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Mehidy and Shanto slam tons to power Bangladesh to 334
Shanto followed up his fighting 89 against Sri Lanka with a brisk second ODI century, while Mehidy posted his highest score in the format before retiring hurt due to cramps in his left arm.
Mehidy, opening the batting for the first time in ODIs since the 2018 Asia Cup final, took his time to settle in and it was Mohammad Naim who dominated the powerplay. Naim attacked from the first over, slapping Fazalhaq Farooqi’s second delivery through point for the first boundary of the match.
Bangladesh were ticking along at around a run a ball in the powerplay and almost completed it without taking any damage but for a terrific wrong’un from Mujeeb Ur Rahman that turned past Naim’s outside edge to crash into his off-stump.
Towhid Hridoy surprisingly came out at No. 3 ahead of Shanto, who was Bangladesh’s standout performer with the bat at one drop in their defeat to Sri Lanka. But Shanto was in quickly enough after Hridoy edged Gulbadin Naib second ball and Ibrahim Zadran took a low catch to his right at first slip.
Shanto took five deliveries to start scoring – a boundary through the leg side – and then found rhythm, hitting Naib for back-to-back fours. Mehidy and Shanto proceeded to wear Afghanistan down with a 194-run partnership off 190 deliveries.
Afghanistan’s star spinner, Rashid Khan, hurt himself while fielding and was introduced only in the 17th over. He started with a maiden but could only bowl four overs on the trot and was reintroduced for a second spell in the 32nd over.
Bangladesh had injury concerns of their own, with Mehidy struggling throughout the innings and Shanto also pulling up while completing a run, but both batters fought on in the Lahore heat.
Mehidy reached his fifty in the 24th over; Shanto pulled Farooqi for a six in the 31st to get to his half-century.
Mehidy got to his century off 115 deliveries, scampering for a single after miscuing a pull off Naib. He finished that over by pulling between deep midwicket and long-on for a boundary.
When Rashid came back for a third spell, Shanto pulled him tothe boundary to move to the nineties. He pulled him for another boundary that bounced in front of substitute fielder Noor Ahmad at deep midwicket and burst through his hands, as Bangladesh took 12 from the over.
Mehidy then went inside out to hit Mujeeb for a six over extra cover before physios had to come out to treat him for finger cramp. Mehidy walked off having registered his highest ODI score. Shanto, who missed out against Sri Lanka, reached a 101-ball century in the same over.
Mushfiqur Rahim, batting ahead of Shakib Al Hasan, got off to a quick start, hitting Rashid down the ground for a six before reverse-sweeping Mujeeb for four. Shanto was run out for 104, having slipped while attempting to take a run after reverse sweeping Mujeeb.
Debutant Shamim Hossain kept the momentum going, flicking Naib for a six off his first ball. Shakib then made Rashid’s indifferent day worse by slog-sweeping him for six over midwicket before hitting more late boundaries to ensure Bangladesh finished strong.
Brief scores:
US President Donald Trump claims the US Navy’s “effective” blockade has stopped all Iranian ships from crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy says a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil has struck a sea mine while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an “unauthorised” route.
The collision caused a huge explosion and a major fire on board the vessel, the IRGC said in a statement reported by semi-official Tasnim news agency.
It alleged that the tanker had turned off all tracking and radar systems, attempting to pass through the strait using deception and with US military support.
‘The Strait of Hormuz is closed’, the IRGC navy warned, adding that vessels violating Iranian regulations would face severe consequences for relying on US backing.
[Aljazeera]
Squad for the first three ODIs: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer [VC], KL Rahul [WK], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, Kuldeep Yadav
Squad for fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan [WK, VC], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav
[Cricbuzz]
Pope Leo XIV has been pictured celebrating Mass from hospital, in the first images of him released by the Vatican since he underwent lung surgery.
The 71-year-old pontiff was diagnosed with lung cancer after the surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, which the Vatican said had been “successful” and proceeded without complications.
The images shared on Friday showed the Chicago-born Pope wearing a green robe while standing behind a makeshift altar on the tenth floor of the hospital.
Pope Leo “celebrated with the medical and nursing staff” and thanked workers for their service, the Vatican press office said.
On Friday, the Pope’s doctors said tests had shown “a steady improvement in his general condition” since his procedure.
His doctors said that a chest X-ray indicated “good recovery of the operated lung”.
The whole lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung was removed “to ensure the procedure was radical”, the Vatican said following the surgery.
“After the operation, the Pope awoke normally and returned after a brief period of observation to his room,” it said earlier, before he spent a “peaceful night” at the hospital.
Pope Leo first announced that he would be having the operation during his weekly Sunday prayers, telling the crowd in St Peter’s Square that doctors had found a “well-contained” nodule on his lung “at an early stage” and advised him to have it removed.
Nodules are quite common and not necessarily cancerous, but after it was examined the medical team confirmed it was, “as suspected by pre-operative tests”, the Vatican said. He was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma.
The Vatican has stressed that the Pope had shown no symptoms of infection or illness prior to the procedure.
[BBC]
Trump claims US Navy blockade stops Iranian ships in Hormuz
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