Bangladesh face off Sri Lanka to kick-start T20 World Cup

Published at : 06 June 2024, 01:00 pm
Bangladesh face off Sri Lanka to kick-start T20 World Cup

Despite a fragile batting line up, Bangladesh hope to make a winning start to the T20 World Cup when they take on Sri Lanka at
Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas on Saturday. The match starts at 6.30 AM Bangladesh time.

Bangladesh though looked high on confidence, their performance ahead of the T20 World Cup was extremely disappointing. The series defeat to associate nation USA sparked a massive uproar back in the country and if it is not enough, they surrendered to India meekly in the practice game.

Overall they looked not a team to move to the next round in the T20 World Cup. However Sri Lanka's below par performance in their opening game against South Africa suddenly gave Bangladesh a ray of hope.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77 in that match as they failed to cope with the slower nature of the pitch. Bangladesh's main problem lies in their batting but their bowling continued to prosper, giving the opponent batters massive headache. And the slower nature of the pitch further instilled confidence in Bangladesh's tent.

The Dallas and New York's drop in pitch had already given a resemblance of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium pitch. Bangladesh basically will rely on the pitch to hunt down Sri Lanka which looks to be morally down following the crushing defeat in the first match.

But Bangladesh need to rewrite the history. Bangladesh's journey in T20 World Cups had started with a bang in 2007 when they grabbed a convincing win over the West Indies in their opening match of the tournament in South Africa.

However that win against West Indies remains Bangladesh's only victory over a higher-ranked team in the tournament so far. In the last T20 World Cup in Australia, they notched up three victories, highest ever in a single tournament but all of those victories came against lower ranked side.

Bangladesh played 16 T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka and won five while lost 11. Amongst the top-ranked team, Bangladesh secured highest number of victories against Sri Lanka. That should be another source of confidence for them.

"We are not thinking about what has happened before. We know how capable we are, we have to be brave and execute our plans," Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said.

Bangladesh were drawn in Group D which involved teams like South Africa, Nepal and Netherlands apart from Sri Lanka. Bangladesh need to beat at least a top-ranked team between Sri Lanka and South Africa if they want to move to Super 8.

While Shanto urged to be bold in the approach, veteran batter Mahmudullah Riyad believes a good start to the tournament will be a boost for the team.

"Everything relies on how we start the tournament. We need to have a good start. I believe if we make a good start, we'll go long way," he said.

Sri Lanka meanwhile will be in some pressure, knowing that if they can't beat Bangladesh, they would have to rely on many ifs and buts.

Sri Lanka's captain Wanindu Hasaranga is confident that his team will overcome the pressure to beat Bangladesh in their most important game.

Bangladesh might be bolstered by the return of fast bowler Taskin Ahmed who missed series against USA and practice matches due to his side strain injury. But at the same time, they lost their left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam who sustained an injury during his bowling hand in the practice game against India.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

Sri Lanka squad: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Dilshan Madushanka.

Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Published at : 24 September 2023, 03:42 pm
Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

 

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:06 pm
Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:05 pm
Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.

PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:03 pm
PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Paris Saint-Germain got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start on Tuesday as a Kylian Mbappe penalty set them up for a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes.

The French champions had dominated the first half without overly troubling the Dortmund defence, but they went ahead four minutes after the break when Mbappe scored a spot-kick awarded for a Niklas Suele handball.

Achraf Hakimi added a memorable second, and PSG could have won the Group F encounter by a far more handsome margin in the end.

The result immediately puts them in control of the group, after AC Milan and Newcastle United drew 0-0 earlier, and coach Luis Enrique will hope they can build on this performance when they visit the English side next in a fortnight.

"It was an almost perfect evening," said Luis Enrique.