United News of Bangladesh

India captain Rohit Sharma has named Australian pacer Scott Boland as the most challenging bowler he has faced on Australian soil. He said his name while reflecting on India’s 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series during an interview with Michael Clarke. “When we checked his pitch map, 90% of his deliveries were just on the spot – no width, no full balls,” Rohit described. Boland claimed 21 wickets in just three Tests as Australia came from behind to win the series 3-1. The Indian skipper endured a difficult series with the bat, scoring just 31 runs in five innings. World Cup 2023: Kohli, Rohit Sharma take wickets as India crush the Netherlands “I had to be honest with myself,” Rohit said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball well, and I didn’t want to play just for the sake of it. We really wanted Gill to play. He missed the previous Test, and he deserved a shot,” he added. While selectors and coaches gave mixed responses to Rohit’s decision, he said that it was taken with the team’s interests in mind “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Every decision you make—there’s no guarantee,” Rohit said.

 Fast bowler Mitchell Starc inspired table-toppers Delhi Capitals to a tense victory in the super over against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday. Starc forced the game into the super over with a brilliant eight-run 20th over as Rajasthan finished at 188-4 in reply to Delhi’s 188-5. Two run-outs in Starc’s super over limited Rajasthan to 11-2 before Lokesh Rahul and Tristan Stubbs smashed Sandeep Sharma’s first four balls for 13 runs and took Delhi on top of the points table with five wins from six games. Rajasthan has plenty to catch-up as they dropped to No. 8 with just two wins from seven games. Rajasthan slips against Starc Rajasthan seemed to have controlled the chase until Starc nailed a perfect yorker to half century-maker Nitish Rana (51) in the 18th over and had the left-hander plumb leg before wicket. Starc bowled four more yorkers in the final over and with two needed on the final ball, Dhruv Jurel drove Starc to mid-wicket but got run out while going for the winning run. Rajasthan had an injury scare when their captain Sanju Samson walked off with a side strain after he had provided a brisk start with Yashasvi Jaiswal (51). India to tour Bangladesh for white-ball series in August Samson clutched his left side in pain after hitting three sixes and two boundaries in his 19-ball knock of 31 balls as he walked off in the sixth over with Rajasthan cruising to 61-0. Delhi captain Axar Patel finally got his first wicket of the season when he clean bowled Riyan Parag for 12 and Jaiswal holed out at long-on soon after completing his third half century of the season. Patel should have dismissed Rana on 20 in the 15th over but Stubbs dropped a sitter at long-on before Rana eased the target by smashing Kuldeep Yadav for a six and a four in the next over. However, Starc turned the tide in his return spell with flurry of yorkers and pushed the game into the super over. Delhi prospers in death overs Opening batter Abishek Porel smashed fast bowler Tushar Deshpande for four boundaries and a six in the second over but Jake Fraser-McGurk’s poor season continued when he holed out in Jofra Archer’s second over after scoring nine off six balls. Rahul and Porel put on 63 runs off 57 balls, but the slowness of the wicket didn’t allow them to accelerate against either spin or pace. Rahul was eventually dismissed in the 13th over when he pulled Archer to mid-wicket where Shimron Hetmyer took a good low catch and Porel got dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga when he holed out at long-off after scoring 49 off 37 balls as Delhi slipped to 4-105. Kolkata thrashes Chennai, extends their IPL losing streak But Patel and Stubbs provided late flurry by contributing 34 runs each. Axar countercharged against Hasaranga and smashed 34 off 14 balls while Stubbs, dropped on 18 off Hasaranga, consumed 18 balls for his unbeaten 34 as the last three overs provided Delhi 42 runs.

The six-team super league of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket begins on Thursday (Apr 17) with three teams playing at three separate venues in the capital and adjoining areas. Six top teams of the 12 teams Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League --have earned the rights to play in the Super League, the main battle for the league crown. The six super league teams are: Dhaka Mohammedan SC, Dhaka Abahani Limited, Gazi Group Crickters, Gulshan Cricket Club, Agrani Bank CC and Legends of Rupganj Siddiquee, Robiul, Ahrar star as DPL sees bowling brilliance and big runs On the opening day (Thursday), league leader Dhaka Mohammedan SC will play Legends of Rupganj at the Sher-e- Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka Abahani Ltd will face Agrani Bank CC at BKSP ground -3 while Gazi Group Cricketers will encounters Gulshan Cricket Club at BKSP ground -4 All the matches will kick- off at 9: am and the points of the first phase league will added in the super and delegation leagues Every match will have a reserve day after one round. Meanwhile, the delegation league of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket will begin on April 18. In the delegation league, Partex SC will play Shinepukur Cricket Club on Friday, Brothers Union Club will play Shinepukur CC on Monday while Brothers Union will play Partex SC on April 24 in the last match.

Bangladesh came close to qualify for the ICC Women's World Cup beating Scotland by 34 runs in their 3rd match of the six- nation ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers at the flood light Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore Tuesday night. This was the 3rd consecutive victory for Bangladesh in the ongoing Women's World Cup qualifiers after beating Thailand and Ireland and now they needed just a victory in their remaining two matches against West Indies and hosts Pakistan to assure their World Cup berth. After the day's match, Bangladesh topped the six- team list securing full six points from straight three matches with comfortable net run rate of 1.494 while hosts Pakistan also bagged full six points from three matches and were in the 2nd slot with net run rate of 0.857 Bangladesh, which made a flying start crushing Thailand by a massive 178 runs in the first match featuring a lot of records last Thursday, were struggled hard in the l 2nd match last Sunday. But, a sensible and career best batting in a disasterous position by player of the match Ritu Moni powered Bangladesh to beat Ireland by two wickets with eight balls remaining in the 2nd match last Sunday In the remaining league basis matches of the ongoing meet, Bangladesh will play West Indies on April 17 and hosts Pakistan on April 19.  Siddiquee, Robiul, Ahrar star as DPL sees bowling brilliance and big runs In the day's 3rd match, Bangladesh opened the innings first after winning the toss piled up a good total of 276 runs for 6 in quota 50 overs featuring three half centuries by captain Nigar Sultana Joty, opener Fargana Hoque and one down Sharmin Akhter. Captain cum number four batter Nigar Sultana, who made her maiden and Bangladesh's quickest century against Thailand in the first match, today also scored the team highest not out 83 runs off just 59 balls, featuring eleven boundaries. Sharmin Akhter and Fargana Hoque made 57 runs each playing 79 and 84 balls and hitting seven and six boundaries respectively. Besides, lower order Fahima Khatun (26), opener Ishma Tanjim (14) and Ritu Moni (12) were the other Bangladesh batters reaching the double figures Kathryn Bryce took two wickets giving away 58 runs. Chasing a target of 277 runs, the Scotish Women's scored 242 runs for 9 in stipulated 50 overs featuring 115 runs runs in the 8th wickets stand by Priyanaz and Rachel Slater. Number eight batter Priyanaz Chatterji contributed 61 runs off 63 balls hitting seven fours while number nine Rachel Slater also scored 61 runs off 73 balls with five boundaries. Besides, middle order batter cum wicket keeper Sarah Bryce made 58-ball 42 runs including three hits to the fence while Ailsa Lister and opener Pippa Sproul added 18 and 17 runs respectively. Nahida Akhter took four wickets for 40 runs, Jannatul Ferdous grabbed two wickets for 43 runs while Marufa Akter and Rabeya Khan took one wicket each. Mohammedan break 9-year hoodoo against Abahani with DPL win Earlier, Bangladesh women's made a very good practices too in Pakistan crushing hosts Pakistan Women's by a massive 167 runs in their second warm-up match after beating Scotland by five wickets in the first warm up match ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday confirmed the itinerary for India’s upcoming white-ball tour of Bangladesh in August this year. The series will feature three OdIs and three T20Is. The Indian team is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on August 13. The ODI series will kick off on August 17 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur. The second ODI, also at Mirpur, will follow on August 20. The third and final ODI is scheduled for August 23 at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Cricket Stadium — which was formerly known as Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium— in Chattogram. Women's World Cup Qualifiers: Ritu Moni power Bangladesh to a precious two-wicket win over Ireland The T20I series will begin on August 26 in Chattogram and then move back to Mirpur for the remaining two matches on August 29 and 31, respectively.  This will be the first time Bangladesh hosts a bilateral T20I series against India on home soil. “India has set the benchmark in international cricket across all formats. The cricket-loving millions in both countries are sure to enjoy this contest,” BCB Chief Executive Officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said. “Bangladesh and India have played some very competitive matches in recent years, and I am confident that this will be another hard-fought and entertaining series,” he added.    

Gazi Group, Agrnai Bank and Partex Sporting Club register victories in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League on Sunday. At the BKSP in Savar, Wasi Siddiquee led Gazi Group Cricketers to a 51-run win over Brothers Union. After Gazi posted 301, riding on Shamsur Rahman’s 84 and Salman Hossain’s rapid 51 off 27 balls, Siddiquee tore through Brothers’ batting with figures of 6 for 52. Despite a 122 off 92 balls from Zahiduzzaman, Brothers fell short at 250 in 43.1 overs. In Mirpur, the Agrani Bank Cricket Club cruised to an 89-run victory over the Legends of Rupganj, thanks to both a solid batting foundation and disciplined bowling. Agrani posted 306 for 6, with Shadman Islam (87), Imranuzzaman (50), and Amite Hasan (59) all contributing. Mohammedan break 9-year hoodoo against Abahani with DPL win In reply, Rupganj struggled against a disciplined attack, bowled out for 217. Robiul Hoque claimed the spotlight with 4 wickets for 39 runs, while Arif Ahmed and Shohidul Islam supported with two wickets each. In another match in BKSP, Partex Sporting Club edged out Dhanmondi Sports Club by 2 wickets in a tense chase. Chasing 230, Partex relied on their captain Ahrar Amin, who played a captain’s knock of 85 not out off 126 balls after earlier taking 3 wickets for 42. His calmness under pressure helped Partex recover from 44 for 4 to reach the target with 12 balls to spare. Moin Khan (80) and Yasir Ali (90) earlier rebuilt Dhanmondi’s innings after a top-order collapse, but their efforts went in vain. Bowling also played a key role for Dhanmondi, with Sunzamul Islam returning figures of 5 for 32, though it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat.

Mohammedan Sporting Club ended a nine-year drought against archrivals Abahani Limited with a 39-run victory in the Dhaka Premier League. A century from Anisul Islam and a four-wicket haul by Ebadot Hossain helped Mohammedan register a win on Saturday. At the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Anisul struck a brilliant 114 off 118 balls, guiding Mohammedan to a competitive total of 264. In reply, Abahani’s chase stumbled early and never recovered, despite an 80-run knock from captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. Ebadot returned figures of 4 for 36, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz chipped in with two wickets for 31. With this win, Mohammedan joined Abahani on nine wins from 11 games but climbed to the top of the points table by a superior head-to-head record. The victory was Mohammedan’s first against Abahani in a List A match since May 2016, ending a run of 11 consecutive defeats. In other matches on Saturday, Abdul Majid’s unbeaten century led Rupganj Tigers to a 28-run win over Shinepukur Cricket Club in BKSP. Majid carried his bat for 102*, while Mahmudul Hasan contributed 56 runs and took 4 wickets to earn Player of the Match honours. Shinepukur fell short despite promising starts, collapsing from a strong position in their chase of 251. Gulshan Cricket Club kept their Super League hopes alive with a five-wicket win over Prime Bank Cricket Club. Chasing 204, captain Azizul Hakim led from the front with his maiden List A century—105 off 106 balls—steering his team home with more than 12 overs to spare. The defeat ended Prime Bank’s campaign, while Gulshan finished the round with 15 points from 11 games, securing a place in the Super League.

With a sweet memory of crushing Thailand by a record margin in the first match last Thursday, the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket team will play Ireland in their 2nd match of the six-nation ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers at the renovated traditional Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.  The Bangladesh team made a flying start in the ongoing Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, crushing Thailand by a record 178 runs in the opener at the Lahore City Cricket Association ground last Thursday, featuring a maiden and quick ODI century by captain Nigar Sultana Joty (103 runs off 80 balls, 4X15, 6X1), the 2nd ton by any Bangladeshi women’s cricketer in the ODI format. After Friday’s matches, hosts Pakistan dominated the points table, securing four points from two straight matches. Bangladesh followed them with an all-win run, collecting two points from only one match with a comfortable net run rate of +3.560, while Scotland and West Indies also bagged two points each playing two matches.  In the remaining league matches, Bangladesh will play Scotland on April 15, West Indies on April 17 and hosts Pakistan on April 19. The top two teams of the ongoing six-team qualifiers will earn the rights to play in the eight-team final round of the ICC Women’s World Cup to be held in India next September-October alongside six directly qualified teams—India, Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Shoriful, Sohan star in DPL as Dhanmondi, Rupganj secure win Sent in into bat first in Thursday's match, Bangladesh piled up their ODI highest innings of 271 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in the stipulated 50 overs, and later they bundled out Thailand cheaply for just 93 runs in only 28.5 overs to achieve their ever-highest ODI victory. Bangladesh also made a record partnership in that match, hammering 152 runs off 138 balls in the 3rd wicket stand by Sharmin Akter and captain Nigar Sultana Joty. Earlier, the Bangladesh women's team practised very well in Pakistan, crushing hosts Pakistan Women's by a massive 167 runs in their second warm-up match after beating Scotland by five wickets in the first warm-up match ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal made his first public appearance on Saturday since suffering a heart attack during a domestic match last month. Tamim was seen at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur to support his team, Mohammedan Sporting Club. Tamim Iqbal returns home after heart procedure Tamim, who had been out of the public eye since being hospitalised, looked visibly better as he arrived at the stadium in the afternoon. His return, however, was not to resume play but to watch Mohammedan’s high-stakes Dhaka Premier League (DPL) match against arch-rivals Abahani Limited. Witnesses said Tamim first spent time in the president’s box before visiting the Mohammedan dressing room. Tamim had suffered a heart attack late last month during a DPL match held at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP). He was rushed to a nearby hospital in Gazipur, where a stent was inserted. He later underwent further treatment in Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital and then in Singapore. Tamim Iqbal expresses gratitude in first public message after heart attack

A historically low score at home for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League saw them suffer a fifth straight defeat on Friday. Sunil Narine starred with both ball and bat as Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to an eight-wicket victory with almost 10 overs to spare. New Zealand's Glenn Phillips ruled out of IPL with groin injury Although Chennai narrowly avoided their all-time lowest IPL score of 79, the 103-9 they posted at Chepauk was hardly less humiliating — especially just a day after Mahendra Singh Dhoni resumed captaincy in place of the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad. Kolkata’s spin trio — Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Moeen Ali — choked the hosts with combined figures of 12-1-55-6. Narine, who claimed 3-13, then blasted 44 off only 18 balls, including five sixes and two fours, to help Kolkata reach 107-2 in just 10.1 overs. The commanding chase propelled Kolkata to third in the standings, trailing the Gujarat Titans and the unbeaten Delhi Capitals by six points. Chennai, meanwhile, slumped just above bottom-ranked Sunrisers Hyderabad after an unprecedented third successive home defeat. Narine finishes it quickly Having shone with the ball, Narine wasted no time in leading Kolkata’s swift pursuit, ably supported by Quinton de Kock, who hammered three sixes during his 23-run cameo. The left-handed duo took on pace bowler Khaleel Ahmed (0-40) and didn’t spare Ravichandran Ashwin either, who gave away 30 runs in his three overs. After De Kock and Narine were dismissed bowled, Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh sealed what became Chennai’s worst defeat in terms of balls remaining. Chennai’s batting collapses Dhoni opted to bat first after losing the toss, and Kolkata capitalised, fielding a spin-heavy attack perfectly tailored for the conditions. Ali, included specifically to counter the left-handed opening pair of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, delivered a maiden in the powerplay and removed Conway, who was trapped lbw attempting a reckless reverse sweep. Pakistan slaps one-year PSL ban on South African Corbin Bosch for breaching contract Ravindra, struggling to settle, offered a leading edge to Harshit Rana. Vijay Shankar, who top-scored with 29, survived two dropped chances before finally holing out in the 10th over to backward square leg off Chakravarthy. With Gaikwad absent, Rahul Tripathi stepped in but failed to pick Narine, while Ashwin, promoted up the order, lasted just seven balls for a single run. Impact substitute Deepak Hooda couldn’t revive Chennai’s innings either, falling for a four-ball duck to a catch at midwicket, and Dhoni was trapped lbw by Narine for 1. At 75-8, Chennai were staring at the ignominy of their lowest ever IPL score. Shivam Dube, unbeaten on 31, spared them that fate, but the damage was done. Chennai managed just three boundaries after the eighth over.