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Nahid Rana rips through Pakistan to seal a final-session win for Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s bowlers combined to trounce Pakistan by 104 runs in the first Test in Dhaka. Nahid Rana struck decisive blows while Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam were among the wickets as the home team put together a rare triumph on the fifth day. This is now Bangladesh’s third consecutive win against Pakistan, after they won the 2024 series by 2-0 margin.
Rana removed Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan in a fiery spell, before he took down Noman Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi to finish with figures of 5 for 40 from his 9.5 overs. Taskin and Taijul took two wickets each while Mehidy, who took a five-for in the first innings, took one wicket.
For most of their fourth innings, Pakistan were kept together by debutant Abdullah Fazal. He initially overcame Pakistan’s early loss of Imam-ul-Haq before lunch, when he struck Mehidy for consecutive fours just after lunch. Rana then went for three fours in a row; Fazal edged twice through the slips before driving hard down the ground.
Mehidy brought back Bangladesh immediately when he bowled Azan Awais next over. The opener was undone by a delivery that held its line before sliding into the stumps. Awais, who made a century in the first innings, fell for 15 this time.
When Rana removed Masood soon after, Pakistan were 68 for three staring at trouble. Fazal reached his half-century with an upper-cut off Ebadot Hossain. He is now the sixth Pakistan batter to get fifties in both innings of his debut Test.
Fazal however fell in the first over after tea when Taijul got the ball to spin sharply into the left-hander’s defensive prod, with the TV umpire confirming the dismissal through a review. Fazal made 66 off 113 balls, with eleven fours.
Soon after, Taskin had Salman Ali Agha caught at second slip. Shadman Islam however had to walk off after the catch hit his chest, although he held on to the chance.
Earlier in the day, the home side jumped into action in the fifth morning, adding 88 runs in 20 overs. They lost six wickets in the process, but Bangladesh made a laudable approach to keep the game alive. The morning however began with Hasan Ali removing Mushfiqur Rahim, caught at mid-off for 22.
Hasan then took an excellent catch at the fine-leg boundary after Litton Das top edged a hook off Shaheen Afridi after making eleven runs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck couple of fours and a six before Noman removed him for 24. It was his 100th wicket.
Shanto fell to Noman too, lbw for 87 while trying to play a reverse sweep. Shanto missed out on becoming only the fourth batter, after Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting and David Warner, to score twin hundreds in a Test on three occasions.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 413 [Monimul Haque 91, Najmul Hossain Shanto 101, Mushfiqur Rahim 71; Shaheen Shah Afrid 3-113, Mohammad Abbas 5-92] and 240 for 9 dec [Mominul Haque 56, Najmul Hossain Shanto 87; Hasan Ali 3-52, Noman Ali 3-76] beatPakistan 386 [Azan Awais 103, Abdullah Fazal 60, Salman Agha 58, mohammad Rizwan 59; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 5-102] and 163 [Abdullah Fazal 66, Salman Agha 26; Nahid Rana 5-40] by 104 runs
[Cricinfo]
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Smriti Mandhana appointed India captain across formats
Smriti Mandhana has been named India’s all-format women’s captain on the same day Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the role after nearly a decade since she first took over.
Mandhana – vice-captain to Harmanpreet for much of this period – has previously led India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is, apart from captaining Maharashtra in domestic cricket and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League.
Mandhana’s first assignment will be the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe beginning with the three T20Is in Raipur from October 16. On Tuesday, Mandhana was part of the selection meeting chaired by Amita Sharma to pick the squad for the tour.
Terming the appointment a “special honour”, Mandhana also acknowledged the contributions of her predecessor in her welcome note.
“I would also like to acknowledge Harmanpreet and the contribution she has made as captain over the years,” she was quoted as saying by the BCCI. “She has led the team with great commitment and has been an important part of our journey.
“I understand the responsibility that comes with this role and look forward to working with the team, learning along the way and giving my best to take Indian cricket forward.”
Mandhana’s appointment comes on the back of a review meeting held on Monday in Guwahati. Chaired by secretary Devajit Saikia, the meeting was also attended by Mandhana, Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar to chart a roadmap forward, with an eye on next year’s inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in February as well as the T20 World Cup and Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Mandhana, India’s best all-format batter, has been knocking on the doors for a while. Earlier this year, she led RCB to their second WPL title, in which she also top-scored in the final.
In September, she overtook Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in women’s international across formats. Her 18 international hundreds are also the most in women’s cricket. She is also the first Indian woman to score centuries in all formats.
[Cricinfo]
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Ronaldo apologizes for Portugal walkout; says Jesus broke promise
Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Portugal coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly explain his omission against Norway drove him out of the camp, but insisting he remained available after any punishment.
In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his account of the dispute that prompted his departure from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match versus Denmark last week.
Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.
“Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from halftime onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said.
“The manager had broken his word to me.”
Portugal’s captain and all-time leading scorer said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by his club side Al Nassr’s sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an agreement for the coach to clarify events at his next news conference.
According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus’s decisions and that the coach asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.
Ronaldo said the agreed notes did not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach’s public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.
“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”
The statement provided Ronaldo’s account, but on Sunday, after Portugal’s win over Norway, Jesus denied he had made any agreement with the player, nevertheless leaving the door open for his return.
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Ronaldo’s statement.
Ronaldo apologised for failing to greet supporters after the Norway match and for leaving his teammates, accepting that his captaincy made his conduct more serious.
“The consequences of my actions must be assessed and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation,” he said.
Despite the rupture, Ronaldo said he was not limiting his international ambitions to a farewell appearance.
“If I’m physically fit, playing for my club – scoring goals, I hope – after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team,” he added.
(Aljazeera)
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