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Bangladesh edge closer to series lead after Taijul four-fer
A rampant Bangladesh edged closer to a series lead in Sylhet after New Zealand suffered a collapse with the bat in the run-chase on the fourth day. Taijul Islam was the star man for the home side as he picked up four wickets to reduce New Zealand to 113/7, before stumps were called early as a result of bad light. With only three wickets in hand, the visitors still need 219 runs for an unlikely win on the final day.
Chasing 332 on a turning track was never going to be easy for New Zealand. That task became a lot harder when they allowed a pacer to strike early. Shoriful Islam found the outside edge of Tom Latham to get rid of him for a duck in the very first over. Kane Williamson, who hit a century in the first innings, began in style with two boundaries in Mehidy Hasan’s first over but Taijul got the big fish by bowling one that slid past the inside edge to trap the batter in front. That massive wicket put New Zealand under severe pressure. Henry Nicholls was the next to depart as he got a top edge while attempting to sweep Mehidy.
At 30/3, the visitors badly needed a partnership to calm the dressing room. While they went into the Tea break without losing another wicket, they were always under the pump with Bangladesh consistently creating half-chances. More often than not, a period of play like that results in a wicket as Devon Conway’s 76-ball resistance came to an end when he inside-edged one to the short-leg fielder. Bangladesh then took complete control of the Test when Tom Blundell became Taijul’s third victim of the innings.
From thereon, New Zealand needed pretty much something extraordinary to pull off an unlikely win. Even those slim chances disappeared when Glenn Phillips was trapped lbw by Nayeem Hasan. The procession continued with only Daryl Mitchell waging a lone battle at one end. Bad light then brought an early end to proceedings but the hosts will fancy their chances of completing a massive win.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand were buoyed by the wicket of overnight centurion Najmul Shanto, who was strangled down the leg side by Tim Southee. However, Mushfiqur Rahim completed his half-century and Shahadat Hossain made an aggressive start dealing in boundaries to maintain the pressure on the visitors. Ish Sodhi then got rid of Shahadat before he could cause further damage. New Zealand kept chipping away at one end from thereon but Mehidy’s fighting fifty squashed their hopes of keeping the target below 300.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 317 & 113/7 (Daryl Mitchell 44*; Taijul Islam 4/40) need another 219 runs vs Bangladesh 310 & 338 (Najmul Shanto 105, Mushfiqur Rahim 67; Ajaz Patel 4/148)
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited the “Ranaviru Sevana” Rehabilitation Centre in Ragama this morning (19) and inquired into the well-being of military personnel receiving residential treatment there.
During the visit, the President engaged in cordial discussions with the soldiers and commended the sacrifices made by all of them in safeguarding the unity of the motherland.
Thereafter, President Dissanayake also held discussions with the medical staff, including doctors serving at the “Ranaviru Sevana” Rehabilitation Centre, and looked into the possibility of further improving medical and other welfare facilities available for the military personnel undergoing treatment.
Minister of Science and Technology Professor Chrishantha Abeysena, Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo, Director of Ranaviru Services and Rehabilitation of the Sri Lanka Army Brigadier R.G.L.K. Weerakoon, and Chairman of the Ranaviru Seva Authority Brigadier Senarath Kohona (Retired) were among those who attended the occasion.
(PMD)
It’s taking longer than most expected, but Bangladesh are inevitably moving towards history. Bangladesh and Pakistan will go into a fifth day in Sylhet, with Bangladesh on the cusp of another 2-0 clean sweep of Pakistan. They need just three wickets to get there, with Mohammed Rizwan, unbeaten on 75, the final, valiant point of resistance for a visiting side who still need an improbable 121 for victory.
It was thanks primarily to Rizwan, and his 134-run partnership with Salman Agha in the final session, that kept Bangladesh waiting for so long when they appeared to be on course to finish Pakistan off. But two crucial wickets from Taijul Islam – who bowled more than a third of the overs on Tuesday – in the final half hour saw that partnership broken, and the hosts burrow deep into Pakistan’s tail.
Rizwan and Agha got together off the back of three quick wickets, and a resurgent Bangladesh sniffing for a quick knockout. Instead, they held them at bay for over three hours, counterattacking early on before seeing off wave after wave of spin and seam from Bangladesh. Even as Bangladesh attacked with the field, the duo kept run-scoring front and centre of their survival strategy, using their feet against spin and timing the ball expertly when pace returned.
That the stand had begun to frustrate Bangladesh became evident when tempers flared in the final hour, with Litton Das taking exception to Rizwan slowing play down after disturbances from the sightscreen. The contest took on a distinct edge, but the Pakistan pair did not lose focus, inching their way towards stumps.
No more wickets might have given Bangladesh a sleepless night, but Taijul put them at ease. With Nahid Rana operating with a new ball from the other end, Taijul produced an arm delivery that skidded through Agha’s defences and knocked back his stumps, prompting wild celebrations from the hosts, who understood the importance of the moment. Hasan Ali, whom Rizwan curiously decided against shielding from the strike, posed little resistance, leaving Bangladesh just three wickets adrift.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 232 and 316 for 7 (Shan Masood 71, Babar Azam 47, Salman Agha 71, Mohammad Rizwan 75*; Taijul Islam 4-113, Nahid Rana 2-58) need another 121 runs to beat Bangladesh 278 and 390
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka Cricket’s new transformation committee has had “cordial and constructive” discussions with Imran Khwaja, the ICC’s deputy chair, according to a member of the new SLC committee.
Khwaja had been in Ari Lanka over the last few days to gather information as the ICC decides what its response to the sweeping government-led changes at SLC should be. During the course of that visit, Khwaja not only spoke with members of SLC’s transformation committee, but also met with Sri Lanka’s president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, whose government had installed the committee after ousting the previous board.
Sidath Wettimuny one of the committee’s nine members, said SLC’s new administrators were hopeful the ICC would continue to treat the board as a regular Full Member.
But the ICC has a track record of reprimanding SLC because of perceived government interference. In 2023, SLC was suspended over “extensive government interference” and, in 2015, the ICC had also frozen payments over a previous “interim committee” having been appointed by the then government.
This current committee, however, has said its goals were to replace SLC’s archaic constitution, before making way for a new set of elected officials.
The ICC has so far made no comments on the change of administration at SLC.
The committee, formally unveiled on April 30, has nine members, including Kumar Sangakkara, Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama. The majority of the members, though, hail from corporate, legal, and political spheres, with former member of parliament Eran Wickramaratne appointed as chair.
“Our immediate priority is a total overhaul of the governance framework at SLC,” Wettimuny had said after the committee members were named. “The cornerstone of this effort will be the implementation of the new constitution, ensuring it serves as a robust, modern foundation for the sport.”
The committee’s second priority would be to ensure “excellence on the field,” Wickramaratne had said. “We will focus on establishing the structures, world-class facilities, and incentive models necessary to empower our national teams. Our goal is to enable our players to consistently deliver world-class performances and elevate Sri Lanka back to the top tier of international rankings.”
[Cricinfo]
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