Sports
Shakib, Mustafizur star on comeback as Bangladesh go 4-0 up against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe again got close to Bangladesh’s total but couldn’t quite get the job done. This time in Dhaka, Bangladesh beat them by five runs to extend their lead in the T20I series to 4-0. With big hits towards the end, tailenders Wellington Masakadza and Blessing Muzarabani got everyone excited and nervous – depending on which side you were supporting.
Then Shakib Al Hassan took the two remaining wickets in the last over, but not before Muzarabani struck him for a straight six when 13 runs were needed. Shakib finished with 4 for 35 in his first T20I in ten months. Mustafizur Rahman also returning to the side, took three wickets, while Taskin Ahmed took two and Rishad Hossain one.
Bangladesh had given Zimbabwe a massive lifeline when they collapsed from 101 for no loss to be bowled out for 143. The last ten wickets fell in 8.4 overs as the hosts failed to last all 20 overs. Luke Jongwe led the visitors’ fightback with the ball, taking 3 for 20. His third wicket got him to 64 wickets in the format, as he beat Tendai Chatara to become Zimbabwe’s highest wicket taker in T20Is.
But before all that, Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar kept the home side on top.
Tanzid went after the bowling almost on his own in the powerplay. He reached 40 off 27 balls with seven fours, leaving Soumya with little to do at the other end. Soumya faced just nine balls during the powerplay, before he opened up in the next two overs. He reverse swept Brian Bennett in the seventh over before lofting Jongwe over the covers.
At the end of the ninth over, Tanzid reached his second fifty in the series with a single off Faraz Akram, as he continued to impress in his debut series. Soon after, Tanzid and Soumya reached their hundred stand, the third by a Bangladsh opening pair in T20Is. That partnership from the openers suggested Bangladesh would get a big score. But it all went downhill pretty soon.
Both openers fell in the 12th over when Johnathan Campbell took a good catch to remove Tanzid, before Soumya missed Jongwe’s slower yorker and was trapped lbw for 41. Despite the solid platform, the rest of the batters simply didn’t give the big crowd a chance to cheer for the rest of the innings.
Towhid Hridoy, the Player of the Match in the last two matches, slogged Sikandar Raza towards deep square leg where, Bennett took a fine catch. Bennett then got into the act with his offspin in the following over. He got the ball to sneak through Shakib’s bat and pad with his first ball, before Najmul Hossain Shanto played all around a tossed-up delivery off the last ball.
Richard Ngarava removed Jaker Ali in the 17th over, before a mix-up between Rishad and Taskin. Taskin hared out of the crease but Rishad sent him back, pointing towards the midwicket fielder; but by then it was too late, and Taskin couldn’t return to his crease in time.
Jongwe, Ngarava and Muzarabani took the last three wickets to fall. In the last over, though, Zimbabwe missed a run-out chance. As Bangladesh’s last pair Tanvir Islam and Mustafizur tried to take an extra run from an overthrow, Mustafizur was well short at the non-striker’s end. Campbell, however, couldn’t parry the ball on to the stumps, much to the packed house’s amusement.
In the chase, Zimbabwe once again failed to get off to a good start. Bennett couldn’t replicate his bowling effectiveness with the bat when he fell in the first over. Taskin hurried him into a pull shot, resulting in Shakib taking the catch at mid-on. Sikandar Raza, promoting himself to No. 3, struck four boundaries in the first two overs but lasted only till the fourth over. With Raza on 17, Taskin removed him with a good-length ball that uprooted his middle stump.
Tadiwanashe Marumani, who struck Shakib for two fours in the third over, followed Raza back to the dugout in the fifth over. Shakib trapped him lbw when Marumani missed an attempted slog sweep. When Madande fell in the tenth over, missing his reverse sweep, Rishad got him lbw for 12.
Bangladesh dropped two chances after they had Zimbabwe on the ropes in the tenth over. But Hridoy dropped Campbell on 12, before Jaker spilled Ryan Burl’s skier when he was on 1. The pair combined to take 20 runs off Tanzim Hasan in the 13th over. Campbell struck a six and a four, before Burl’s clip sent the ball high into the stands above square leg.
But their brief resistance ended with Mustafizur bowling the 15th over, where he struck twice. Soumya took a fine running catch from long-on to end Burl’s stay on 19. Jongwe guided his second ball to Rishad at point to make it 94 for 6. Shakib removed Campbell in the 17th over, with Shanto taking the skier at mid-off.
In the same over that Campbell fell, Masakadza struck Shakib for a four and six. But Tanzim brought things back with six runs in the 18th over, before Mustafizur conceded just seven runs in the penultimate over, where he also removed Akram.
Tanzid, who took a good catch to remove Akram, then dropped an easier chance of Masakadza off first ball of the last over. Muzarabani struck the big six next ball, but Shakib cleverly bowled a wide one to him as Muzarabani advanced, and Jaker completed the stumping. Ngarava then got bowled next ball to relieve the home crowd.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 143 in 19.5 overs (Tanzid Hasan 52, Soumya Sarkar 41; Sikandar Raza 1-24, Blessing Muzarabani 1-30, Richard Ngrava 2-27, Brian Benett 2-20, Luke Jongwe 3-20) beat Zimbabwe 138 in 19.4 overs (Johnathan Campbell 31; Taskin Ahmed 2-20, Shakib Al Hasan 4-35, Mustafizur Rahman 3-19, Rishad Hossain 1-06) by five runs
In a country where cricket runs through the veins like curry through rice, one club has stood tall like a seasoned umpire through rain, shine, and political no-balls. Yesterday, at their hallowed turf in Borella, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club — one of the elder statesmen of Sri Lankan cricket — officially bowled off celebrations to mark a magnificent 125 not out.
Founded way back in 1899, when Queen Victoria still ruled the roost and gentlemen played in flannels, Tamil Union has rubbed shoulders with the heavyweights of Sri Lankan cricket — SSC, NCC, CCC, Colts, and Malay CC — forming the old guard of the domestic game.
Over the years, the club has unearthed some priceless gems. None shinier than Muttiah Muralitharan, the world’s highest wicket-taker, whose doosras and off-breaks left batters groping like blindfolded men in a maze. Long before Murali, the baton was carried by Mahadevan Sathasivam, widely considered the finest Sri Lankan batsman of the pre-Test era — a man whose cover drive could melt glaciers.
The club’s fortress, the P. Sara Oval, is etched in cricketing folklore. It was here that Sri Lanka played their maiden Test in 1982 — a baby’s first steps on the world stage. Three years later, the venue saw the island nation notch their first Test win, a moment that made grown men cry into their Lion Lagers. In 2002, the Oval hosted the world’s first ever neutral Test, a rare event, when Pakistan locked horns with Australia.
And how’s this for a trivia teaser? It remains the only Asian ground to have hosted the one and only Sir Donald Bradman, during a whistle-stop tour in 1948. That’s right — the Don himself, strode onto this sacred strip. The ghosts of legends past still haunt the pavilion.
Wesley Hall steaming in like a freight train, Rohan Kanhai falling over to play those sweeps, Keith Miller with his golden arm and Colin Cowdrey wielding his willow with aristocratic grace.
Back in the day, when ocean liners were the norm and air travel a luxury, English and Australian sides would dock at the Colombo port and stretch their legs — and arms — at P. Sara. Those matches weren’t just exhibitions; they were a taste of the world game, served on Ceylonese turf.
“Tamil Union has a proud history of spotting diamonds in the rough,” said Rev. Ramesh Schaffter, the club’s President, who addressed the press. “We brought promising 18-year-olds to Colombo, giving them a platform to chase their cricketing dreams. Muttiah Muralitharan, Suranga Lakmal, Upul Chandana — they all started here, still in school uniform, dreaming of bigger stages.”
When quizzed about the possibility of the ground hosting a Test in this milestone year, Schaffter played it with a straight bat. “It’s true we haven’t hosted a Test since 2019, but post-COVID, the game changed. With bio-bubbles and logistical curveballs, matches were restricted to fewer venues. Galle became the go-to ground, riding the tourism wave in the south. And frankly, with Sri Lanka playing fewer Tests these days, the opportunities have been few and far between. We were offered a Test a couple of years ago but had to decline due to drainage issues. Thankfully, SLC came through with a generous Rs. 35 million grant to upgrade our system. We’re in a better place now.”
Dr. Rajan Saravanamuttu, Vice President of the club, lifted the lid on ambitious plans for the future — including upgrading facilities to seat 18,000 spectators. “Currently, we host only Tests and a fair bit of women’s cricket — especially after our 10-year partnership with SLC. But we’re gearing up for a second wind,” he said, eyes set on the horizon.
As part of the festivities, the club plans a grand gala dinner, the release of a coffee table book chronicling its storied past and an exhibition match that promises to bring back the golden oldies — names that still echo through the annals of local cricket.
Also in attendance at the briefing was the club’s Patron, Mr. Chandra Schaffter — a towering figure who spoke with heartfelt emotion about the club’s journey through thick and thin. “There have been challenging times,” he admitted, “but like a good batsman weathering a storm, we dug in, played with a straight bat, and never threw in the towel.”
by Rex Clementine
(Telecom Asia Sport )
Before the match, many expected Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to post the first 300-plus total in the IPL. There were reasons to speculate that. SRH had posted 286 for 6 in their previous game, also in Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were without at least two of their first-choice bowlers.
Forget 300, SRH could not even score 200. They managed only 190 for 9 with Shardul Thakur picking up 4 for 34, his best figures in the IPL.
Still, 190 was not a small total, but Nicholas Pooran made it look minuscule. He smashed 70 off just 26 balls, hitting six fours and as many sixes on the way. By the time Pat Cummins had him lbw, LSG needed only 71 from 68 balls.
Mitchell Marsh, who was playing second fiddle to Pooran, also scored a fifty before Abdul Samad applied the finishing touches.
LSG chasing down their target with 23 balls and five wickets to spare was giving SRH a taste of their own medicine. Last season, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma had taken just 9.4 overs to chase down LSG’s 165 at this very venue.
LSG knew the only way to stop the marauding SRH batting unit was to take early wickets. Shardul went in search of swing in the first over but did not find success. But in his next over, he dismissed Abhishek and Ishan Kishan off successive balls. Abhishek pulled a short ball into the hands of deep square leg, and Kishan was caught down the leg side.
Head went after the returning Avesh Khan, hitting him for two sixes and a four in the fourth over. Two overs later, he tried to take on Ravi Bishnoi but ended up skying a slog sweep. Pooran, though, put the chance down at long-on. Four balls later, Bishnoi failed to latch on to a tough return catch.
Head was on 35 at the time of the first drop but it cost LSG only 12 as Prince Yadav made a mess of Head’s stumps for his first wicket in the IPL.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen took SRH past 100 in the 11th over before Klaasen was run out in a bizarre fashion. Nitish hit a full toss from Prince to the bowler’s left. Prince failed to hold on to the catch but the ball found a way to ricochet onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Klaasen well outside his crease. Soon after, Bishnoi castled Nitish for 32 off 28, leaving SRH in a spot of bother.
In keeping with the team ethos, the SRH batters kept attacking. But while they kept hitting sixes, they also kept getting out. Aniket Verma smashed Bishnoi for two back-to-back sixes and repeated it against Digvesh Rathi in the following over before getting out for 36 off 13 balls. Cummins walked in at No. 8, hit the first three balls he faced for three sixes, and was out on the fourth. That took SRH to 180 for 8 after 18 overs. However, only ten runs came from the last two.
Mohammed Shami removed Aiden Markram in the second over of the chase but Pooran took the attack to the opposition. His first boundary came via a misfield before he smoked Simarjeet Singh over deep midwicket twice in two balls.
Bringing on a left-arm orthodox spinner with Pooran in the middle is always risky. But Cummins took that gamble with Abhishek. Pooran faced only two balls from him and slog-swept both for sixes. He has now hit seven sixes off nine balls against Abhishek in T20 cricket.
He didn’t spare Adam Zampa either, hitting him for two sixes and a four in the seventh over. Off the first 20 balls he faced, he hit five fours and six sixes.
Marsh was on 37 off 22 balls when Pooran got out. He had hit Shami for two straight sixes in the powerplay. In the 11th over, he hit Cummins for back-to-back fours to bring up his fifty off 29 balls. Cummins had him caught at long-on soon after but it was too late.
At the end of 11 overs, LSG needed only 53. They did lose Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni along the way but their victory was never in doubt. Samad, a former SRH player, smashed an unbeaten 22 off eight balls to complete the formalities.
Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 193 for 5 in 16.1 overs (Nicholas Pooran 70, Mitchell Marsh 52, Rishabh Punt 15, David Miler 13*, Abdul Samad 22*; Mohammed Shami 1-37, Pat Cummins 2-29, Adam Zampa 1-46, Harshal Patel 1-48) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 190 for 9 in 20 overs (Travis Head 47, Aniket Verma 36, Nitish Kumar Reddy 32, Heinrich Klassen 26, Pat Cummins 18, Harshal Patel 12*; Shardul Thakur 4-34, Avesh Khan 1-45, Digvesh Rathi 1-40, Ravi Bishnoi 1-42, Prince Yadav 1-29) by five wickets
[Cricinfo]
Rahula College Matara will encounter Dharmapala College Pannipitiya in the 14th edition of the Battle of the Golden Lions big match today and tomorrow at the P Sara Oval. Rahula take the field under the captaincy of Sadew Gamage after achieving notable success in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘A’ tournament.
Dharmapala did well under the captaincy of Nethmina Nirmal this season in the Division II Tier ‘A’ tournament, though they could not reach the quarter-final stage. In contrast, Rahula reached the business end of the tournament by finishing fourth in the Tier ‘A’ points table.
DHARMAPALA COLLEGE Front row from left: Nethmina Nirmal (Captain), Sameen Kadanaarachchi (Coach), Charith Lorensuhewa (Master In Charge), Dhammika Manawadu (Assistant Principal), Maheshika Rupasinghe (Principal), Dulip Dushmantha (Prefect of Games), Yasindu Yulantha (Assistant Coach), Menusha Pabasara (Vice Captain) Back row from left: Nimnath Vinsara , Yomal Daniel, Sithika Katugampola, Ramiru Mandeepa, Sanuga Dulmika, Vihanga Nimsara, Dinura Nethvindu, Bisara Anjana, Anuhas Mihiran, Nisal Adeepa, Viruna Wathmira, Udula Wishwajith, Shamin Yashoda, Praveen Ranhiru, Nisalitha Sandiw, Tharusha Sonal, Thimath Thenuja
Canada PM Mark Carney says old relationship with US ‘is over’
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, and Uva provinces and in Nuwara-Eliya district after 2.00 p.m
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