladesh's lackluster recent T20 international record, the selectors made an effort to assemble the strongest team for the T20 World Cup 2022. Captain Shakib Al Hasan has to work on boosting the players' confidence so they can give it their all on the field. Bangladesh can have a decent success if the players are able to meet the expectations during the tournament. Read: T20 World Cup 2022: What's the best possible line-up for Bangladesh?

India lifted the title of the Women's Asia Cup 2022 after hammering Sri Lanka in the final by eight wickets in Sylhet Saturday. The women in blue won a record-extending seventh Asia Cup title after losing it to Bangladesh in 2018. In the final, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. But they managed to score 65-9 in 20 overs. Six of their first batters failed to reach a double-digit. Inoka Ranaweera, Sri Lanka's No. 10, was the top run (18) scorer for the islanders. Read: Women’s Asia Cup: Bangladesh endure shocking defeat to Sri Lanka For India, Renuka Singh bagged three wickets, Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad scalped two each. It took the women in blue only 8.3 overs to win the match. Smriti Mandhana scored 51. "We should give credit to the bowlers. And the fielding unit was very good today from ball one," Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match. "We didn't want to give them easy runs as every ball is important, proud of the way we performed today." Renuka won the player of the final award and Deepti Sharma player of the tournament trophy. "Tough day as a team, not a good batting display in the final; I'm really upset today," Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu said. "Next we have the T20 World Cup, and we learned a lot from this tournament. And as a batting unit, we have to stick to our plans." In the last edition of the Women's Asia Cup, Bangladesh beat India in the final to lift their maiden title. But this year, Bangladesh failed to qualify for the semis.

The wait is finally over— the ICC T20 World Cup is all set to begin on Sunday with the match between Sri Lanka and Namibia at 10 am (Bangladesh time). A total of 16 teams are participating in the T20 World Cup. In the first phase, eight teams will lock horns. The top four of them will qualify for the Super 12s round of the event. Bangladesh will directly take part in the Super 12s. The Tigers will start their World Cup by taking on the runners-up of Group A of the first round on October 24 in Hobart. Bangladesh team has already reached Australia after their horrible campaign in the Tri-Series in New Zealand where it lost all four matches against the hosts and Pakistan. Ahead of the event, the captains of all the participating teams have a media session in Melbourne where they had a great meeting with each other. Captains took part in photo sessions and answered the questions of the media representatives. While replying to a question, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said they are hopeful of doing well in Australia. He also said this is the first time when Bangladesh are going to play T20I matches in Australia— the fact that made many surprised. T20 cricket became an international format back in 2006, and after 16 years, Bangladesh are going to play their first T20I in Australia— of course, a surprising fact! Bangladesh made two changes to their original T20 World Cup squad— adding Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam overlooking underperforming batter  Sabbir Rahman and allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin. Ahead of the main event, Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan and South Africa in two warm-up matches on October 17 and 19. Both matches will be played at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. India, Pakistan, England and Australia are among the favourites to win this year’s T20 World Cup, according to the analyst.