United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan is returning home from South Africa. He is expected to take a flight on Thursday, confirmed Tanvir Ahmed, chairman of the media department of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.  Along with his two children, at least four members of Shakib’s family are hospitalized for different illnesses. Shakib wants to stay with his family during this time. The allrounder is expected to fly for South Africa ahead of the second Test against the hosts starting from April 7 in Porth Elizabeth. However, he is going to miss the first Test starting from March 31.  Also read Imperious Tigers complete historic series win in South Africa The Bangladesh team won their maiden ODI series in South Africa on Tuesday. Shakib was one of the mainstays in this series for the Tigers. He was awarded the player of the match for his fifty in the first match Bangladesh won by 38 runs.  The allrounder was uncertain in this series. Right before the series, Shakib had said that he was unable to play international cricket for some mental issues. He was granted a two-month break from BCB too. But he changed his mind and opted to take part in this series.  Meanwhile, with winning the ODI series in South Africa, Bangladesh secured their place at the top of the ICC World Cup Super League points table. Also read: Tigers Create Path-Breaking history in South Africa by Conquering Proteas in the ODI series decider

Bangladesh had won a bilateral ODI series against South Africa at home but had never beaten them away from home before yesterday (March 23). Bangladesh beat South Africa by 9 wickets in the third ODI in front of their home crowd at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, clinching the series 2-1. The Tigers defeated the Proteas in an ODI series on South African territory for the first time. This victory will undoubtedly go down in Bangladesh cricket history as a watershed moment. Let's have a look at how Bangladesh defeated South Africa in the third One-Day International. Match Report: South Africa-Bangladesh Third ODI 2022 The SuperSport Park in Centurion is famed for its batting-friendly track, as seen in the opening match of the series. Though, South Africa's batting performance on Wednesday seemed to suggest otherwise. After winning the toss, the Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma made the obvious decision to bat first. The South African team management crafted a plan to score above 300 runs and as many as possible. South Africa got off to a flying start in pursuit of their goal, scoring 46 runs in seven overs. However, the hosts' innings fell apart when off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz sent Quinton de Kock back to the pavilion in the fifth ball of the seventh over. Quinton's wicket was significant because he was ruthless in the second match and delivered a brilliant knock for the Proteas. Read Imperious Tigers complete historic series win in South Africa After that South Africa couldn’t build any big partnerships and started to lose wickets at regular intervals. Bangladesh’s medium-pacer Taskin Ahmed was once again rising up as the main threat for the South African batting lineups. His variation of bowling which includes pace, bounce, and nice length ball caused a lot of problems to the opposition batters. The tall pacer got rewarded for his good work with the ball as he picked up five wickets in the match. He also became the first pace bowler of opposition teams to scalp five wickets in an innings in South Africa since 2012. His evolution as a bowler and dedication to the game is really inspiring to the young generation of cricketers. Apart from him, Shakib Al Hasan bagged two wickets.      Following that, South Africa were unable to form any significant partnerships and began to lose wickets at regular intervals. Taskin Ahmed of Bangladesh once again emerged as the biggest danger to the South African batting lines. His bowling technique, which included pace, bounce, and a beautiful length ball, gave the opposition batters a lot of trouble. The tall pacer was rewarded for his excellent bowling performance with five wickets in the contest. He was also the first opposition pace bowler to take five wickets in an innings in South Africa since 2012. His development as a bowler and commitment to the game are truly inspirational to the next generation of cricketers. Shakib Al Hasan also took two wickets for Bangladesh. Read Tremendous Taskin takes five as Bangladesh wrap up SA for 154 South Africa were bowled out for 154 runs in 37 overs. South Africa's leading scorer was Janneman Malan, who made 39 runs. Bangladesh chased down the low target in just 26.3 overs, making the match completely one-sided. Captain Tamim Iqbal was brilliant and aggressive with the bat from the beginning of the series decider. He stayed unbeaten with 87* off 82 and ensured Bangladesh won by a big margin. The Tamim-Litton opening pair contributed 127 runs in 20.5 overs, virtually securing the match for the tigers. Litton scored 48 runs before losing his wicket in the 21st over to Keshav Maharaj. After his departure, the Tamim-Shakib pair led Bangladesh to a historic series triumph over South Africa. Read Bangladesh bowl first in series decider vs South Africa SA vs BAN 3rd ODI 2022: Player of the Match   Right-handed medium-pacer Taskin Ahmed was awarded player of the match for his superb bowling effort in the contest. He got five wickets in the match, allowing Bangladesh to seize control of the South African innings. Taskin also made history by being the first Bangladeshi bowler to take five wickets in an innings in South Africa. The player of the match award was well-deserved for this talented pacer. In addition, Taskin was named player of the series after taking eight wickets in the three-match ODI series. Way Forward Bangladesh men's cricket team defeated Afghanistan in a limited-overs series before traveling to South Africa for a three-match One-Day International series. Therefore, the team was confident that they could upset the hosts for at least one game. The BCB has also added a couple of former South African players to the coaching panel in an attempt to secure the first-ever triumph in South Africa. However, prior to the series, the majority of people didn't think Bangladesh would stun South Africa and win a historic series. Bangladesh achieved an unthinkable result in the ODI series against South Africa thanks to some outstanding individual performances. Hopefully, this remarkable feat will boost Bangladesh's confidence ahead of the Test series, which begins on March 31. Read Pakistan reaches 159-1 against Australia in 3rd test

Cricket97, a cricket-based portal of the Bangladesh Cricket Supporters Association (BCSA), recently completed its five-year journey. The web-based media platform started in 2017 to deliver cricket-related content and analysis. The BCSA is a not-for-profit organisation recognised by the Ministry of Social Welfare. Cricket97 was formally launched in 2017 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the country's historic ICC Trophy win. The platform was fittingly named after 1997, the epoch-making year. READ: Imperious Tigers complete historic series win in South Africa Members of the ICC Trophy-winning Bangladesh cricket team, the Bangladesh Cricket Board officials, cricket fans and journalists were present at the opening programme of Cricket97. ICC Trophy-winning captain and BCB Director Akram Khan said: "Ninety-seven is glorious for us." Jalal Yunus, chairman of BCB Cricket Operations Committee, said: "Cricket97 has been an integral part of cricket enthusiasts. People love to get authentic updates in real-time." In the last five years, Cricket97 offered news, views, features, exclusive interviews, spectacular visuals to the cricket fans, with the philosophy: "We deal with cricket."

After wrapping up the hosts for 154, it was only a matter of time for Bangladesh to make history in Centurion on Tuesday. They did it in style, romping home to a nine-wicket victory to close out their first ever series victory over South Africa away from home.   After Taskin Ahmed’s tremendous bowling show, it was Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das who guided the Tigers to an imperious victory at the Centurion where they had taken a lead winning the first match of the series.   Tigers now finally won an ODI series in South Africa. Ahead of this series, Bangladesh had no wins against the Proteas in South Africa, and now, two wins under their belt in three matches.  Over the last few years, Bangladesh were waiting to march to the next level as an ODI force. But something was missing as they had no series win in any of these countries— South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia— which are often regarded as the toughest condition for the Asian sides.  READ: Tremendous Taskin takes five as Bangladesh wrap up SA for 154 With the series win over South Africa in a dominant fashion, Bangladesh now are finally on a new level as an ODI team a year away from the next 50-over World Cup.  With a target of 155, Tamim and Liton made an outstanding start scoring 127 in the first wicket stand. While Tamim continued after hitting a fifty full of shots around the wicket, Liton fell for 48 off 57 balls. When the right-hander fell prey to Keshav Maharaj, Bangladesh had little to do so to seal the series.  With Shakib hitting off Kagiso Rabada for a four in the 27th over, Bangladesh secured one of their biggest win by nine wickets with more than 23 overs to play.  Tamim was unbeaten for 87 while Shakib remained unbeaten for 18.  Earlier, riding on the brilliant pace-bowling display by Taskin, Bangladesh wrapped up South Africa for 154 in 37 overs. Ahead of this match, the series was on parity 1-1. If Bangladesh can win this match, they will make a history of winning their maiden ODI series in the soil of South Africa.  South Africa won the toss and sent Bangladesh to bowl first. In the first wicket partnership, the hosts added 46 runs in just 6.5 overs. But after that, Taskin came to the fore and dismantled the batting line of the hosts.  Taskin started with the wicket of Kyle Verreynne. It was not the best delivery Taskin bowled in the match. It was short and wide, but Kyle only managed a bottom edge that has shattered his stumps when he was at 9 for 16 balls.  Mushfiqur Rahim took the catches on the other four occasions of Taskin’s five wickets in this match.  After Kyle, Taskin removed Janneman Malan, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius and Kagiso Rabada. Apart from the first scalped, Taskin delivered nearly all the perfect short balls to bag wickets. He led the Tigers all the way with the ball.  Along the way, the right-arm pacer completed his second five-for in ODIs. His maiden five-wicket haul came in 2014 against India in Mirpur. That was his debut in the format. After about an eight-year-long gap, Taskin finally recorded his second five-for.  South Africa eventually tumbled for 154 for all wickets in 37 overs with Malan posting the highest of 39 runs. Their second-highest runs scorer was Keshav Maharaj with 28. He was trapped run-out by Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur as the last wicket.  The two teams will now take on each other in a two-match Test series from March 31. 

Riding on the brilliant pace-bowling display by Taskin Ahmed, Bangladesh wrapped up South Africa for 154 in 37 overs on Wednesday in Centurion.  Ahead of this match, the series was on parity 1-1. If Bangladesh can win this match, they will make a history of winning their maiden ODI series in the soil of South Africa.  South Africa won the toss and sent Bangladesh to bowl first. In the first wicket stand, the hosts added 46 runs in just 6.5 overs. But after that, Taskin came to the fore and dismantled the batting line of the hosts. READ: Bangladesh bowl first in series decider vs South Africa Taskin started with the wicket of Kyle Verreynne. It was not the best delivery Taskin bowled in the match. It was short and wide, but Kyle only managed a bottom edge that has shattered his stumps when he was at 9 for 16 balls.  Mushfiqur Rahim took the catches on the other four occasions of Taskin’s five wickets in this match.  After Kyle, Taskin removed Janneman Malan, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius and Kagiso Rabada. Apart from the first scalped, Taskin delivered nearly all the perfect short balls to bag wickets. He led the Tigers all the way with the ball.  Along the way, the right-arm pacer completed his second five-for in ODIs. His maiden five-wicket haul came in 2014 against India in Mirpur. That was his debut in the format. After about an eight-year-long gap, Taskin finally recorded his second five-for.  Taskin ended up taking five wickets for 35 runs in nine overs.  South Africa eventually tumbled for 154 for all wickets in 37 overs with Malan posting the highest of 39 runs. Their second-highest runs scorer was Keshav Maharaj’s 28. He was trapped run-out by Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur as the last wicket.

Bangladesh lost the toss and were sent to bowl first in the third ODI of the three-match series against South Africa at Centurion.  In the first two matches, Bangladesh won one, and the hosts bettered the visitors in another. So this match became a series decider.  Read:Bangladesh eye to historic series win vs South Africa Bangladesh never won a series in South Africa. If they can win in this match, it will be a history-making win for the Tigers.  The Tigers fielded an unchanged XI in this match.  This series is a part of the ICC World Cup Super League. Bangladesh are currently at the top of the table of this league with 11 wins in 17 matches while South Africa are at 9th with two wins in 12 matches so far.  Read: Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh lost to India by big margin Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal(c), Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Yasir Ali, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman South Africa (Playing XI): Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock(w), Kyle Verreynne, Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

Azhar Ali posted his first test half century in his hometown and Abdullah Shafique continued to flourish against Australia as Pakistan reached 159-1 at lunch Wednesday on Day 3 of the third and final cricket test. Australia missed a chance to break the century partnership when Steve Smith couldn’t hold onto a sharp one-handed catch off Azhar at slip in Mitchell Swepson’s last over before the interval. Read:Bangladesh eye to historic series win vs South Africa Both batters were otherwise untroubled against pace and spin on a slow wicket in a dominating first session for Pakistan, which still trails by 232 runs after bowling out Australia for 391 in the first innings. Opener Shafique was unbeaten on 75 and Azhar, veteran of 94 test matches, was not out on 63 while playing his first test match at Lahore. He made his test debut against Australia in 2010. Resuming on 90-1, both batters defied the reverse swing of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins and also batted resolutely against spinners Nathan Lyon and Swepson. They have extended their second-wicket stand to 139 runs with Azhar needing 11 more runs to complete 7,000 in test cricket. Australia is left with only one referral after it lost its second review when it unsuccessfully challenged a not out decision for lbw against Shafique in Starc’s first over soon after the batter had completed his half century. Shafique is in impeccable form in the batter-dominated series as he scored his maiden test hundred in the drawn first test at Rawalpindi. He narrowly missed out on a century at Karachi, but his patient 96 had helped Pakistan to survive for well over five sessions and forced an epic draw. Read: Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh lost to India by big margin Shafique, resuming Wednesday on 45, completed his half century in 3-1/2 hours when he drove Starc to the mid-off boundary for two. Azhar, on 30 overnight, reverse swept Lyon for a boundary and then completed his half century with a drive to mid-wicket.

With the three-match series is on parity, the Bangladesh team is eyeing to win it against South Africa in their home backyard. Bangladesh has never won a series on South African soil. In the first match, Bangladesh won by 38 runs— which was Bangladesh’s maiden against South Africa in their home. The hosts bounced back strongly in the second match in Johannesburg. For Bangladesh, the first match was a great demonstration of playing together as a team. Read:Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh lost to India by big margin The batters did well after putting into bat first. Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das managed to have a good start. The middle-order also did well with the fifties from Shakib Al Hasan and Yasir Ali. And while bowling, the pacers put enough pressure on the Protea batters, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagged four wickets. Overall, that was a great team effort from the Tigers. Now, ahead of the third match in Centurion where the series has begun, the Bangladesh team is confident to clinch the series. “We have played good cricket in the first match. We are eager to play the same brand of cricket tomorrow,” Mehidy, the allrounder told on Tuesday. “We have a great chance to win a series in South Africa. For that, we have to play as a team. We have to perform together.” Mehidy also added that Bangladeshi batters will have to come up with a good batting display that can ease the task of the bowlers. “The wickets of Centurion is so good for the batters,” he added. “Having a good total is important in ODI cricket. We cannot win a match scoring only 200 runs. In the last match, the wicket was so tough. We have faced uneven bounces that made it tough for us to score runs.” In the last match at this venue, Bangladesh posted more than 300 runs. Mehidy said the result of the last match at this venue is encouraging them to do replicate that performance. Read:SA vs BAN 2022: Bangladesh, South Africa Lock Horns in ODI Series Decider in Centurion In the all-important match on Wednesday, Bangladesh will get the service of Shakib. The allrounder was about to take a flight back home due to a family emergency. He, however, changed his mind and opted to play in the ODI series. The last match of the ODI series will kick off at 5 pm (Bangladesh time). After the ODI series, both teams will take on each other in a two-match Test series. While the first Test will take the field on March 31 at Kingsmead, Durban, the second Test will be played at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth from April 8.

Taskin Ahmed was among the Bangladeshi players selected for the IPL 2022 auction. Though, he was not put up for auction. The Delhi Capitals picked left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman for a base price of Rs 2 crore during the auction. The remainder of the players were not sold, including all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. IPL franchise, the Lucknow Super Giants could not overlook Taskin Ahmed's recent international performance. However, the right-handed pacer declined Lucknow's invitation to play for the national team. Take a look at Taskin Ahmed's recent international success, which attracted Lucknow to him. Taskin Ahmed’s Recent Performance on the International Stage Taskin Ahmed made headlines when he took five wickets in his ODI debut against India in 2014. This right-arm medium pacer was regarded as one of Bangladesh's most promising young pacers at the time. However, Taskin's ambition for cricket started to crumble due to a series of injuries since late 2017. He was not picked for the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup team. Taskin cried in front of the media after being left out of Bangladesh's World Cup squad. Read Women’s World Cup: Bangladesh lost to India by big margin Taskin Ahmed did not give up despite many obstacles. Following his absence from the World Cup squad, he worked hard to regain physical fitness and to enhance his overall bowling variations. The promising bowler returned to the Bangladesh national side in the bilateral ODI series against the West Indies in 2021 and has since represented the country in all formats. Taskin Ahmed has been one of Bangladesh's most successful bowlers since 2021 and he currently leads the pace attack. Bangladesh had a poor showing in the 2021 T20 World Cup, particularly in the Super 12 stage. However, Taskin was one of the few Bangladeshi players that performed well in the event. The cricket community particularly appreciated his bowling spell (2/18) against South Africa. Read SA vs BAN 2022: Bangladesh, South Africa Lock Horns in ODI Series Decider in Centurion Taskin Ahmed has played 34 matches across all formats since January 2021, taking 44 wickets at an average of 36.61. He has 16 Test wickets in 5 games, 17 ODI wickets in 15 games, and 11 T20I wickets in 14 games since 2021. When looking at Taskin's statistics from the last year, it's clear that his average is higher than expected, but his impact as a fast bowler at the start of the innings is significant. Taskin Ahmed’s international bowling stats since January, 2021 Match Wickets BBI Ave Econ SR 34 44 4/46 36.61 4.45 49.2    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read Shakib to continue playing in SA despite family issues What made Lucknow Super Giants want Taskin to join the squad? The English recruit from Lucknow, Mark Wood was forced to withdraw from the West Indies series and the IPL 2022 owing to an elbow injury. The Lucknow Super Giants want a young, prominent pacer to take his position. Taskin Ahmed of Bangladesh was their initial pick to replace Mark Wood. There are two main reasons for this: To begin with, Taskin's inclusion will widen the market. Due to Taskin's participation, Lucknow may draw a large number of Bangladesh supporters. Second, Taskin's development as a genuine fast bowler has been outstanding, and he may be a good option to have in the squad in sub-continent conditions. According to sources, Lucknow's mentor, Gautam Gambhir approached BCB about his availability for the whole IPL15 season, and the franchise called Taskin to express their interest in him. However, after consulting Taskin, BCB's Cricket Operations Committee chairman Jalal Yunus confirmed that he will not play for the Lucknow Super Giants in the upcoming IPL 2022. Read PAK vs AUS Test Series 2022: Pakistan, Australia face off in series decider in Lahore Bottom Line Taskin Ahmed was surprised to get a call from an Indian Premier League franchise inviting him to participate in IPL 2022. Though he will not be playing for the Lucknow Super Giants this season owing to national duty. However, Taskin Ahmed will be driven by this unexpected call to do even better in the future. It's also a recognition of his passion and hard work to cricket.

Bangladesh lost to India by 110 runs at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Tuesday in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup. India won the toss and batted first. They posted a moderate total of 229 runs for seven wickets in 50 overs. For them, Yastika Bhatia was the highest-run getter with a fifty off 80 balls with two fours. Shafali Verma scored 42 while Smriti Mandhana and Pooja Vastrakar scored 30 each. Read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2022: Can Bangladesh still Qualify for the Semi-Finals? India lost three wickets at 74, and all of them were taken by Ritu Moni who picked up the wicket of Mithali Raj for a duck as well. In reply, Bangladesh lost five wickets even before scoring 50 runs. After losing five for 35, Bangladesh had little to do in the match. They lost wickets in regular intervals, and thus, they lost the match by a big margin. Salma Khatun scored 32 which was the highest individual score by a Bangladeshi batter in this match. Lata Mondal scored 24 while Murshida Khatun scored 19. Sneh Rana scalped four wickets for India conceding 30 runs in 10 overs while Jhulan Goswami and Pooja Vastrakar took two wickets each. Read: SA vs BAN 2022: Bangladesh, South Africa Lock Horns in ODI Series Decider in Centurion Bangladesh played five matches so far, and won only one against Pakistan— their first win in the World Cup. In the next two matches, Bangladesh will take on Australia and England on March 25 and 27 respectively.