Sports

Mayers 210*, Bonner 86 script West Indies’ historic Chattogram chase

Published

5 years ago

2021/02/8

Debutant Kyle Mayers scored a magnificent 210 not out as West Indies pulled off the fifth-highest successful chase in Test cricket, and highest in Asia, nailing down 395 for a miraculous three-wicket win on the final evening in Chattogram.

In a display of exemplary temperament and power-hitting, Mayers struck 20 fours and seven sixes during his 310-ball stay at the crease. When he hit the winning run, a hurried single to mid-on, only 15 balls were left before the close of play. During the course of his innings, he became only the sixth Test batsman to score a double-century on debut, and also the sixth overall to score a double-ton in the fourth innings of a Test.

For the most part of the final day, Mayers was accompanied by fellow debutant Nkrumah Bonner, who himself struck a gritty 86. The duo added 216 for the fourth wicket and kept Bangladesh wicketless for the first two sessions of the day.

That left West Indies needing 129 in a minimum of 33 overs in the final session. Bonner hit Islam for a six in the first over after tea but was lbw on the very next ball. His dismissal gave Bangladesh an opening. Jermaine Blackwood started aggressively, slog-sweeping Islam over long-on for six, before being bowled for 9 while going for another big hit against Nayeem Hasan.

With West Indies 292 for 5 and the target still 103 runs away, Bangladesh had their hopes renewed. Suddenly there were four men close to the bat. It also meant there were many gaps in the outfield and Mayers and Joshua Da Silva took advantage of that, hitting a four each in one Hasan over.

A few minutes later, when Mayers pulled Hasan over deep midwicket for a six to bring the target down to 76, Bangladesh were forced to spread the field once again.

Mayers was at his striking-best when the last hour of the Test commenced. With 61 required at that stage, he backed himself to clear the boundary-riders and scored 49 by himself, in just 40 balls, bludgeoning five sixes and a four. Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, no one was spared. In a 100-run stand with Da Silva for the sixth wicket, Mayers’ contribution was 80.

The credit must go to Da Silva as well who played a perfect foil to Mayers and must have calmed the nerves in the dressing room. He was eventually bowled for 20 when the target was just three runs away. Kemar Roach, too, fell on the same score – – caught at leg slip off Miraz, who ended with a hundred and eight wickets in the match – but by then even the Bangladesh players knew a West Indies victory was inevitable.

Bangladesh, however, will rue the chances they missed and the reviews they didn’t take, apart from losing Shakib Al Hasan to a thigh injury on the second day of the Test.

In the morning, West Indies resumed from their overnight 110 for 3, and in the first hour alone there were at least three opportunities Bangladesh should have been converted into wickets. Mayers was on 47 when Islam got one to straighten from around the wicket to hit the batsman on the pads. There was a loud appeal for lbw but umpire Richard Illingworth deemed it not out. Bangladesh didn’t opt for the review but replays showed Mayers would have been out had they done so.

Shortly afterwards, Miraz induced an outside edge off Mayers bat but this time Najmul Hossain Shanto put it down at first slip. The resulting single took Mayers to his maiden Test fifty.

Bangladesh missed another opportunity to overturn an on-field decision when Hasan got one to turn sharply from outside off and ping Bonner’s pads. Illingworth once again ruled it in the batsman’s favour. Replays, once again, confirmed he was wrong.

Kyle Mayers gets a hug from fellow debutant Nkrumah Bonner during their double-century stand BCB

The Bangladesh spinners were also guilty of not bowling enough full-length deliveries, allowing Bonner and Mayers to wait on the back foot and adjust to whatever turn and bounce the pitch offered.

Mayers was the aggressor right from the start, cutting and pulling spinners to the square boundaries. When Rahman was brought into the attack, he welcomed him with a four and six off successive deliveries. Bonner, meanwhile, was happy to keep his end occupied. And even before lunch, their contrasting approach led to the comparisons with Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant’s knocks in India’s win against Australia in Brisbane last month.

The two seemed to have switched their roles in the second session. On 1the first ball of the second over after lunch, Bonner cleared his front leg and lofted Taijul Islam over mid-on. It fetched the batsman four runs but the impact was such that Bangladesh went on the defensive after that shot. For the next few overs, they had just one close-in fielder, either a slip or a short leg, for spinners.

With a single off Nayeem, Bonner reached his half-century, in 164 balls. After delaying the second new ball by an over, Bangladesh seemed to have found success with it when umpire Sharfuddoula gave Bonner lbw off Islam. Bonner, though, knew he had got an inside edge and got the decision reversed.

Meanwhile, Mayers found himself stuck. Having reached 90 in 146 balls, he took another 32 balls to bring up his maiden Test hundred. And it was a streaky boundary between slip and gully, via an outside edge off Rahman, that took him to the landmark.

What followed was a slew of loose shots from Mayers, all in that Rahman over. He was beaten outside off twice in the next two balls and, a ball later, miscued two consecutive lofted attempts. Luckily for West Indies, both fell away from the fielders. It took a message from the dressing room at the end of the over for Mayers to regain his composure, which he didn’t lose till the end of the match. (cricinfo)

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Subhan, Minhas star as Pakistan set up U-19 final with India

Published

3 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

Abdul Subhan's four wickets dismantled Bangladesh [Cricinfo]

Pakistan marched into the final of the Under 19 Asia Cup with a clinical eight wicket win over Bangladesh in the rain-hit semi-final in Dubai, after a dominant bowling performance led by Abdul Subban set up a straightforward chase. The victory sets up a final clash against India, who won the first semi final against Sri Lanka earlier in the day.

Opting to field after winning the toss in the rain-reduced 27-overs-a-side contest, Pakistan made early inroads as Bangladesh slipped to 24 for 2 inside six overs. Captain Azizul Hakim offered brief resistance to steady the innings, but wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.

Fast bowler Subhan was the standout with the ball, picking up four wickets to dismantle the middle order. From 55 for 2 in the 13th over, Bangladesh lost five wickets for just 38 runs, collapsing to 93 for 7. The lower order struggled to rebuild, and Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 121 in 26.3 overs, with no batter able to convert a start into a big score.

In reply, Pakistan’s chase was smooth. After the early loss of opener Hamza Zahoor in the first over, Sameer Minhas anchored the innings with a composed, unbeaten 69, ensuring there were no further hiccups. He struck six fours and two sixes as Pakistan cruised to 122 for 2 with 63 balls to spare.

With this knock, Minhas took his tournament’s tally to 299 to be the highest run-getter.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 122 for 2 in 16.3 overs (Sameer Minhas 69*, Usman Khan 27; Samiun Basir 1-17) beat Bangladesh 121 in 26.3 overs (Samiun Basir 33; Abdul Subhan 4-20, Huzaifa Ahasan 2-10)by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Malhotra, George fifties set up India vs Pakistan final

Published

3 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

Aaron George and Vihaan Malhotra added 114* for the third wicket [Cricinfo]

Vihaan Malhotra and Aaron George’s patient half-centuries helped India beat Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game and set up an U-19 Asia Cup final with Pakistan.

It was a game where the momentum kept changing hands. India had Sri Lanka at 28 for 3 after opting to bowl. Captain Vimath Dinsara and Chamika Heenetigala hit back with a 45-run stand, but Sri Lanka soon lost 3 for 11. A 62-run stand between Heenatigala and Sethmika Seneviratne followed, but India again turned it around in the final three overs.

In reply, India were 25 for 2 as Sri Lanka sniffed a comeback. But Malhotra and George added an unbeaten 114 runs in a partnership of two halves: the first 62 runs they added took 51 balls, while the next 52 came off 36 deliveries. It was Malhotra who swung the game India’s way when he went 4, 4, 6 off Dulnith Sigera in the 13th over. Malhotra reached his fifty off 35 balls, while George took 43 balls.

India’s win was set up after their bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 138. Kishan Singh and Deepesh Devendran struck early, while Vedant Trivedi’s direct hit ran Kavija Gamage out in the sixth over.

But Kanishk Chouhan struck twice in the 12th over, and Khilan Patel in the 13th, to force Sri Lanka to rebuild again. That brought Heenatigala and Seneviratne together. Seneviratne was the attacking of the two while Heenatigala, limping a little, was more patient. At 118 for 6 with three overs left, and with Seneviratne connecting it cleanly, Sri Lanka may have hoped to post 150. But just 20 runs amid two wickets in the last three overs applied the brakes on their scoring.

India will meet Pakistan in the final on Sunday.

Brief scores:
India Under 19s 139 for 2 in 18 overs (Vihaan Malhotra 61*, Aaron George 58*; Rasith Nimsara 2-31) beat Sri Lanka Under 19s 138 for 8 in 20 overs (Chamika Heenatigala 42, Vimath Dinsara 32, Sethmika Senevirathne 30; Henil Patel 2-31, Kanishk Chouhan 2-36) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Sri Lanka replace Asalanka with Shanaka as captain ahead of T20 World Cup

Published

5 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

Dasun Shanaka has been appointed T20 leader in place of Charith Asalanka [Cricinfo]

Dasun Shanaka will be Sri Lanka’s T20I captain until the end of the forthcoming T20 World Cup. The move to replace Charith Asalanka as captain in the format had been bloated by the previous selection committee under Upul Tharanga, whose term expired this month. But new chief selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe confirmed that Shanaka would lead the team as he announced the preliminary squad for the tournament.

“We decided that Dasun Shanaka should be captain until the end of the World Cup, after talking to head coach Sanath Jayasuriya as well,” Wickramasinghe said on Friday. “The previous committee had chosen a list of 25 players. We spoke to Jerome Jayaratne, the head of the high performance, as well as Sanath Jayasuriya. We decided to announce that same 25 as a preliminary squad for the World Cup.”

“We are looking at Dasun as an allrounder. We’ll have to talk to Sanath Jayasuriya and work out what is required of him.”

Shanaka had been made stand-in captain for the tri-series in Pakistan last month, after Asalanka was sent home from that tour to recover from an illness, although standard protocol is to keep unwell players within the team for a minor illness of the kind Asalanka had. Sri Lanka had lost to Zimbabwe through the course of that tournament, but managed to earn qualification for the final, in which they were comfortably defeated by Pakistan.

“For now we’ve got to continue with what the previous committee was doing,” Wickramasinghe said. “They had been following a plan. If I were to come in and change a lot of things, that would not be ideal. My plan is to keep this team together for the World Cup, and then see how best we can build after that.”

Although sacked as captain, a job he had been doing since the last World Cup in mid-2024, Asalanka remains in the squad. It has been his modest form in the format that had helped prompt his ouster. Asalanka had hit 156 runs at a strike rate of 122 from 12 innings this year, and he has not had a history of being an outstanding T20I batter, with his overall strike rate at 126. He remains among the new selectors plans, according to Wickramasinghe.

The preliminary squad also opened the door for the return of Niroshan Dickwella, who last played for Sri Lanka back in March 2023, and that in Tests. But Wickramasinghe said the wider squad wanted for a top order batter who could keep wickets, which has seen Dickwella come back into contention.

Sri Lanka preliminary World Cup squad:
Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Milan Rathnayake, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Traveen Mathew.

[Cricinfo]