United News of Bangladesh

The sale of tickets for ‘Cricket Celebrates Mujib 100’, an event to mark the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, opened on Monday at Mirpur’s Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium. The celebration, also featuring Indian film composer A.R. Rahman, will take place on March 29 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The ticket prices range from BDT 1000 to 10,000 for the different sections in the gallery. Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina is expected to witness the event in person. Read: Bangabandhu's birthday: BCF to organise rapid chess competition for children Thursday Security around the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium has already been beefed up with deployment of special security forces. Tickets will be sold from 10 am to 5 pm on March 28 and 29. Indian Academy Award-winning composer A. R. Rahman will perform at the event along with Bangladeshi stars, including Momtaz Begum and the musical group Miles. Rahman arrived in Dhaka on Monday afternoon.

The ongoing ICC Women's World Cup 2022 group stage came to an end with a match between India and South Africa on Sunday (March 27). The Indian team's final match on the group stage was a must-win contest against the Proteas Women's team. However, they lost and were knocked out of the competition. England also qualified for the semi-finals after defeating Bangladesh by 100 runs in the first match on Sunday. The women's team of Bangladesh finished second from the bottom in the points standings. Let's look at the semi-final lineups and fixtures of ICC Women's World Cup 2022. Semi-Finalists of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022  The top four teams from the group stage points table have advanced to the semifinals. Let's see who made it to the semifinals of the competition. Read: ICC Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh end campaign with heaviest defeat against England Australia (First) Australia is the tournament's only undefeated team. They won all seven of their games and finished first in the group stage with 14 points. Australia’s Group Phase results AUS vs. ENG Australia (12 runs) AUS vs. PAK Australia (7 wickets) AUS vs. NZ Australia (141 runs) AUS vs. WI Australia (7 Wickets) AUS vs. IND Australia (6 Wickets) AUS vs. SA Australia (5 Wickets) AUS vs. BAN Australia (5 Wickets) South Africa (Second) The performance of the South African Women's team in the ongoing event has been exceptional. They won five games, lost one to Australia, and had no results against the West Indies due to inclement weather. South Africa finished second in the group stage points standings. Read Anamul smashes 184 in Dhaka Premier League South Africa’s Group Phase results SA vs. BAN South Africa (32 runs) SA vs. PAK South Africa (6 runs) SA vs. ENG South Africa (3 wickets) SA vs. NZ South Africa (2 wickets) SA vs. AUS Australia (5 wickets) SA vs. WI No Result SA vs. IND South Africa (3 Wickets) England (Third) England made a horrible start to the tournament, losing three games in a row against Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa. Like a big team, the England Women's side made a fantastic recovery later in the group stage. They finished third in the group phase points standings, overcoming India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Read Taskin should be rewarded: Mashrafe England’s Group Phase results ENG vs. AUS Australia (12 runs) ENG vs. WI West Indies (7 runs) ENG vs. SA South Africa (3 wickets) ENG vs. IND England (4 Wickets) ENG vs. NZ England (1 Wicket) ENG vs. PAK England (9 Wickets) ENG vs. BAN England (100 runs) West Indies (Fourth) The West Indies got off to a strong start in the tournament, winning their first two games against New Zealand and England, respectively. However, they lost momentum later in the first phase and had to wait until the final match of the group stage to qualify for the semifinals. The West Indies have advanced to the last four by finishing fourth in the standings with seven points. Read: Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh lost to India by big margin West Indies Group Phase results WI vs. NZ West Indies (3 runs) WI vs. ENG West Indies (7 runs) WI vs. IND India (155 runs) WI vs. AUS Australia (7 Wickets) WI vs. BAN West Indies (4 runs) WI vs. PAK Pakistan (8 Wickets) WI vs. SA No Result Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022: Semi-Final Fixtures Table-topper Australia will face fourth-placed West Indies in the first semifinal, while second-placed South Africa will face third-placed England in the second semifinal. Read Masrahfe praises Shakib for his sacrifice Fixtures of the Semi-Finals Date Match Venue & Time (Bangladesh Standard Time) March 30 (Wednesday) Australia Women vs. West Indies Women Basin Reserve, Wellington (4 AM) March 31 (Thursday) South Africa Women vs England Women Hagley Oval, Christchurch (7 AM) Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read SA vs BAN Test Series 2022: Ten Expected Milestones for Bangladesh Players Bottom Line There were no major upsets in the ICC Women's World Cup 2022 group stage, but there were some exciting games in this phase. Among the Asian teams, the Indian women's team was expected to get to the semi-finals of the competition. However, they fell short of expectations in the main event and had to settle for fifth place in the points standings. England had a slow start to the competition, but the team has gained momentum as the tournament progressed. The hosts New Zealand were the biggest disappointment, finishing sixth in the standings. Besides, both Bangladesh and Pakistan had several solid performances during the tournament, but they ended seventh and eighth in the points standings, respectively. In the  ICC Women's World Cup 2022 semifinals, Australia are the heavy favourites in the first match against the West Indies. Oppositely, the second semi-final encounter against South Africa and England promises to be thrilling. Read Australia to tour Sri Lanka for 10 matches in June and July

Right-handed opener Anamul Haque Bijoy smashed 184 off 142 balls with 18 fours and eight sixes in the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League on Sunday at BKSP. Riding on Anamul’s stormy batting display, his team Prime Bank Cricket Club posted a total of 388 for five in 50 overs against Shinepukur Cricket Club. Along with Anamul, Prime Bank’s Nasir Hossain has also done well scoring 61 off just 32 deliveries with three fours and five sixes. For Shinepukur, Asaduzzaman Payel and Sikandar Raza scalped two wickets each. In reply, Sikandar hit 98 for Shinepukur, and Sazzadul Hoque Ripon also hit a fifty. Riding on their batting, Shinepukur posted 277 for eight in 50 overs and lost the match by a big margin of 111 runs. In the other two matches of the day, Abahani Limited beat Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity by 20 runs, and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club beat Brothers Union by eight wickets. For Abahani, Mohammad Naim and Mosadeek Hossain Saikat hit a fifty each while for Sheikh Jamal, Saif Hassan hit a fifty. Mohammad Ashraful scored a fifty for Brothers, but they have lost the match. 

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has praised young tearawayn Taskin Ahmed for his decision to prefer playing for the national team instead of taking part in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Mashrafe said the pacer should be rewarded by the board so that he and other players feel that the board always stands beside them. “Of course (Taskin should be awarded). When a player skips IPL for national duty, he deserves an award. It makes the cricketer feels good and thinks that the board is beside me and I’m ready to play any format of the game,” Mashrafe told the reporters on Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Also read: Masrahfe praises Shakib for his sacrifice Taskin won the player of the match award twice in the recently concluded series against Proteas, which was the first series win in South Africa as well. In the third match of the series, Taskin bagged five wickets— the second of his career. Right before the third match, Taskin got an IPL call-up from the Lucknow Super Giants. The pacer said no to IPL after a discussion with the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The right-arm pacer is contracted with the board to play all formats of the game. Also read: Imperious Tigers complete historic series win in South Africa

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the former captain of Bangladesh, has praised Shakib Al Hasan for the sacrifice he made during the South Africa series.  Before the third match of the series, five members of Shakib’s family were hospitalized for different illnesses. It was expected that Shakib would return home to stay with his family. But the allrounder preferred to stay with the team for the series-deciding third and last match.  Read: Shakib set to return home from South Africa “We have to see the sacrifice that Shakib made in this series,” Masrhafe said on Sunday. “He was free to return home, but he stayed with the team and supported the team.” Bangladesh eventually won the last match of the series against South Africa and won the series as well— their first in South Africa.  “The biggest thing is Shakib’s desire to win the series. Hats off to Shakib (for what he has done)! He managed two sides in a great way,” Mashrafe added.  Read:Shakib to continue playing in SA despite family issues Earlier, Shakib was reluctant to tour South Africa due to, as he said, mental fatigue. But he eventually travelled with the team and won the player of the match award in the first match of the series.  The allrounder is currently at home. But he is expected to join the national team for the second Test starting on April 8 at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth.

Bangladesh ended their inaugural campaign in the ICC Women’s World Cup on Sunday with their heaviest defeat, losing by 100 runs against England at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.  It means Bangladeshi women end their campaign with a solitary win, that came  against Pakistan. They will rue their missed chances to win a couple of close matches where they failed to finish well.  Read:Australia to tour Sri Lanka for 10 matches in June and July In the last match, Bangladesh bowled first after losing the toss. England scored 234 runs in 50 overs losing six wickets. Sophia Dunkley scored 67— highest by an English batter.  For Bangladesh, former captain Salma Khatun bagged two wickets while Jahanara Alam, Ritu Moni, Fahima Akter and Lata Mandal scalped a wicket each.  In reply, Bangladesh were dismissed for 134 in 48 overs, with Lata Mondal scoring the highest of 30 runs off 45 balls. Almost all of Bangladesh’s top and middle-order batters managed to get good starts, but failed to go on.  Sophie Ecclestone and Charlotte Dean bagged three wickets each for England while Freya Davies took two.  Read:Bangladesh women falter again, lose Wellington game to Australia Australia have won all seven matches they have played in the World Cup so far while South Africa are right behind them with five wins in seven matches. England are at number three with four wins from seven matches. Bangladesh are placed 7th out of 8 teams.

South Africa will host Bangladesh for a two-match Test series beginning on March 31 (Thursday). The series is part of the second cycle of the ICC Test Championship (2021–2023). Therefore, this longer-version format bilateral series is crucial for both sides. Bangladesh's players will give it their all during the clash in an attempt to upset the South African side. In addition, the series allows players to attain a number of personal milestones. The milestones that Bangladesh cricketers can accomplish in the SA vs BAN Test series 2022 are discussed in this article. South Africa vs Bangladesh Test Series 2022: Ten Attainable Milestones for Bangladesh Cricketers   Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, and a number of other Bangladesh players are nearing personal milestones. Let's look at some of the achievements that Bangladeshi players may achieve during the forthcoming SA vs BAN Test series 2022. 200 International Wickets Off-spinner, Mehidy Hasan Miraz needs 13 more wickets to surpass the 200-wicket mark in international cricket. He has 187 wickets in 102 matches for Bangladesh. Read Australia to tour Sri Lanka for 10 matches in June and July 50 International Wickets Left-arm medium-pacer Shoriful Islam just needs six wickets to reach 50 international scalps. He has 44 wickets in 32 international matches. 50 International Wickets Right-arm pacer Abu Jayed Rahi has 39 international wickets to his name, and he just needs 11 more to get 50 for Bangladesh. 100 International Catches Tamim Iqbal has 99 catches for Bangladesh and only needs one more on the international level to reach 100. Read Bangladesh women falter again, lose Wellington game to Australia 5000 Test Runs Mr. dependable Mushfiqur Rahim only needs 127 runs to become Bangladesh's first player to score 5,000 runs in Test cricket. He has scored 4,873 runs in 78 Test matches for Bangladesh. 5000 Test Runs Left-handed top-order batter, Tamim Iqbal has 4,788 runs in 64 Test matches for Bangladesh. He needs 212 more runs to complete his 5,000 Test runs. 1000 Test Runs Najmul Hossain Shanto has scored 713 runs in 13 Test matches for Bangladesh since his debut in 2017. Najmul needs 287 more runs to accomplish his 1,000 Test runs. Read SA vs BAN ODI Series 2022: Bangladesh Cricket Team's Performance Analysis 150 Test Wickets Left-arm orthodox spinner, Taijul Islam has 144 Test wickets in 35 games. He only needs 6 more wickets to reach 150 Test wickets. 50 Test Matches Bangladesh's Test captain, Mominul Haque has 49 caps for his country. He will play his 50th Test match for Bangladesh in the next series against South Africa. Third Most Appearances as Test Captain of Bangladesh Mominul Haque will captain Bangladesh in 15 Test matches if he leads them in both matches against South Africa. Mominul will lead the team for the third-most in the Test format, behind Mushfiqur Rahim (34) and Habibul Bashar (18). Read Shakib set to return home from South Africa Bottom Line All of the expected players are available for the bilateral Test series against South Africa, with the exception of Shakib Al Hasan. Shakib has been granted leave for family reasons. Though he could be available for the second Test. Bangladesh players are hopeful of upsetting the Proteas Test side in the upcoming longer-version series after a stunning ODI series triumph over them. On the other hand, some Bangladesh players will have the opportunity to attain personal milestones during this Test format series. These players will accomplish their respective milestones if they can find their best form in the SA vs BAN Test series 2022.

Australia will travel to Sri Lanka for a 10-match series in all formats in June and July in its first tour of the south Asian country since 2016, when the hosts won a three-test series 3-0. The tour will feature three Twenty20 matches, five one-dayers and the two tests from June 7 to July 12. Colombo will host three T20s and three one-dayers with Kandy the venue for two one-dayers. Read:Bangladesh falter again, lose Wellington game to Australia Galle will host both test matches, from June 29-July 3 and July 8-12. “There is no more challenging place to play cricket than on the subcontinent and this tour offers our players invaluable experience and another great opportunity to excel on the world stage,” Cricket Australia’s chief executive officer Nick Hockley said in a statement on Friday. Read: Tigers Create Path-Breaking history in South Africa by Conquering Proteas in the ODI series decider Australia tour of Sri Lanka: June 7: 1st T20, ColomboJune 8: 2nd T20, ColomboJune 11: 3rd T20, ColomboJune 14: 1st ODI, KandyJune 16: 2nd ODI, KandyJune 19: 3rd ODI, ColomboJune 21: 4th ODI, ColomboJune 24: 5th ODI, ColomboJune 29-July 3: 1st Test, GalleJuly 8-12: 2nd Test, Galle

Former skipper of Bangladesh women's cricket team Salma Khatun snapped three wickets but that wasn't enough to prevent Australia from snatching Friday's match in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup in Wellington. The match was reduced to 43-over a side due to rain. Bangladesh batted first and posted a meagre total of 135 for six wickets in the stipulated 43 overs. Lata Mondal scored 33 for Bangladesh, while Sharmin Akhter scored 24. Rumana Ahmed and Salma Khatun scored 15 each. For Australia, Ashleigh Gardner and Jess Jonassen bagged two wickets each. Also read: Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh lost to India by big margin In reply, Australia lost three wickets for 26 runs. Salma bagged all the three. But after that, Beth Mooney took charge and posted an unbeaten 66 to guide Australia to win. They lost two more wickets too, but Mooney was firm at the crease and managed to keep their record of being unbeaten intact. Australia chased down the target in 32.1 overs with five wickets in hand. Bangladesh will play their last match in this World Cup against England on March 27 at the same venue. Also read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2022: Can Bangladesh still Qualify for the Semi-Finals? In the previous six matches, Bangladesh won only one against Pakistan, which was their maiden win in their first World Cup.

The Bangladesh men's cricket team made history on Wednesday (March 24) at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Tigers defeated the Proteas 2-1 in the bilateral ODI series on South African territory for the first time. Bangladesh pulled off the seemingly impossible with some outstanding individual efforts throughout the series. This series against South Africa is one of the few away series that Bangladesh have won so far, and it is possibly the best ever to date. Let's have a look at how Bangladesh players fared in the SA vs BAN ODI series 2022.   Bangladesh's Overall Performance in the 2022 ODI Series Between South Africa and Bangladesh Bangladesh's tour to South Africa began with a limited-overs series. The first and third ODI matches were held at SuperSport Park in Centurion, while the second match was held at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. First ODI Bangladesh dominated South Africa in the first one-day international, winning by 38 runs. The visitors chose to bat first after winning the toss and scored 314 runs. The Tamim-Litton opening duo provided Bangladesh with the perfect platform by putting together a 95-run opening partnership. Later, a 115-run partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Yasir Ali for the fourth wicket helped Bangladesh reach a big total. In response, Rassie van der Dussen (86) and David Miller (79) each played two solid innings, but they both departed at crucial stages. Bangladesh were able to win the contest with relative ease in the end.  Read Bangladesh bowl first in series decider vs South Africa Second ODI    The South African team completely dominated Bangladesh. The surface aided the bowlers in the opening 90 minutes. The Proteas pacers took advantage of the situation and got five wickets in 13 overs. Bangladesh had 34/5 at one stage, and they were on the verge of losing all of their wickets for just 100 runs. Bangladesh finally scored 194/9 thanks to Afif Hossain's superb 72-run innings. On the other hand, South Africa had no problem reaching the target. The hosts won the match by 7 wickets with 12.4 overs to spare because of Quinton De Kock's scorching 62-run effort. Third ODI   The series decider was expected to be a closely-contested affair. However, South African batters were totally unprepared by Taskin Ahmed's superb pace bowling excellence. His five-wicket haul wreaked havoc on the Proteas batting order. South Africa were dismissed after only 154 runs. Bangladesh won the chase thanks to Tamim-127-run opening partnership with Litton Das. The visitors were able to secure the game by 9 wickets with 23.3 overs remaining.   Read Tremendous Taskin takes five as Bangladesh wrap up SA for 154 Bangladesh Players' Individual Performances in the SA vs BAN ODI Series 2022 There were a few exceptional performances by Bangladesh players that stood out during the series. In particular, the performances of young players were quite promising, indicating that Bangladesh have a bright future on the international stage. Bowling Among Bangladesh players, Taskin Ahmed's evolution as a fast bowler has been the most noticeable. This right-handed bowler put in a lot of effort to get back into the Bangladesh team, and it has finally paid off. The South African batters had a lot of trouble with Taskin's bowling variations. He took eight wickets in the series, including a five-wicket haul in the decider. Taskin Ahmed was named player of the series for his performance in the 2022 ODI series between South Africa and Bangladesh. In addition to Taskin, left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam was outstanding throughout the series. Since making his international debut last year, Shoriful has established himself as a real difference-maker in the Bangladesh team. Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz both had strong performances during this bilateral series. However, Mustafizur Rahman did not take a wicket in the series, which is a major concern for Bangladesh. Read Imperious Tigers complete historic series win in South Africa Top Three most wicket-takers of Bangladesh   Player Match Wickets BBI Ave Econ Taskin Ahmed 3 8 5/35 14.00 4.86 Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3 6 4/61 24.00 6.00 Shakib Al Hasan 3 3 2/24 37.00 3.82    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Batting Bangladesh captain, Tamim Iqbal made the highest 129 runs in the series. The southpaw was criticized for not performing to his full potential in the first two games. On the other hand, Tamim silenced his critics in the third match by playing an aggressive innings. Tamim's opening partner, Litton Das was second in the most run-scorers list and also delivered two vital knocks in the series. Bangladesh's best opening pair has shown consistency with the bat, which is encouraging for the team's management ahead of the Test series.  Aside from them, veteran Shakib Al Hasan, newcomer Yasir Ali, and young Afif Hossain also enjoyed their time at the crease. In particular, the performances of Yasir and Afif were significant for the Bangladesh team. Yasir will have to show his worth in the forthcoming games, while Afif's two excellent knocks against Afghanistan and South Africa, respectively, show that the southpaw is ready to step up when needed. Moreover, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad didn't accomplish much with the bat during the series. Read Tigers Create Path-Breaking history in South Africa by Conquering Proteas in the ODI series decider Top Three most run-scorers of Bangladesh   Player Innings Runs HS Ave 50s Tamim Iqbal 3 129 87* 64.50 1 Litton Das 3 113 50 37.66 1 Shakib Al Hasan 3 95 77 47.50 1    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Way Forward The Bangladesh team was anticipated to win at least one match during the SA vs BAN ODI series 2022. However, Bangladesh astonished everyone by winning the series because of some spectacular individual performances and a superb team effort. Team Tigers' growth under Tamim Iqbal's leadership has been truly remarkable. If Bangladesh aspire to establish itself as one of the world's top cricketing nations, they must maintain this consistency in the forthcoming international matches.    Read Shakib set to return home from South Africa