Fixtures of T20 World Cup 2022 have been Announced

 

Fixtures of T20 World Cup 2022 have been announced. India placed alongside Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh & two qualifiers in Group 2 of Super 12 stage. India will square off against Pakistan in their first match of the tournament on October 23 at the MCG

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Pakistan hands over captured pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India

The Indian Air Force officer crosses Wagah border, a day after Pakistan PM Imran Khan announced the 'peace gesture'

Pakistan has handed over a captured pilot to Indianauthorities at the Wagah border, a move aimed at de-escalating tensions after days of hostilities between the South Asian neighbours.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman crossed the Wagah-Attari border at around 9pm local time (1600 GMT) on Friday, hours later than expected and sporting a black eye from his ordeal.

His release came two days after he was captured following a rare aerial engagement between the nuclear-armed rivals over the disputed region of Kashmir, divided between the two countries since 1947.

A press statement by Pakistan's foreign ministry said Varthaman has been returned to India and that he was treated "with dignity" during his custody.

"While in captivity, he was treated with dignity and in line with international law. Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr Imran Khan announced his return as a goodwill gesture aimed at de-escalating rising tensions with India," said the statement.

On Thursday, Khan had announced his decision to return Varthaman back to India as a "peace gesture" during a joint sitting of the parliament in capital, Islamabad.

In a tweet, Khan's Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, welcomed the pilot home, saying "the nation is proud of his exemplary courage

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BPL 2017 Live Streaming

BPL 2017 Live Streaming

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Bangladesh Premier League Final: Comilla Victorians v Barisal Bulls LIve Stream

Bangladesh Premier League Final: Comilla Victorians v Barisal Bulls at Dhaka
Live Stream Here Click this link and watch live action
http://allsportspak.blogspot.com/

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Smith, Badree send Bangladesh crashing

West Indies had batted poorly against India in a seven-wicket defeat on Sunday. Their batsmen didn't look entirely convincing against Bangladesh either, but they scored 171, thanks to Dwayne Smith's 43-ball 72 and some amateurish work in the field.

The target proved well beyond the reach of the hosts, who were bowled out for 98. Dew, which had been a big factor in Mushfiqur Rahim sending West Indies in at the toss, barely played a role as Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine and Krishmar Santokie - a left-arm seamer by definition but a quickish left-arm spinner in reality - had no difficulty in gripping the ball in achieving figures of 12-0-49-8 between them.

Badree and Santokie sent back three of Bangladesh's most dangerous batsmen within first four overs. Tamim Iqbal went first, driving Badree uppishly to a diving Dwayne Bravo at mid-off. Bravo would later throw an even harsher light on the gulf between the two fielding sides by hurling himself to his right at point to grab a low one-handed catch and dismiss Mushfiqur.

Before that, though, Santokie struck twice in two balls with his slower offcutters. First, he spun it past the groping outside edge of the right-handed Anamul Haque for Denesh Ramdin to effect a brilliant stumping, then spun his next ball through the gate of the left-handed Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh were 16 for 3 in 3.2 overs and the match, as a contest, was over.

Smart Stats Bangladesh's 73-run defeat was their second worst by margin of runs in T20Is. They had lost to Pakistan by 103 in a one-off T20I in Karachi in 2008. Dwayne Smith's 72 is his highest T20 international score, beating the 70 he scored against England at Trent Bridge in 2012. Chris Gayle's run-a-ball 48 was his slowest T20I inningsin which he has scored 30 or more runs. It was slower than his 33-ball 34 against India in the previous match. Lendl Simmons was stumped for a duck off a wide ball - the first one he faced - from Shakib Al Hasan. He is thethird batsman in T20 internationals to be stumped for a 'diamond' duck. The other two were also from West Indies - Kieron Pollard and Narsingh Deonarine. Al-Amin Hossain's figures of 3 for 21 were the best in T20 internationals and the best by a Bangladesh fast bowler in World T20s. He has taken eight wickets at 14.12 in five T20Is and has an economy of 6.27. Samuel Badree's figures of 4 for 15 are his best in T20 internationals and also West Indies' best in the World T20.

Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur fought on for the next six overs, but the required rate was always running away from Bangladesh. Once the two were dismissed, Badree - who finished with four wickets - and the rest of West Indies' attack had no trouble running through the rest. In the end, the margin of victory reflected Bangladesh's inadequacies rather than anything spectacular from West Indies.

Having been sent in, West Indies, for most part, had struggled to put Bangladesh's bowlers away on a slow pitch. Smith, who had scratched his way to 11 off 29 balls against India, was in much better touch though, and provided West Indies impetus that they never lost despite their two best batsmen - Gayle and Marlon Samuels - facing 70 balls between them for 66.

Smith profited from some poor bowling, particularly from Sohag Gazi. Smith greeted the offspinner by sweeping him for two fours off his first two balls, both of which were directed towards leg stump, a dodgy idea with fine leg in the circle.

In the 10th over, Smith struck him for four successive fours. He manufactured the first - a reverse-sweep off a decent ball, but the next three came from ordinary deliveries that would have disappeared in any format of the game. The last of these, a flat-batted sweep, took Smith to 50. The landmark had come up in 34 balls.

Despite this, West Indies' run rate, at the end of the 10th over, was still under eight an over. At the other end, Gayle was playing a bizarre innings. It wasn't a surprise that he was slow off the blocks - he usually is before picking up the rate later. That simply didn't happen today. Part of this had to do with Gayle struggling to time the ball on a slow pitch, and part of it had to do with intent - unless the ball was in his hitting zone, he simply didn't go after it. He was slow between the wickets too, and appeared in some discomfort, suggesting he might not have been fully fit.

After Smith's dismissal in the 12th over, Mushfiqur brought on Shakib Al Hasan for the first time, and the left-arm spinner struck first ball getting Lendl Simmons stumped down the leg side as he went off on a strange wander out of the crease.

In came Samuels, who added 53 in 37 balls with Gayle even though neither batsman looked particularly threatening, as Bangladesh's fielding disintegrated despite two blinders from Tamim. Gayle went from 26 from 38 - at that point the second-slowest score of 25 or more in the history of international T20 - to 30 from 39 - the 14th slowest - courtesy Anamul's slippery fingers at long-on. In the next over, the 17th, Mushfiqur let successive deliveries from Shakib scoot between his legs for four byes. In the last two overs, Bangladesh also dropped three catches - Mahmudullah's two missed chances at long-off adding eight runs to Darren Sammy's score.

Al-Amin Hossain bowled a tight last over, picking up three wickets, but would have wished the spell had been part of a better team performance.

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West indies vs Bangladesh

Two teams who aren't at the top of their game come together in Tuesday's clash. Bangladesh, the hosts, have had a forgettable 2014 so far, with lacklustre showings in the home series against Sri Lanka and the Asia Cup which were capped by a defeat to Hong Kong in the first phase of the World T20. West Indies, the defending champions, have lost seven of their previous ten T20s, including their opening game in the World T20, where they went down meekly to India.

After the lukewarm start in the loss against India, talk about West Indies' ability to take singles again got plenty of airtime ahead of the Bangladesh game. Whether it is through singles and twos or through big hits, West Indies need a victory over Bangladesh, as their remaining games in a tough group are against Australia, who are rated among the tournament favourites, and a formidable Pakistan outfit. Defeat to Bangladesh won't eliminate West Indies, but it is likely to mean that their chances of making the semi-finals are not in their hands, leaving them needing to win their remaining matches besides hoping other results go their way.

Bangladesh, despite their defeat to Hong Kong, have achieved their first goal: of reaching the Super 10s and thus avoiding the ignominy of having to watch a party in their backyard from the sidelines. They are positioning themselves as spoilers in a group of heavyweights, and can be tricky opponents, especially at home if the track suits their array of spinners.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)

 Bangladesh: LWWLL
West Indies: LLWWW

In the spotlight

As someone who strikes at around 130 in T20s, Dwayne Smith will want to make amends for his torturous 29-ball 11 against India that robbed West Indies of any momentum at the start of the innings. With Chris Gayle expected to stick to his method of biding his time early on, Smith is entrusted with the task of providing the opening fireworks. Bangladesh's new-ball bowlers have a challenge on their hands.

Chris Gayle had recently jokingly remarked that he had made Sohag Gazi famous by hitting him for six off the first ball of a Test. That was when West Indies last toured Bangladesh in 2012, but even on that tour Gayle didn't exactly dominate - Gazi dismissed him three times in Tests and ODIs. The rivalry is set to resume on Tuesday, when Gazi is expected to be picked as a replacement for Farhad Reza

Teams news

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has said they have to still take a decision on their quick bowling line-up: whether to bring in either the experienced Ravi Rampaul or the pacy Sheldon Cottrell in place of Krishmar Santokie. He wanted to take a close look at the conditions in Mirpur before taking a call.

West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Darren Sammy (capt), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Ravi Rampaul/Krishmar Santokie, 11 Samuel Badree 

Bangladesh are expected to make several changes to the side that went down to Hong Kong. With Rubel Hossain injured, Ziaur Rahman is likely to get a game while offspinner Sohag Gazi is set to replace the expensive Farhad Reza. They could also bring in Shamsur Rahman for Sabbir Rahman.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shamsur Rahman, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Ziaur Rahman, 9 Sohag Gazi, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Al-Amin Hossain

Stats and trivia

• West Indies are the only top-eight team that Bangladesh have beaten in Twenty20s.
• Andre Russell's economy-rate of 9.60 is the second worst among all those who have bowled more than 30 overs in T20Is. Only New Zealand's Doug Bracewell (9.61) has a worse economy rate.
• With 42 wickets, Shakib Al Hasan is the joint highest wicket-taker, along with Abdur Razzak, in T20Is for Bangladesh. He is also 12 runs short of surpassing Tamim Iqbal as the highest run-getter in T20Is for Bangladesh

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Waqar, Murali take on coaching roles with Bengal

 

 

Waqar Younis and Muttiah Muralitharan have been appointed pace and spin bowling consultants respectively for Bengal, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) confirmed after its working committee meeting on Monday. The two have signed three-year contracts with the CAB and will begin working with the players in a four-day camp starting March 15.

Waqar and Murali were recommended by the former India captain Sourav Ganguly. Ranadeb Bose, the former Bengal seamer, will assist Waqar but Murali's assistant is yet to be appointed, after the former left-arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee ruled himself out. Ganguly will coach the batsmen and will be assisted by Bengal coach Ashok Malhotra, Goutam Shome (Jr) and Bengal Under-25 coach Joydeep Mukherjee.

"Everything has been passed. There's confusion over who would be the assistant spin coach," Ganguly was quoted in the Telegraph. "Nonetheless, it'll just be simple cricket coaching with Waqar and Murali and no rocket science.

"

The cricketers will be picked from a screening camp. The first phase, beginning from March 15, will consist of 200 players. It will be for 30-35 days under Waqar and Murali, but local coaches will hold the camp throughout the year. The batting clinic will be held separately. I will be available (after the World T20), so we can do it at an appropriate time."

Waqar, the former Pakistan fast bowler, had coached Pakistan before stepping down in September 2011. He joined Sunrisers Hyderabad as a bowling consultant for the 2013 IPL season. Muralitharan, the former Sri Lanka offspinner who's still actively playing in T20 leagues around the world, was appointed as Sri Lanka's spin consultant in February 2013 but only in an advisory capacity.

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FIFA world cup 2014 Brazil schedule

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ICC T20 World Cup 2014 Schedule Fixtures

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Cricket world Twenty 20 warm up matches

 
ICC T20I Wc 2014

Warm UP Matches:

Wed Mar 12
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Bangladesh vs United Arab Emirates
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 12
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Afghanistan vs Netherlands
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Wed Mar 12
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Ireland vs Nepal
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 12
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Hong Kong vs Zimbabwe
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Fri Mar 14
09:30 local | 03:30 GMT | 9:00 IST | 8:30 PKT
Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe
MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong

Fri Mar 14
13:30 local | 07:30 GMT | 13:00 IST | 12:30 PKT
Hong Kong vs Netherland
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Fri Mar 14
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Nepal vs United Arab Emirates
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Fri Mar 14
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Bangladesh vs Ireland
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

 Mon Mar 17
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
New Zealand vs Pakistan
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Mon Mar 17
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
India vs Sri Lanka
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Tue Mar 18
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
England vs West Indies
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Tue Mar 18
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Bangladesh A vs South Africa
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 19
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Australia vs New Zealand
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 19
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Sri Lanka vs West Indies
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Wed Mar 19
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
South Africa vs Pakistan
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 19
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
England vs India
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpu

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Bowlers help Bangladesh to series win

 

After their famous 4-0 win against the same opposition at home in 2010, another clean sweep beckoned for Bangladesh after they wrapped up the second ODI by 40 runs. Bangladesh defended 247 and their decision to bat first was vindicated despite concerns over the spinners' effectiveness with a dew-laden ball.

Bangladesh made the two new balls count. Mashrafe Mortaza, who took three wickets, bowled two good spells to make sure New Zealand's required run-rate never went down. Offspinner Sohag Gazi took the other new ball, and like Mashrafe, tied down the batsmen at first before picking up three wickets. Mominul Haque was Mushfiqur Rahim's golden arm, removing the McCullum brothers.

When they began their chase of 248 run, Hamish Rutherford was the first to go, chopping a Mashrafe delivery onto his stumps for 1, repeating his score from the first match. Anton Devcich and Grant Elliott were removed off successive deliveries a little while later, the former popping a catch back to Gazi and the latter getting stuck on the crease to Abdur Razzak, and falling leg-before.

As the chase began to gather pace, the visitors pinned their hopes on the captain Brendon McCullum to make his first significant score on this tour. It remained that way, as he fell just when his partnership with Ross Taylor was starting to worry Bangladesh.

After the second drinks break, McCullum went back to a Mominul delivery that didn't turn much, missed it and was given out leg-before. In the next over, Tom Latham was run out thanks to Rubel Hossain's throw after Taylor sent him back after completing the first run. James Neesham was caught off a short ball from Gazi, caught by a diving Naeem Islam at square leg.

Gazi picked up the crucial wicket of Taylor just after he had smashed a six at the end of the batting Powerplay. That wicket - the eighth falling with the score on 158 - spelled the end of New Zealand's resistance in this series, as Bangladesh waited for the inevitable. Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum held things up for a while before Nathan McCullum holed out at long-on in the 46th over. The end came when Tim Southee missed Mashrafe's straight ball in the 47th over.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, were off to a better start with the bat, but none of their batsmen pushed on for a big score. The New Zealand bowlers were accurate and controlled their bowling variations. The Bangladesh batsmen had to be patient, but were often frustrated as they could not get on top of the medium-pacers. Brendon McCullum set planned fields, packing the off side and to his credit, he was backed by the bowlers and the fielders.

Corey Anderson and Neesham both took four wickets, after Southee and Kyle Mills restricted the Bangladesh openers with tight spells with the two new balls. Their tidiness in the first 35 overs paid off when Bangladesh lost three quick wickets after the 36th over, at the start of the batting Powerplay, Bangladesh's scourge. It set them back for the last nine overs during which they added only 63 runs and lost four wickets.

Mushfiqur, Naeem and Nasir Hossain fell in the space of eleven balls, which took them from 169 for 3 to 173 for 6. All three dismissals were soft and the shots played, particularly that of Mushfiqur and Naeem, were unnecessary.

The top and middle-order batsmen threw away good starts. The openers, Tamim Iqbal and the debutant Shamsur Rahman began steadily with a stand of 63. Tamim was the enforcer, but the debutant Shamsur was relatively sedate during his 25. Tamim drove stylishly through the covers and his only six, down the ground off Southee in the ninth over, was his best shot.

Mominul struck five boundaries, one of them straight down the ground and another flicked through midwicket. But he fell to a trap, pulling a slower ball from Anderson to Nathan McCullum at deep midwicket.

Soon after, Tamim got stuck in the forties for 18 balls, before reaching his 25th ODI fifty off 75 balls. He was finally dismissed by inside edging Anderson's slower ball onto his stumps, after missing on several wild swishes. As the sun set below Mirpur's horizon, the home crowd looked disappointed that the batsmen failed to capitalise, but the mood changed as the evening wore on.

Batting is an area that still needs improvement, but with an inspired bowling performance such as this, Mushfiqur need not give himself and the rest of the batsmen the hair-dryer. With cricket being one of the unifying factors in the country, celebrations are expected everywhere

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Rubel hat-trick sinks New Zealand

 

Rubel Hossain's six-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, turned the first ODI on its head, helping Bangladesh win by 43 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis method. The visitors were starting to get away with the game despite a steep target after the 105-minute rain break, needing 124 off the remaining 13 overs, but Rubel's spell marked the turning point.

The last time Rubel faced New Zealand in Mirpur, he took four wickets including the last one of Kyle Mills that sealed the 4-0 series win. This time, he took the wickets of Corey Anderson, Brendon McCullum and James Neesham in consecutive balls in his third over, and later added two more to become only the second Bangladeshi, after Mashrafe Mortaza, to take six wickets in an ODI.

New Zealand's target was revised from the original 266 to 206 in 33 overs after heavy rain forced a long interruption 20 overs into the chase. New Zealand were behind on D/L at that stage and had there been no further play, Bangladesh would have won. Play resumed, but the visitors failed to grab their second chance. New Zealand's chase lost momentum from the promising position after rain, when they needed 86 off 60 balls before Rubel started his third over. They smashed 38 runs off the three overs immediately after the rain break, having been set a stiff total to chase.

The game changed in the 24th over. Anderson had smashed four sixes and three fours till that point and hence posed a threat to Bangladesh's chances. But he tried one too many slogs, and was bowled by Rubel off the third ball of the over.

McCullum got a ball that took off on him as he advanced on the front foot, taking a leading edge that was taken easily at point by the substitute Shamsur Rahman. Rubel had taken a hat-trick in a domestic one-day competition only last month but oddly, it escaped his attention. This time, he had the 25,000-plus crowd to remind him. He bowled a short one down the leg side and Neesham tried to flick it away. Mushfiqur Rahim took an excellent catch diving to his right, and once the umpire Enamul Haque was convinced, Rubel wildly celebrated with his team-mates, among whom was Sohag Gazi who took a Test hat-trick earlier this month in Chittagong. Rubel became the third Bangladeshi to take a ODI hat-trick, after Shahadat Hossain (2006) and Abdur Razzak (2010), both against Zimbabwe.

He added the wicket of Nathan McCullum in his fifth over to claim his maiden five-wicket haul. He claimed his sixth when Mortaza took a superb running catch in the 30th overs and the game ended at that point, because Kane Williamson, who had injured his hand while fielding, did not come out to bat.

New Zealand made a poor start to their 266-run chase. Hamish Rutherford tried to hit Gazi down the ground, but missed and was bowled in the fourth over. Grant Elliott was promoted in place of the injured Williamson, but he didn't force matters. In the 11th over, debutant Anton Devcich missed a heave across the line to Mahmudullah, to be clean bowled like Rutherford.

Ross Taylor started off luckily, under-edging one past the wicketkeeper's left-hand and one past the first slip in the same over off Mortaza. He became Rubel's first victim when he tried to cut close to his body but ended up edging to Mushfiqur. The other side of the rain break belonged to Bangladesh.

Earlier, Mushfiqur and Naeem Islam took hold of a situation that had all the makings of a typical Bangladesh collapse, when they were struggling at 25 for 3. Naeem's dour start, alongside Mushfiqur's flair, guided the home side out of trouble, as they added 154. Mushfiqur brought out a range of shots, from his favoured slog-sweep to the spinners to the more conventional cuts and drives. He played the upper-cut on a few occasions and also pushed the singles, especially when Naeem got stuck early in his innings.

Naeem took 17 balls to get off the mark, but slowly started finding the gaps. Naeem got to 50 off 75 balls, while Mushfiqur reached his half-century off 53 balls. Mushfiqur continued to be aggressive towards the latter part of his innings, but fell in the second over of the batting Powerplay, edging Neesham's off-cutter to the wicketkeeper for 90 off 97 balls. Naeem too fell to the same bowler for 84 off 115 balls, trying to hoick a slower one but edging it to the wicketkeeper.

Before that, Naeem added 51 for the sixth wicket with Mahmudullah, which was crucial because Bangladesh's usual finisher, Nasir Hossain, was out in the same over as Mushfiqur, the 37th. The New Zealand bowlers held things back in the last ten overs, conceding just 62 runs. They took four wickets in the last five overs after Naeem fell in the 45th over, with Neesham ending with four wickets. In the end, rain and Rubel came in their way

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Drawn Tests give ODIs more context

Bangladesh vs Newzealand
1st odi Today

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ICC World T20 Bangladesh 2014 Schedule

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Manzoor ton breaks top-order drought

 

Usually, a couple of hours into a Pakistan Test innings, Younis Khan is in the middle trying to rescue the team after the top order has floundered. In Abu Dhabi, he was relaxing in the pavilion, fiddling around with a camera while chatting with Junaid Khan. He could afford to joke around as Pakistan's new opening pair, Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood, put on 135 runs, Pakistan's first century stand for the first wicket since January 2012, back when they were making a mockery of England's No. 1 ranking.

It is much too soon to talk of them making a mockery of the current No. 1 side in the world, but Pakistan's sixth opening combination in seven Tests put them on course for a healthy first-innings side. Manzoor went on to his maiden Test century, the first by a Pakistan opener against South Africa in a decade, to heap the pressure on Graeme Smith's side.

Manzoor is only playing his 10th Test, spread over more than four years, but was already deemed the senior opener in the squad, after Mohammad Hafeez was axed. He is fresh off twin half-centuries in his previous Test, and though he had a few nervy moments early on, he didn't throw away his wicket. He was generally watchful against the quicks, wearing a blow on his ribs from Jacques Kallis, and only opened out just before lunch when the spinners came on, taking three boundaries in two overs.

What stood out as much as his crisp strokeplay and concentration was his desire to get a big score. He regularly chided himself when he played a loose shot, even knocking his helmet with his bat several times after chasing a wide one from Vernon Philander and nearly nicking it when on 90. It was a bit of struggle for him around that time, scoring only one run in 24 deliveries. Just as the pressure was mounting on him, he broke free with consecutive boundaries off Robin Peterson. The century arrived soon after with a push towards cover for two, celebrating in a chest-thumpingly exuberant manner.

His combativeness was also on display late in the day, when a wicketless Dale Steyn charged in with the second new ball. When Steyn flung the ball at him after fielding it, Manzoor didn't back down, snapping back at the world's No. 1 bowler. Later in the over when Steyn glared after a quick delivery, Manzoor blew him a kiss.

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Ton plus hat-trick for Gazi in draw........

 

Even as the first Test meandered to a draw, Bangladesh had plenty of reasons to celebrate, not least among them Sohag Gazi's performance on the final day. A Test hat-trick, only the second by a Bangladesh bowler, gave him a singular place in cricket history - he became the first cricketer to score a hundred and take a hat-trick in a Test. That wasn't the only record he claimed.

When Mushfiqur Rahim managed to latch on to a rebound off his chest, to get rid of BJ Watling off the third ball of the 85th over, Gazi became only the third player in this decade to score a hundred and take five wickets in a Test, after R Ashwin and Shakib Al Hasan.

Having taken two wickets off successive balls in that over, Gazi then went on to complete a hat-trick, courtesy a one-handed catch at first slip by Shakib, who dived forward to catch the ball close to the ground.

The early finish to the game on the fourth evening meant that the possibility of rain loomed over the final day, but the weather stayed clear. New Zealand, however, began the fifth day slowly. They were consolidating and, with Peter Fulton at the crease, they achieved that. Fulton kept the Bangladesh spinners at bay in his own way, with the bat coming down from his 1.98 metre frame and defending the ball low to the ground. He scored 59 runs in more than three hours, adding 101 for the second wicket with Kane Williamson.

Fulton fell leg-before to Gazi in the second hour of play, and was followed by Williamson who was out after adding 51 runs with Ross Taylor for the third wicket. Williamson made 74 off 150 balls, with two fours and a six, but was out to a freak dismissal: his fierce pull got lodged between Anamul Haque's thighs and the short-leg fielder held on to complete the catch.

Taylor accelerated a bit after lunch, hitting Abdur Razzak for three consecutive fours in the first over after the break, as he and Brendon McCullum added 32 runs from 3.4 overs. The New Zealand captain, however, was undone by Gazi's length. The hat-trick followed, and the visitors had little to do but declare with the score on 287 for 7, setting Bangladesh a 256-run target in a maximum of 48 overs.

Tamim Iqbal and Anamul started cautiously, and survived a few lbw appeals. Anamul was the first to go, caught at cover off a poor Bruce Martin delivery. The shot was poor too. Tamim struggled to get the ball off the square, and also enjoyed some luck. He was dropped at deep square leg by Anderson off Martin on 29, and by Taylor at slip when he was on 40. Tamim spent 29 balls in the forties before an awkward-looking drive led to a top-edge, giving a catch to Martin in the covers.

Marshall Ayub once again gave a glimpse of his potential as a No. 3 with good technique, but he fell lbw to Sodhi. Shakib and Mominul Haque then got Bangladesh to safety in the last hour

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Champions League T20 (CLT20) 2013 Schedule

Sep 17, 2013	15:30	Otago Volts vs FW , 1st Qualifier T20	Hyderabad
Sep 17, 2013	19:30	SRH vs TBC , 2nd Qualifier T20	Hyderabad
Sep 18, 2013	15:30	Otago Volts vs TBC , 3rd Qualifier T20	Hyderabad
Sep 18, 2013	19:30	FW vs SRH , 4th Qualifier T20	Mohali
Sep 20, 2013	15:30	FW vs TBC , 5th Qualifier T20	Mohali
Sep 20, 2013	19:30	Otago Volts vs SRH , 6th Qualifier T20	Mohali
Sep 21, 2013	19:30	RR vs Mumbai Indians , 1st T20	Jaipur
Sep 22, 2013	15:30	Brisbane Heat vs TT , 2nd T20	Ranchi
Sep 22, 2013	19:30	CSK vs Titans , 3rd T20	Ranchi
Sep 23, 2013	15:30	Highveld Lions vs Perth Scorchers , 4th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 23, 2013	19:30	Mumbai Indians vs TBC , 5th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 24, 2013	15:30	Titans vs Brisbane Heat , 6th T20	Mohali
Sep 24, 2013	19:30	TT vs TBC , 7th T20	Mohali
Sep 25, 2013	15:30	Perth Scorchers vs TBC , 8th T20	Jaipur
Sep 25, 2013	19:30	RR vs Highveld Lions , 9th T20	Jaipur
Sep 26, 2013	19:30	CSK vs TBC , 10th T20	Ranchi
Sep 27, 2013	19:30	Mumbai Indians vs Highveld Lions , 11th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 27, 2013	19:30	Mumbai Indians vs Highveld Lions , 11th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 28, 2013	15:30	Titans vs TBC , 12th T20	Ranchi
Sep 28, 2013	19:30	CSK vs Brisbane Heat , 13th T20	Ranchi
Sep 29, 2013	15:30	Highveld Lions vs TBC , 14th T20	Jaipur
Sep 29, 2013	19:30	RR vs Perth Scorchers , 15th T20	Jaipur
Sep 30, 2013	15:30	Titans vs TT , 16th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 30, 2013	19:30	Brisbane Heat vs TBC , 17th T20	Ahmedabad
Oct 1, 2013	19:30	RR vs TBC , 18th T20	Jaipur
Oct 2, 2013	15:30	Perth Scorchers vs Mumbai Indians , 19th T20	Delhi
Oct 2, 2013	19:30	CSK vs TT , 20th T20	Delhi
Oct 4, 2013	19:30	TBC vs TBC , 1st Semi Final T20	Jaipur
Oct 6, 2013	19:30	TBC vs TBC , 2nd Semi Final T20	Delhi
Oct 6, 2013	19:30	TBC vs TBC , Final T20	Delhi

 

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Nazir takes Pakistan to Super Eights with super chase

 

Pakistan's celebrated bowling unit's rare off day put a latch on it, but their batsmen smashed through the qualification door by chasing down 176 - their highest successful chase - with eight balls to spare.

To progress in the tournament, Bangladesh needed to not only post their first win over Pakistan in 13 years, but win by at least 36 runs. On a true pitch, Shakib Al Hasan posted the highest score by a Bangladesh batsman to facilitate their second-highest total, but Imran Nazir whacked his way to the fastest fifty in this World T20 to calm down any nerves there might have been after the effort in the field.

It was also a night that will be remembered for shoddy short bowling on a flat track and shoddier catching by both sides. Sohail Tanvir put down one of the simplest catches ever put down in international cricket, Kamran Akmal let through a regulation take, but it was the drop by Abul Hasan, brought in to replace Elias Sunny, that proved decisive in the end. Had he held on, Nazir would have been gone on 1 and Shafiul Islam would have got off to a confident start with a first-ball wicket. Nazir ended up with 72.

It didn't help that the chance had come off a short delivery, which encouraged them to keep bowling short, and Nazir, often good with the horizontal bat, took full toll. In his second over, Shafiul kept bowling short and was carter for four, four and six. Another short ball that went for five wides made it 20 off the over, and Pakistan had had a head start at 43 for 0 after four overs. Clearly they were not going for just the qualification. The win was on their mind.

Smart stats Imran Nazir's strike rate of 200 is the second-highest for a Pakistan batsman for a fifty-plus score. Umar Akmal is on top with a strike rate of 206.45 during his 64 against Australia in 2010. Shakib Al Hasan's strike rate of 155.55 is the fourth-highest for a fifty-plus score by a Bangladesh batsman in Twenty20 internationals. The target chased (176) is the highest for Pakistan in Twenty20 internationals. Their previous highest was 165 against Australia in 2007. The 124-run stand between Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez is the second-highest opening stand for Pakistan in Twenty20 internationals. The highest opening stand for Pakistan (142) also came against Bangladesh. The run-rate in the game (9.12) is the seventh-highest in World Twenty20 matches (minimum 30 overs in the game) and the second-highest in a World Twenty20 game involving Pakistan.

Mohammad Hafeez remained the calm man at other end, chipping and pushing runs as Nazir kept up his power hitting while getting at least one short ball every over. After Shakib put the brakes on with just four in the seventh over, Nazir stepped out of the crease to hit Abdur Razzak over mid-off to break the rhythm. That four took him to 42 off 18, and the fifty came when Shakib provided him with a long hop for six in the 10th over.

That even Shakib was making mistakes was sign enough. Relief arrived for Bangladesh when Nazir and Hafeez fell in one Hasan over, after which came a quiet five-run over, bringing the equation down to 45 needed off five overs. For the first time it seemed Pakistan might be conscious of that qualification mark - now nine runs away - but Nasir Jamshed quashed those thoughts with two of the finest shots, four through point and a flicked six over square leg, off the next two balls.

That was cue enough for Kamran to open up too, and the rest was just a stroll. Had you mentioned the word stroll in the first innings, though, Pakistan's coach Dav Whatmore would have given you a piece of his mind. For the most part, it was a stroll for Shakib, who capitalised on the brisk start provided by Mohammad Ashraful and Tamim Iqbal.

Shakib had the extra responsibility after playing a significant role in Tamim's run-out at 61 for 2 in the sixth over. He had himself raced away to 16 off 11 by then, took it easy for the next three overs, and then resumed the charge with two fours off Saeed Ajmal in the 10th over. When Tanvir dropped a dolly from Mushfiqur Rahim in the 13th over, Shakib had reached 42 off 30. He introduced a second wind to that innings now, hitting short deliveries from Yasir Arafat for four and six to bring up his fifty.

Another period of calm followed when Arafat and Shahid Afridi managed two wickets in five deliveries, but Kamran failed to make it three in eight when he dropped a sitter from Nasir Hossain. At 133 for 4 in the 16th over Shakib remained the main threat. He moved around the crease in the 18th over to pay with Umar Gul's length, scoping, flicking and cover-driving for fours. With 33 coming off the last three overs, Pakistan's travel agent might have had a look at Karachi fares, but Nazir put them back on their way to Colombo.

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