United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh had a difficult start against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the BAN vs SL Second Test 2022 at SBNCS, Mirpur. They lost five wickets in the first hour of the first session on day one, putting the team in a terrible position. Then, Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das collaborated on a stunning 272-run sixth-wicket partnership to help the Tigers make a remarkable comeback in the innings. Bangladesh finally scored 365 in their first innings, which would not have been possible without Mushfiqur and Litton's outstanding contributions. Highlights of the Mushfiqur-Litton Partnership Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim opted to bat first in the BAN vs SL Second Test 2022 on a surface where batters could flourish for at least the first two days. It is said that batters should see out the first hour of the morning session in Test cricket. Pace bowlers usually get a little more support from the pitch in the morning, allowing them to put pressure on batters if they maintain good line and length. The Lankan bowlers did just that to Bangladesh's batters. They bowled in the right channels and took advantage of the pitch's extra swing. However, Bangladesh's batters didn't confront Lankan pacers adequately, and they should be held responsible for losing half of their wickets in the first hour of the morning session. Read Dhaka Test: Sri Lanka trail by 222 after day 2 When Bangladesh were down to 24/5 at the end of the 6.5 overs, there was a risk of breaking their lowest-ever total – 43 records. The Lankan pacers were in perfect rhythm to do so. However, a monumental stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das rescued Bangladesh from what could possibly be an embarrassing moment in front of home crowds. Mushfiqur Rahim had focused on being steady at the crease by not taking any risks, whilst Litton Das was more aggressive. Litton did get a life soon after lunch When he was on 47. Fielder dropped his catch in the square leg region. Litton then began to attack the opposition bowlers, quickly completing his fifty. Oppositely, Mushfiqur Rahim was determined not to lose his wicket as he steadily constructed his innings. Both batters had reached their hundred after Tea. Litton was the first to reach the century mark, scoring his third Test hundred in 149 balls. After a few overs, Mushfiqur Rahim hit his ninth Test century in 218 balls. Bangladesh ended the first day with 277/5 runs on the board. Litton Das 135 and Mushfiqur Rahim 115 went undefeated on day one at the crease. Read Dhaka Test: Bangladesh end first innings on 365 The pair also added 19 runs together in the first session of day 2 before Litton Das (141) lost his wicket to Kasun Rajitha in the first ball of the eight overs. Litton hit 16 boundaries and a six in his innings and had a 57.31 strike rate. On the other hand, Mushfiqur Rahim stayed undefeated on 175* with 21 boundaries. This long-standing 272 runs off 513 balls partnership not only helped the team avoid an embarrassing moment, but also helped them to reach a respectable total of 365. The record-breaking Mushfiqur-Litton partnership Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das put together a stunning and crucial 272-run partnership for the sixth wicket. They produced several interesting records as a result of their partnership. Here are a few of them. 1)      This was the best-ever stand for the sixth wicket for Bangladesh. The previous best was 191 between Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim back in 2007 against Sri Lanka. Read Day 2 of Dhaka Test: Liton, Mosaddek depart early  The top five best sixth-wicket partnerships for Bangladesh Partners Runs Opposition Ground Year Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim 272 Sri Lanka Mirpur 2022 Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim 191 Sri Lanka Colombo 2007 Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim 167 England Chattogram 2010 Nasir Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan 144 West Indies Khulna 2012 Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hasan 117 Pakistan Mirpur 2011         Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ 2)      While constructing the 272-run big partnership, Litton and Mushfiqur faced a total of 513 balls. This was the third most in terms of balls faced for Bangladesh. Read Mushfiqur, Liton stand tall after disastrous start The top five partnerships in terms of balls faced for Bangladesh Partners Runs Balls Opposition Ground Year Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim 267 518 Sri Lanka Galle 2013 Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto 242 514 Sri Lanka Pallekele 2021 Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim 272 512 Sri Lanka Mirpur 2022 Javed Omar and Nafees Iqbal 133 498 Zimbabwe Dhaka 2005 Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan 359 494 New Zealand Wellington 2017    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ 3)      Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das had a 272-run partnership which is the third best in Bangladesh Test cricket history. Read IPL 2022: The Qualified Teams in the Playoffs and Fixtures Top Five Partnerships for Bangladesh  Partners Runs Wkts Opposition Ground Year Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim 359 5th New Zealand Wellington 2017 Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes 312 1st Pakistan Khulna 2015 Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das 272 6th Sri Lanka Mirpur 2022 Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim 267 5th Sri Lanka Galle 2013 Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim 266 4th Zimbabwe Mirpur 2018           Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read Mushfiqur smashes another ton vs Sri Lanka Aftermath Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das' performances during the first innings of the match were undoubtedly among the finest in Bangladesh Test cricket history. It's also considered one of the greatest comebacks, since scoring 365 after falling to 24/5 wasn't straightforward. Both players showed commitment and courage in their innings, which paid off handsomely. Moreover, this could be a match-saving partnership depending on the outcome of the BAN vs SL Second Test 2022.

Bangladesh ended their first innings of the Dhaka Test against Sri Lanka with 365 runs on the score board on Tuesday, riding on the tons by Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das, despite a disastrous start. The centurions started the day aiming to add as many runs as possible to the board on day two. But Liton fell early in the eighth over of the day. Read: Day 2 of Dhaka Test: Liton, Mosaddek depart early Kasun Rajitha removed Liton for 141, his best in the format, and in the same over, he dismissed Mosaddek Hossain Saikat as well who got the chance in the playing XI in the absence of an injured Nayeem Hasan.

After scoring 141, his best in Tests so far, wicketkeeper-batter Liton Das fell in the eighth over of day two of the Dhaka Test against Sri Lanka. It was a delivery outside off by Kasun Rajitha. Liton tried to defend but a thick edge went to the second slip region and the fielder, Kusal Mendis, did not miss it. With Liton’s departure, the 272-stand between him and Mushfiqur Rahim came to an end. It was the best sixth-wicket stand by Bangladesh in the format. Also read: Mushfiqur, Liton stand tall after disastrous start Two balls later, Mosaddek Hossain faced the same delivery that caused the dismissal of Liton and played the same way, but this time he prodded a catch to the wicketkeeper. Mossadek suffered the fourth duck of the innings. Bangladesh went down to 296 for five to 296 for seven. Along the way, Kasun completed his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket. His previous best in Test was four for 60. Overnight centurions Liton and Mushfiqur started the day at 277 for five, with Liton batting at 135 and Mushfiqur at 115. Earlier, Bangladesh lost five wickets under 25 runs in the first hour of the match on day one after Kasun and Asitha Fernando ripped the Bangladeshi batting line-up apart. Rajitha took three wickets on day one, while Asitha took two. Also read: Mushfiqur smashes another ton vs Sri Lanka But for the sixth wicket, Mushfiqur and Liton came in to rescue the Tigers from a batting disaster. The first Test of the series ended in a draw in Chattogram. A win in the Dhaka Test is crucial for both the teams to win the title of this series, which is a part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das constructed one of the best partnerships in Bangladesh’s Test history in the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka in Dhaka on Monday.  They put up an unbeaten 253-run stand in the sixth-wicket partnership, and along the way, both of them hit a century each. It is now the highest sixth-wicket stand for Bangladesh in Tests.  The duo batted for almost the entire day after losing five-wicket wickets inside the first hour of the day. They stonewalled everything thrown at them by the Sri Lankan bowling attack.  While Mushfiqur was almost flawless in his second ton on the row, Liton skied a ball once which landed on the ground after a Sri Lankan fielder failed to pick that. Apart from that, it was a great knock by the right-handed wicketkeeper-batter.  It was also the highest sixth-wicket stand in history for any team after losing five wickets under 25 runs. The previous highest was 86 scored by Wallis Mathias and Shujauddin Butt of Pakistan against West Indies in 1959 at the then Dhaka Stadium. “It is one of the best partnerships I have seen as a coach in Tests,” Russell Domingo, the head coach of Bangladesh said at the end of the day. “We were 24 for five. Under a lot of pressure. It was an amazing effort by those two batters. Obviously, we didn’t start well this morning. Test cricket is hard but those guys showed amazing skill and character to get us in this good position.” In the first match of the series, Mushfiqur hit a ton and Liton fell short of 12 runs from a ton. These two batters proved that they are going through a golden patch now.  READ: Mushfiqur smashes another ton vs Sri Lanka Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. But the openers failed to produce a solid start. Even the next three batters were also unable to stop Sri Lanka from having an early breakthrough.  Both the openers- Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Tamim Iqbal— suffered a duck each. Shakib Al Hasan came to bat at number six and suffered a golden duck. The other two batters— Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto— contributed 9 and 8 respectively to put the team into further trouble. Kasun Rajitha, the right-arm pacer, uprooted the stumps of Mahmudul in the very first over. In the next over, Asitha Fernando removed Tamim for a duck, and in the seventh over, Rajitha removed Najmul and Shakib off two consecutive deliveries.  “All our focus is in the first session. We know that we are two wickets away from being in a tricky position again. The average score here in the first innings here is 314. If these two can get through the first hour tomorrow, it puts us in a really good position,” the Bangladesh coach said, expressing his hope on the next day of the game.  The first Test of the series ended up in a draw. Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque said they are confident to wrap up the series winning this match in Dhaka.  This series is a part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. Bangladesh played seven matches in this event so far and won only a match against New Zealand early this year. 

The IPL 2022 playoffs were finalized after the round-robin league round ended on Sunday (May 22). A new arrival to the Indian Premier League, Gujarat Titans ended the league phase in first position with 20 points. Understandably, they will be favourites to advance to the knockout stage. In addition, the Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow SuperGiants, and Royal Challengers Bangalore have all qualified for the playoffs. Let's take a look at the schedule and the favourites to make it to the championship game. Lineups for the IPL 2022 Playoffs The Gujarat Titans were the No. 1 team in the points table. The Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow SuperGiants, and Royal Challengers finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, in the league phase. There will be three matches in the playoffs: Qualifier 1, Eliminator, and Qualifier 2. The final match of the IPL 15 will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (May 29). Read IPL 2022: Who will make the playoffs from Delhi and Bangalore? Qualifier 1 (Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals) Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Date: May 24 | Time (Bangladesh Standard Time): 8 pm Gujarat Titans are having a fantastic season in IPL 15. They secured 10 wins out of 14 in the league phase, including a 37-run victory over Rajasthan Royals. Gujarat have found the right balance and they are the most confident side at the moment. On the other hand, the Rajasthan Royals are also having a great season. For the first time since winning the inaugural IPL in 2008, they have seemed like a competitive team to win another edition of the tournament. It will be a tough game, but Gujarat can consider themselves the favourite. Verdict: Gujarat Titans Gujarat Titans predicted playing XI Top-Order: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Middle-Order: Matthew Wade, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Yash Dayal, Lower-Order: R Sai Kishore, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami Rajasthan Royals predicted playing XI Top-Order: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Middle-Order: Riyan Parag, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Lower-Order: Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy. Read RR vs MI: Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2022 playoff dream is about to sink Eliminator (Lucknow SuperGiants vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore) Venue: Eden Gardens | Date: May 25 | Time (Bangladesh Standard Time): 8 pm Lucknow is one of the new teams in the IPL. Like the Gujarat Titans, they have done an excellent job so far and have secured a place in the playoffs by finishing third in the league phase. They will be up against Royal Challengers Bangalore, who tipped Delhi Capitals to finish fourth in the points table. Predicting the winner of this match is difficult as both teams are pretty confident of overcoming each other. Verdict: Lucknow SuperGiants Lucknow SuperGiants Predicted Playing XI Top-Order: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Evin Lewis, Middle-Order: Deepak Hooda, Manan Vohra, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, K Gowtham, Lower-Order: Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi Royal Challengers Bangalore’s probable playing XI Top-Order: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Middle-Order: Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lower-Order: Mohammed Siraj, Siddharth Kaul, Josh Hazlewood. Read IPL leader Gujarat beats Bangalore despite Kohli 58 Qualifier 2 (GT/RR vs LSG/RCB) Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | Date: May 27 | Time (Bangladesh Standard Time): 8 pm The winner of the eliminator and the loser of qualifier 1 will battle for the last berth in qualification 2. No one stands out as a clear favourite at this stage. Whomever plays to their best capacity can defeat their opponent on that particular day. Given the teams' accomplishments this season, the loser of qualifier 1 may be the favourite to win qualifier 2. Verdict The Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals are the favourites to reach the IPL 15 final this season. They will try to continue their good run of form into the playoffs round for the quest for the championship match. Oppositely, the Lucknow SuperGiants and Royal Challengers are also very competitive teams. They will hope to find a way to reach the championship game. However, they will have to win two matches in the playoffs round to do so. Three of the four knockout round teams have never won an IPL trophy. Therefore, a new team can win the IPL 2022 this year.  Read IPL 2022: Favourites to Reach the Playoffs

Mushfiqur Rahim, one of the mainstays of the Bangladesh batting line, smashed another ton in the ongoing two-match series against Sri Lanka on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Read: Liton hits ton to guide Tigers Mushfiqur completed his third ton against Sri Lanka off 218 balls, punching Ramesh Mendis to the backward point for a single. After reaching the ton, the batter jumped, threw a punch to the air, performed a sajda and hugged his partner Liton Das, who also hit a ton in the same partnership, before showing the bat to the spectators.

Wicketkeeper-batter Liton Das notched up his third Test ton on the opening day of the Dhaka Test against Sri Lanka on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Liton’s last ton came early this year against New Zealand. As of 70th over, Liton scored 122 unbeaten— his best in the format so far. Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. But they failed to have an impressive start as they lost five wickets just for 24 runs— with three ducks to Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. Also read: Early wickets dent Bangladesh in Dhaka Test In the sixth wicket stand, Liton joined Mushfiqur Rahim and added more than 200 runs in the partnership with more than 20 overs to play. Liton completed the magical three-figure total during the 63rd over of the innings pulling Asitha Fernando to the backward square area. A fielder picked up the ball and threw it to the stumps and missed. There was no backup to pick up the ball, and thus, the ball reached the boundary for a four. Also read: BAN vs SL Series 2022: Statistics Favour Spinners to be Game Changers in the Mirpur Test Along with Liton, Mushifuqr also is doing well hitting 90 as of 70th over of the innings.

There's a saying that statistics don't always paint the best image. Though it has become standard practice nowadays to analyze the statistics before a game and plan accordingly. The second Test of the BAN vs SL series 2022 started on Monday (May 23) at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla stadium. The statistics on this surface heavily favour spinners. Therefore, slower bowlers will play an important role in this encounter. Let's take a look at the Mirpur ground's bowling statistics in Test format. SBNCS, Mirpur: What Do the Stats Say? While not all of the data will appear to be true in every match, knowing the history of the venue is essential for teams to develop a game plan. Bowlers play a critical role in winning Test matches. As the saying goes, bowlers win games for their teams. A team must take 20 wickets to win a match; thus, wicket-taking bowlers are essential. The ground stats are generally evaluated by the team while developing a game strategy. Which bowlers are best under these conditions? How does the pitch perform on the ground each day? What are the most successful bowlers on the ground? This sort of information assists a team in establishing a starting lineup for the match. Let's get right into the Mirpur ground stats. Read BAN vs SL Second Test 2022: Bangladesh Target Historic Series Win Sher-e-Bangla Stadium’s Bowling Stats in Test Format In the case of Sher-e-Bangla stadium, the spinners always get a special advantage from the surface. Slower bowlers enjoy bowling at this venue because of the sluggish nature of the pitches, whether it is T20 cricket, One-Day cricket, or a longer-version format. In Test cricket, spinners are a terrorizing factor for the batters. Spinners have found more grip and assistance from the surface in the last two days, making batters even more nervous. One can easily understand this by looking into the man of the match awards list in the Test format. Spinners have won more than 50% of the player of the match awards in the longer-version of cricket at the SBNCS. 12 man of the match awards were won by spinners, batters won 6, while pace bowlers won 4 of them. Now the question may arise, why do the spinners dominate the best player awards at the Mirpur ground? To know the answer to it, one has to look at the overall bowling stats and how each type of bowler has fared on this ground. Read Early wickets dent Bangladesh in Dhaka Test Overall bowling stats at the SBNCS (as on May 22, 2022) Players Match Innings Wickets BBI BBM Ave Econ 10W 253 22 441 646 8/39 12/117 32.41 3.21 6    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ The Spinners Overall Performance at the SBNCS When spinners have taken 403 wickets out of 646, it clearly indicates that they dominate heavily at this venue. Prior to the second Test of the BAN vs SL series in 2022, spinners had taken almost 63% of wickets. This figure is enough to incite both teams to include more spinners in their playing XI. Besides, the number of spinners that have been used is more than the pacers. A total of 127 spinners have been used and bowled close to 4,000 overs in 22 matches. Besides, the economy rate is 3.14 for the spinner, which is much better than the pacers. The most successful spinner at this ground is Shakib Al Hasan, who has taken 63 wickets in 30 innings with an average of 32.03. Read Bangladesh opt to bat first in Dhaka Test vs Sri Lanka The overall bowling stats of the spinners at SBNCS (as on May 22, 2022) Players Match Innings Wickets BBI BBM Ave Econ 10W 127 22 252 403 8/39 12/117 31.09 3.14 5    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ The Pacers Overall Performance at the SBNCS One of the reasons fast bowlers haven’t been as impressive as the spinners at the Mirpur ground is that Bangladesh is a predominantly spin-reliant country. They have plenty more options in spin bowling than in pace bowling. However, things have improved over the last 2-3 years. Bangladesh has recently produced some quality pacers who have performed well on the international stage. The expectation is that the pacers will also be as dominant as the spinners at this venue in the future. Overall, 94 pacers have been used at this venue and they have maintained an economy rate of less than 3.50, which is good. The Pacers have also bowled significantly fewer overs than the spinners. They have bowled just over 2,500 overs. The most successful pacer at this ground is India’s Zaheer Khan, who picked up 17 wickets in just two matches with an average of 13.94. Read Anamul’s hard work pays off as squads for WI tour announced The overall bowling stats of the fast bowlers at SBNCS (as on May 22, 2022) Players Match Innings Wickets BBI BBM Ave Econ 10W 94 22 185 243 7/87 10/149 34.54 3.32 1    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Aftermath  According to the overall bowling statistics in the Test format, the spinners obviously rule at the SBNCS, Mirpur. They will be much more effective in the last two days when batsmen will find it difficult to survive the pitch. Having said that, the pacers will also play a role in providing the necessary breakthroughs. However, the battle between spinners and batters in the second Test of the BAN vs SL series 2022 will be fascinating to witness.  Read Mominul eyes series win as Dhaka Test begins Monday

Sri Lanka put their best foot forward to earn an early advantage in the Dhaka Test against Bangladesh taking five wickets inside seven overs on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.  After seven overs of the innings, Bangladesh were batting at 24 for five. Kasun Rajitha bagged three and Asitha Fernando scalped two.  Also read:Bangladesh opt to bat first in Dhaka Test vs Sri Lanka Mahmudul Hasan Joy, the right-handed opener, who had a fifty in the first match in Chattogram was bowled out for a duck in the very first over by Kasun Rajitha, and in the next over, Tamim Iqbal went back for a duck as well falling victim to Asitha Fernando. After them, Shakib Al Hasan also suffered a duck off the first ball he faced.  There was a gap between bat and pad of Mahmudul when an angled delivery came in from wide on the crease and shattered his stumps.  And it was a length delivery for Tamim around the middle and off, Tamim tried to prod it to the leg side but only managed a thick edge to the point area where Praveen Jayawickrama took an easy catch to dismiss him.  Also read:Mominul eyes series win as Dhaka Test begins Monday After the openers, captain Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto also went back scoring 9 and 8 respectively.   First Test of this series ended up in a draw in Chattogram where Tamim and Mushfiqur Rahim hit a ton each while Angelo Mathews also hit an outstanding 199 for the visitors. 

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first in the second Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.  Bangladesh made two changes to the playing XI— including Mosaddek Hossain and Ebadot Hossain to replace Nayeem Hasan and Shoriful Islam, who were out due to injuries.  Also read:Mominul eyes series win as Dhaka Test begins Monday The first Test of the series ended up in a draw in Chattogram where Angelo Mathews was the best performer scoring 199 while Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim also hit a century each for Bangladesh.  Nayeem bagged six wickets for the Tigers— his best in the format. But unfortunately, he got a blow on his finger and was ruled out of this series.