asia cup2012- Bangladesh reached a historical win against India

Bangladesh defeated mighty India by 5 wickets in Asia Cup cricket match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (46 not out) and Nasir Hossain (54) scripted the incredible result after the pair smashed 64 runs for the fifth wicket as the Tigers reached the stiff target with four balls to spare. Vice-captain Mahmudullah brought up the winning run with a four. Earlier, India scored 289 for 5 in 50 overs with the help of a vigilant 100th ton from the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, as they were invited to bat first by the home skipper Mushfiqur Rahim. The 38-year-old master batsman, who completed the landmark in the 44th over with a single off the fourth ball of Shakib Al Hasan's over, needed 138 balls to achieve it. During his 147-ball knock, Tendulkar struck 12 overs and a six before being caught behind. Suresh Raina made 51. Together they added 86 runs for the third wicket.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza ended his stay having him caught behind by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim towards the end of the 46th over. Bangladesh were 84 for one after 20 overs chasing 290 for victory against India in the Asia Cup on Friday. Tamim Iqbal (42) was batting with Jahurul Islam (34) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
The pair have so far put on 69 runs after the fall of opener Nazimuddin.
Nazimuddin (5) sent the ball straight up in an attempt to pull off Praveen Kumar which landed safely into the hands of Rohit Sharma at short extra cover.
Earlier, India scored 289 for 5 in 50 overs with the help of a vigilant 100th ton from the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, as they were invited to bat first by the home skipper Mushfiqur Rahim.
The 38-year-old master batsman, who completed the landmark in the 44th over with a single off the fourth ball of Shakib Al Hasan's over, needed 138 balls to achieve it. During his 147-ball knock, Tendulkar struck 12 overs and a six before being caught behind. Suresh Raina made 51. Together they added 86 runs for the third wicket.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza ended his stay having him caught behind by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim towards the end of the 46th over. The Bangladesh pacer also accounted for Raina in the same over.
Rohit Sharma (4) suffered a run out after a mixing with Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Bangladesh, who won the toss, had an initial success when Gautam Gambhir (11) inside-edged a wide Shafiul Islam delivery on his stumps to give the home side a cause to celebrate. An inside edge flatter delivery from Abdur Razzak sent back Virat Kohli hitting the leg stump. Kohli reached 66 using five fours. A victory for India will more or less seal their spot in the finals and virtually knock Bangladesh out of the tournament.

asia cup-2012 (Tigers' India test today ) view on good cricket

Musfiqur Rahim

Virender Sehwag was the slayer when last these two teams met at the very same venue in Mirpur in the 2011 World Cup opener. The dashing right-hander is not here this time but India still have enough firepower in their arsenal to demoralise any attack, especially when the pitches at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium are tailor-made for the batsmen.

India already flexed their considerable muscles in the first game against Sri Lanka riding on the exploits of Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten hundred was overshadowed by his senior (Virender Sehwag) partner's mesmerising effort in the World Cup match. And not to forget, master batsman Sachin Tendulkar is waiting on a monumental landmark, and without any doubt the conditions are perfect for him to end the long wait for the hundredth international hundred.

So in reality, only a disciplined effort in both the bowling and batting departments from Mushfiqur Rahim's men can ensure a good match today. There is however a big difference between today and the World Cup encounter, as there is little hype and expectation surrounding today's Asia Cup battle compared to that match more than a year ago as many had been expecting a win against a formidable India after Bangladesh's victory in the 2007 World Cup. That may have been the reason Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur toned down his responses while talking to the reporters in the pre-match press conference yesterday; even though they have won only two of their 23 clashes against India, the Tigers have built a reputation of playing well against their neighbours.

“The win or loss doesn't matter too much if you consider our strength as a team; rather the important thing is whether we can play consistently good cricket against the big opponents like India,” observed Mushfiqur.

It was clearly evident that the little man was concerned with the strong Indian batting line-up rather than their bowling, but he was however excited with the fact that Bangladesh have generally put up a good fight against India in previous encounters.

“What I personally feel is that India's bowling is not as strong as Pakistan's and Sri Lanka's, so it gives us some sort of confidence. And another thing is that our performance against India has not been bad at all, we always got a good start against them,” explained Mushfiqur recalling the good memories against the Indians.

The wicket-keeper batsman thus threw the challenge to his bowlers. And what he hinted was that Bangladesh may play with an unchanged squad which lost the close battle against Pakistan in the tournament opener. Bangladesh preferred three pacers in the first game mainly because of the new rule of their being two new balls from each end in ODIs, and also because spinners are getting hardly any assistance from the pitch. But if the home team finally go with two pacers then the axe will likely fall on Shahadat Hossain despite his success in the first game.

“ There is always a need of an attacking bowler like Shahadat who can take wickets and I think he did his job in the first match, and you know on this kind of wicket the spinners have to bowl the right line and length. We have a plan and hopefully we can execute it tomorrow,” said confident Mushfiqur.

Mushfiqur also believed that he as the captain and Mahmudullah Riyad as vice-captain should step up today if they want to do something against the Indian team. “We must play as a unit and everybody should do their duty if we want to play good cricket against them,” opined Mushfiqur.

Of course, no discussion on a match involving India could be complete without mention of the possibility of Tendulkar's century.

“Like many other fans I also want his hundred in this tournament but definitely not against us. We will try to send him back early,” said Mushfiqur with a smile.

asia cup-2012 Shakib hope to victory today

Shakib Al Hasan must be enjoying cricket these days, that is, top-quality cricket against A-class opposition. It presents him with a different challenge every game in a variety of situations one of which is coming up today in Bangladesh's second game in the Asia Cup against India.

sakib al hasan

After a valiant half-century against Pakistan, it is now clear that Shakib has to do it all on his own. Be it rescuing the team from a top-order collapse, nurturing a good start from the top-order, or shepherding the lower-order in chase, it has to be Shakib at the other end these days. With the ball in hand, Shakib comes on first-change to get the team a breakthrough. He's also the partnership-breaker, Powerplay bowler and slog stopper. He is both the team's stock bowler and its shock bowler.

Against Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India, Shakib can expect a true test of his bowling skills, much of which will have to come to his rescue to stop an onslaught or break a long partnership. His batting though should thrive against a low-pace attack that will use only one quality spinner. With the quality of the wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium during this tournament, another important innings with the bat and an indispensable display with the ball can be expected.

sakib & Nafis

Among the top teams, Shakib averages the highest against India (36.42 in seven innings) with four fifties -- slightly better than his overall batting average.

Watching Shakib often reminds one of a statement made by Graham Gooch many moons ago about the great New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee. Twenty-five years ago, the former England captain had remarked that playing against New Zealand in those days was "like the World XI at one end, and Ilford Second XI at the other". The Bangladesh bowlers may complain with the parallel drawn here but worryingly, the batsmen increasingly look too dependent on Shakib.

Teammates of world-class all-rounders from the yesteryears have often commented that they feed off the confidence of greats like Hadlee, Imran Khan or Kapil Dev; it doesn't make the other players of any lesser class but some folks are made of a different fabric.

The first time Shakib played against India was during the Port-of-Spain win during the 2007 World Cup. He went wicketless that day but hit an underrated half-century. Since Shakib bowls during every crucial juncture, it is certain that he won't go wicketless; a similar batting performance would either take Bangladesh close to a win or upset the apple-cart once again.

micromax asia cup-2012 Bowlers gave us edge

Aizaz Cheema man of the match vs. Sri Lanka. Pakistan

Even though it was skipper Misbah Ul Haq and Umar Akmal who cornered the glory as Pakistan vanquished Sri Lanka by six wickets with 10.3 overs to spare, the credit for their second Asia Cup win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday must go to the bowlers.

Pakistan had the match half in the bag when they dismissed Sri Lanka for a sub-par 188 courtesy of a fine all-round bowling display, especially from pacer Aizaz Cheema and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who claimed four and three wickets respectively. Then it was a strong show from Misbah and Akmal, who rescued the team from the difficulty of 33 for three through a 152-run fourth-wicket partnership that sealed the deal.

“The bowlers gave us the edge, especially getting them out for 188,” said a relaxed Misbah after the match. “Then we struggled a little bit at the top, losing three early wickets. They were in the hunt but I think that partnership [between him and Akmal] really brought us back into the game.”

The big win against a top side after the failures in the recent ODI series against England pleased the Pakistan captain, particularly the resurgence in the middle order. “It was a much-needed performance by the middle order, especially me and Umar Akmal. Most of our batsmen struggled through the England series. We could not finish games off, so I think this performance is really a confidence builder for us and we needed that very much,” said the Pakistan captain, who scored an unbeaten 72 in Pakistan's successful chase, while his partner Akmal lashed a 77 off 72 balls.

The win takes Pakistan almost to the final and even more importantly for an Asian cricket tournament, sets up the prospect of two India-Pakistan matches in a matter of days, after the great arch-rivals last met in the World Cup semifinal more than a year ago. Questions were coming thick and fast at the Pakistan skipper regarding the marquee encounter, and that forced the usually stone-faced Misbah to crack a smile.

“Are you trying to put additional pressure on me?” Misbah asked with a smile, but said that the intensity won't be diminished between the great rivals just because they may be playing a dress rehearsal for the finals on Sunday. “It is an important match for both teams, even if it is a friendly both teams will try their hardest to win. We should play as usual and focus on the next match. That is the way forward.”

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka skipper, was obviously disappointed with his team's performance and said that it was a batting failure that cost them the game.

“It was pretty obvious, [the problem lay] with the bat. When you win the toss and bat first the challenge is to get a good score on the board that your bowlers can bowl at,” Jayawardene said. “I think the par score on this pitch is 250, and we didn't get anywhere near that. It is tough to then come back and do something magical.”

asia cup 2012- Pakistan put one foot in the final

aiaz ceema

Pakistan put one foot in the final of the Asia Cup after their 6wicket win over Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. There was a bonus point earned too as they reached the 189-run target in 39.5 overs.

The result also puts the Lankans in a very difficult position as this was their second successive defeat after the 50-run loss to India. Pakistan are at the other higher end of the scale with their second win.

This was all put in place through Pakistan's new-found discipline, both with bat and the ball. First it was Aizaz Cheema's two-wicket burst that got Pakistan going after Tillekaratne Dilshan made a blistering start with four boundaries. But Cheema removed the openers and Younis Khan took Dinesh Chandimal out of the equation with a brilliant catch at slip.

Kumar Sangakkara was at the other end watching this mayhem, but stayed calm to put together a 96-run fifth wicket stand with Upul Tharanga, who hit his third fifty as a No 6 batsman. The senior pro too hammered a half-century, finishing with 71 off 92 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six, his 71st half-century in this format

Cheema took the wicket of Sangakkara to pick up his second four-wicket haul in ODI cricket but one would imagine that without the contribution of Saeed Ajmal, the Lankans could have made a comeback. But it was the off-spinner's doosra that stopped the threatening stand when it went through Tharanga's prolonged defenses after he had completed a 25th ODI fifty. The dangerous Farveez Maharoof too was an Ajmal victim before he rounded off the Sri Lankan innings in the 46th over.

As the chase began, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara kept Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez honest. Suranga Lakmal reaped their rewards by picking up the left-handed opener and Younis while leggie Seekugge Prasanna taking the wicket of Hafeez to reduce them to 33 for three in the thirteenth over.

But Misbah Ul Haq and Umar Akmal stabilized the innings as they slowly rebuilt the chase. They put together 152 runs for the fourth wicket with both batsmen reaching half-centuries, though of contrasting nature.

Misbah was at his best, batting with a lot of caution and letting the younger man take more of the attack. Akmal batted properly for most of the innings, hammering the loose balls available at every opportunity.

With four runs required for victory, Akmal got out for 77 off 72 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. The Pakistan skipper was unbeaten on 72 off 93 balls with nine boundaries and a six as Hammad Azam finished up the win with a brash hit to the long-off fence.

Dhaka Gladiators wins the first BPL Trophy

Dhaka Gladiators won the first Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 championship defeating Barisal Burners by eight wickets at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on 29 Feb 2012

Imran Nazir scored highest 75 off 43 for Dhaka.

Earlier Barisal Burners scored 140 runs losing seven wickets after in 20 overs. BJ Hodge scored a brilliant 70 off 51 balls while Ahmed Shehzad scored 28 off 20 balls.

Dhaka won the toss and invited Barisal Burners to bat first.

Dhaka Gladiators have reached into final stunning Khulna Royal Bengals by 9 runs in the second semifinal at Mirpur on Tuesday.

On the other hand, Barisal Burners sealed their position in the final defeating Duronto Rajshahi by eight wickets in the first semifinal on the same day.

Barisal Burners : Ahmed Shehzad, Alauddin Babu, Kabir Ali, Al-Amin Hossain, Farhad Hossain, SM Harwood, BJ Hodge (Captain), Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mithun Ali, Mominul Haque, P Mustard, Nazmul Islam, Rameez Raja (2), Shahriar Nafees, Sohag Gazi, Suhrawadi Shuvo and Yasir Arafat.

Dhaka Gladiators : Aftab Ahmed, Anamul Haque, Awais Zia, Azhar Mahmood, Dhiman Ghosh, Elias Sunny, Imran Nazir, Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Mehrab Hossain jnr, Mohammad Ashraful, Mosharraf Hossain, Naved-ul-Hasan, Nazimuddin, Nazmul Hossain, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, DI Stevens and Tanveer Haider.

Dhaka Gladiators is first BPL champion.

Champion team Dhaka Gladiators

Dhaka Gladiators become the champions of the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 on Wednesday as they beat Barisal Burners by eight wickets in the final.

Imran Nazir starred for the Gladiators with a sparkling 75 and was out with only five runs from victory having hit six sixes and an equal number of fours. He flicked a delivery off Alauddin Babu to Ahmed Shehzad at mid'wicket.

Anamul Haque was unbeaten on 49 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Both have been dropped and also survived close run-out calls.

Nazimuddin (13) was the only man out with a sliced drive trying to go inside out over cover but was caught by Alauddin Babu at cover point as Suhrawardy Shuvo strick with his first ball.

Earlier, captain Brad Hodge kept his cool as wickets tumbled around to take Barisal Burners to 140 for 7 in 20 overs.

Hodge led from the front with an unbeaten 70 off 57 balls. Hogde single handedly gave Barisal some hope in the final after Ahmed Shehzad, who was the star in the previous game, failed and none of the others hung in with the captain.

Farhad Hossain (11) got a thin edge while playing a square drive off a faster Shahid Afridi delivery and it was held superbly by wicket-keeper Dhiman Ghosh. Mominul Haque (11) was the man back to the hutches before him, trying to run a wide Naved-ul-Hasan delivery down with an open face, giving Dhiman an easy diving catch.

A clueless Mithun Ali (1) was perished caught by Imran Nazir at deep mid-wicket, trying to slog-sweep Shahid Afridi. Phil Mustard went back before him for 5, trapped lbw by a Saeed Ajmal slider.

Ahmed Shehzad, fresh from Tuesday's 113 of 49 balls in the semifinal, failed to get the elevation and was out caught by Ajmal at mid-off trying to bludgeon an Afridi delivery. He gave his side a rollicking start for his 28 off 20 balls.

Shehzad was dropped on 15 by Dhiman when the opener top-edged the big hit, with Dhiman failing to even touch the ball.

In front of a sellout crowd, Gladiators captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and decided to bowl first in the star-studded finale which is being beamed live by Channel 9. The average first innings total in the BPL is 162.

Barisal Burners reached final by a thumping eight-wicket win over Duronto Rajshahi in the first semi-final while Dhaka Gladiators scraped to the final edging out Khulna Royal Bengals by nine runs.

Each team won five matches out of ten in the league so far.

Dhaka have been dominant in the head-to-head clashes in the league phase, winning the first one on Feb 14 by 21 runs, despite a scorching 116 by Chris Gayle, his second century on the same pitch. The second victory on Feb 25 was more convincing, by five wickets.

Barisal Burners : Ahmed Shehzad, Brad Hodge(c), Phil Mustard(w), Mithun Ali, Mominul Haque, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Mohammad Nazmul Islam, Kabir Ali, Farhad Hossain, Alauddin Babu, Yasir Arafat

Dhaka Gladiators : Imran Nazir, Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ashraful, Azhar Mahmood, Shahid Afridi, Anamul Haque, Dhiman Ghosh(w), Elias Sunny, Naved-ul-Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Mashrafe Mortaza(c)