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FIFA World Ranking: Bangladesh drops to 184th
Current World Cup Champions Leonel Messi's Argentina remained on top while Bangladesh by one step to 184th in the latest FIFA World Ranking published by the World's apex body on Thursday (Apr 4).
Argentina, which clinched the top position in the FIFA World Ranking dethroning their arch-rival Brazil in April last year, maintained their hot seat intact for one year.
Bangladesh ranked 183rd in October last, went down by one step to settle for 184th place after six months following their two back to back defeats against war-torn Arabian nation Palestine in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers last month.
Bangladesh suffered their biggest 0-5 goal defeat against Palestine in their away match in Kuwait on March 21 and conceded 0-1 goal defeat in their home match at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka on March 26.
Besides, two major changes were also held in top ten positions.
Belgium advanced to the 3rd slot toppling England while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal moved one step up to settle for the 6th place.
In other top ten FIFA rankings, France ranked 2nd, England 4th, Brazil 5th, Netherlands 7th, Spain 8th, Italy 9th and Croatia 10th .
Women's Cricket: Bangladesh suffer yet another big defeat to Australia
They came to this series accepting the reality that their Australian counterparts were far superior in every aspect of the game. And when the series ended, they faced the hard reality, losing all six matches without offering any kind of resistance.
On Thursday, Bangladesh lost the third and final T20I of the three-match series by a big margin of 77 runs at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Australia batted first in this match and posted 156 for six, with Alyssa Healy scoring 45 and Tahlia McGrath hitting 43. Nahida Akter took three wickets for Bangladesh. However, her performance did not help the team contain Australia's scoring rate.
In reply, Bangladesh were never in a position to pose even a bit of a challenge to Australia. They tumbled to only 78 in 18.1 overs. Captain Nigar Sultana scored 32, the highest for her team. Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals, ultimately handing them a big defeat.
Bangladesh will take on India in another series later this month at home. This will be an important series considering that Bangladesh will host this year's T20 World Cup.
Women’s Cricket: India to travel Bangladesh this month
The Indian women's cricket team will travel to Bangladesh this month to play a five-match T20I series, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed on Wednesday.
The series will kick off on April 28, with the other matches will be played on April 30, and May 2, 6, and 9. While the first two and last matches will be played at the Sylhet International Stadium, the third and fourth matches will take place at the Sylhet International Stadium Outer field.
Chattogram Test: Sri Lanka near victory as Bangladeshi batters falter
India traveled to Bangladesh last year when Bangladesh won their first-ever ODI against them.
Bangladesh are currently busy playing a series against Australia, which will end on Apr 4 with the last T20I of the three-match series. Bangladesh has failed to win any of the five matches they have played so far in the ongoing contest.
Chattogram Test: Sri Lanka win to sweep series over Bangladesh
Sri Lanka secured a decisive 192-run victory over Bangladesh in the second Test match, with fast bowler Lahiru Kumara taking four wickets for 50 runs.
This win completed a series sweep for Sri Lanka, maintaining their record of never losing a Test match in Bangladesh. Prior to this, Sri Lanka also won the three-match T20 series 2-1 but lost the ODI series by the same margin.
“We’re very satisfied with the (Test) win,” Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva said. There are many areas for us to improve, and I’ve talked about those with the team and the coaches are working towards that. If we can learn day by day and raise our game by 1%, we can make winning a habit.”
Resuming Day 5 at 268-7 and needing 243 runs for an unlikely victory, Bangladesh was bowled out for 318 with Mehidy Hasan Miraz staying unbeaten on 81.
Occasional bowler Kamindu Mendis, who took 3-32, got the breakthrough for the visitors in the fourth over of the day when he dismissed Taijul Islam, caught by Nishan Madushka at gully.
But Mehidy raised his sixth Test 50 off 62 balls, hitting Kamindu for a boundary. He batted aggressively to raise the prospect of his only second century but Hasan Mahmud and Syed Khaled Ahmed failed to give him support.
Both of the batters were dismissed by Kumara, leaving Mehidy 19 runs short of his century. He played 110 balls for his 81, including 14 fours.
“After the team does badly, the players feel bad. They always want to improve. They communicate with each other. We don’t think about Test match fees,” Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said. “We are looking for improvement even when we are doing well. Everyone feels bad when we lose, but we prepare very well. We practice very hard.
“This is a very young team. We don’t have much experience. Every player has the desire to improve. Give it more time, the team will make better decisions.”
Sri Lanka posted 531 in its first innings with six batters getting past half-century marks, making it the highest total without any batters scoring a century.
It then dismissed Bangladesh for 178 runs, and took a 353-run lead but the visitors decided against the follow-on. Despite a batting collapse in the second innings, Sri Lanka was able to leave Bangladesh a record chase of 511 after declaring on 157-7.
“The bowlers did their basics on this wicket, and the batters did their job as well,” Dhananjaya said. “The batters were a bit disappointed about not getting runs in the first Test, but we have experienced players. I was confident they would get runs.”
Federation Cup Football: Holders Mohammedan SC reach semifinal eliminating Sheikh Russel
Coming from behind, defending champions Dhaka Mohammedan SC reached the semifinal of the Federation Cup Football Tournament as the first team eliminating Sheikh Russel KC by 2-1 goals in the first quarter final at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj on Tuesday.
Guinea forward Sekou Sylla put Sheikh Russell KC ahead twinkling of an eye in the very first minute of the match silencing the Mohammedans fans (1-0).
Federation Cup Football: Mohammedan SC, Dhaka Abahani reach quarterfinals
The traditional black and whites Mohammedan SC had to wait till 71st minute to make equaliser by Uzbek medio Muzaffarov (1-1).
Finally, local striker Jafar Iqbal scored the match winning goal for Mohammedan SC in the first minute of the added time (90+1 minute) of the match (2-1).
Federation Cup Football: Sheikh Jamal DC assure knock out stage outplaying Rahmatganj MFS 4-1
League champions and star -studded Bashundhara Kings will play old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj MFS in the 2nd quarterfinal on April 16 at the same venue.
Federation Cup Football: Holders Mohammedan SC, runners-up Dhaka Abahani make good start
Premier Div Hockey: Usha KC share top slot with Abahani beating Victoria SC by 7-1 goals
Former champions Usha KC shared the top slot in the 11-team Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League, with Abahani Limited beating Victoria SC by 7-1 goals.
at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday.
Premier Div Hockey: Mohammedan advance to 2nd slot beating holders Mariner Youngs
After the day's match, the old Dhaka outfit Usha KC secured 25 points from all the 10 first phase matches to share the top with Abahani Ltd, which also bagged 25 points from nine matches, playing one match less than Usha KC.
Mohammedan SC remained at the 2nd slot in the league table, securing 23 points from nine matches.
While holders Mariner Youngs Club is in third place with 19 points from nine matches.
Premier Div Hockey: Hattricks by Deepok, Rahul help Police rout Azad SC
In the remaining first phase matches, Mohammedan SC will play lowly Bangladesh Sporting Club while Abahani Limited will face holders Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club.
In Tuesday's match, Mahbub Hossain scored a hat-trick, scoring three goals, and Hasan Jubair Niloy, Arshad, and Indian recruits Shariq and Nikhil scored one each for Usha KC.
Premier Div Hockey: Ashraful's hattrick guides Dhaka Abahani Ltd to bag 8th successive win
After trailing by 0-7 goals, Shafiqul Islam Anik scored the consolation goal for Victoria SC (7-1).
In the day's other match, Ajax SC assured the super six berth in the league, beating Dilkusha SC by 6-4 goals at the same venue on Tuesday afternoon.
Chattogram Test: Sri Lanka near victory as Bangladeshi batters falter
Sri Lanka was on the brink of victory in the second and final Test against Bangladesh at the end of day three, with the hosts struggling at 268 for 7 in pursuit of a challenging 511-run target.
Pacer Lahiru Kumara, left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuirya, and occasional bowler Kamindu Mendis shone with two wickets each, pushing Bangladesh into survival mode. Despite Mehidy Hasan's resilient 44 off 49 balls and Taijul Islam's 10, Bangladesh faced an improbable 243-run deficit, conceding that Sri Lanka's bowling prowess was too formidable to overcome.
Chattogram Test: Sri Lanka post big total, Bangladesh lose a wicket to end day two
Mominul Haque’s second fifty in the series helped Bangladesh go past 200 for the first time in five test innings dating back to December. But he was dismissed on 50 off 56 after hitting eight fours and one six.
“Bangladesh played well today. They put the pressure back on the bowlers,” Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood said.
“We bowled well in patches. There were periods when we could have bowled better. I don’t think we quite had the consistency in this inning as we showed in the first inning with the ball. But, thankfully, our hard work has put us in a strong position, going into tomorrow.”
Sri Lanka began the day batting, witnessing Angelo Mathews score his first half-century of the series and 41st in his career. Resuming their second innings at 102-6, Sri Lanka declared at 157-7 shortly after Mathews was dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan for 56, having hit five boundaries. Prabath Jayasuriya remained unbeaten on 28.
Chattogram Test: Sri Lanka dominate day one against Bangladesh
With a total of 531 in their first inning, Sri Lanka secured a 353-run lead without enforcing the follow-on, maintaining their undefeated record in tests in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh batted for eight overs until lunch, losing their first wicket in the second over after the interval. Jayasuriya dismissed Mahmudul Hasan for 24, followed by pacer Vishwa Fernando getting Zakir Hasan caught by Dhananjaya de Silva at first slip for 19.
Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto reached double digits for the first time in the series but appeared uncomfortable throughout his stay before he was bowled on 20 by Kumara.
Mominul counterattacked and raised his 18th test fifty off 55 balls, pulling pacer Asitha Fernando down to a fine leg for a single. He was out off the next delivery, top-edging a sweep of Jayasuriya straight to square leg.
“No excuse, as a batting unit, we played extremely bad cricket,” Mominul said. “We couldn’t bat according to our potential. We have to take the responsibility. Today, most of the batters, including me, got out after getting set. The wicket was good to bat on.”
Sri Lanka win toss and bat in 2nd test against Bangladesh
Shakib and Liton Das came together at 132-4 and became Bangladesh’s last great hopes. They fought for more than 16 overs, bridging tea, and combined for 61 runs, but were out in the space of four runs.
Shakib, playing his first test in a year, had 36 off 53 balls when he was baffled by Kamindu’s huge turn and gave the bowler his first wicket in test cricket.
Kamindu also took out Shahadat Hossain for 15 before Liton was undone by a short delivery from Kumara and edged behind on 38.
Premier Div Hockey: Mohammedan advance to 2nd slot beating holders Mariner Youngs
Dhaka Mohammedan SC advanced to the second slot in the 11-team Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League, beating defending champions Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club by 3-2 goals in a keenly contested match at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka on Monday.
With the day's feat, Mohammedan also maintained their unbeaten record in the league after league leader Dhaka Abahani Limited.
Premier Div Hockey: Hattricks by Deepok, Rahul help Police rout Azad SC
Earlier, the traditional black and whites, Mohammedan, crushed Victoria SC 10-1, Azad SC 4-0, drew a 3-3 draw with Usha KC, outplayed Dilkusha SC 11-1, Sadharan Bima KS 5-1, Ajax SC 5-3, defeated Police SC 4-3, and drew 1-1 with Dhaka Abahani, apart from the day's 3-2 win over Mariners.
Dhaka Abahani dominated the league with an unbeaten run, securing 25 points from nine matches after beating Dilkusha SC 10-1, Usha KC 2-1, Azad SC 10-1, Sadharan Bima 3-0, Victoria SC 16-0, Ajax SC 7-1, Police SC 4-2, Bangladesh SC 6-2, and drawing 1-1 with Mohammedan SC.
Premier Div Hockey: Dhaka Abahani finally drop points in draw with Mohammedan SC
After the day's match, the old Dhaka outfit Usha KC went down to the 3rd slot in the league table with 22 points, while holders Mariners Youngs remained in the fourth slot with 19 points.
In the remaining first phase matches, Mohammedan SC will play lowly Bangladesh Sporting Club, Abahani Limited will face holders Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club, and Usha KC will play lowly Victoria SC.
Premier Div Hockey: Ashraful's hattrick guides Dhaka Abahani Ltd to bag 8th successive win
In the day's match, Din Islam Emon put Mohammedan SC ahead in the 11th minute by a field goal (1-0), while captain Fazle Hossain Rabbi levelled the margin for Mariner Youngs in the 27th minute (1-1).
Abed Uddin put Mariner Youngs ahead from behind in the 39th minute, also by a field goal (2-1), while Mohammedan's Malaysian player Faizal Bin Sarri again neutralised the margin in the 42nd minute by a field goal (2-2).
Amirul Islam sealed the fate of the match by scoring the match winning goal for Mohammedan SC in the 54th minute from a penalty corner (3-2).
Premier Div Hockey: Hattricks by Deepok, Rahul help Police rout Azad SC
Two brilliant hattrick by Indian Deepok Patel and Rezaul Ahmed Ratul helped Bangladesh Police SC to earn a huge 13-1 goals over lowly Azad SC in the 11-team Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium here on Sunday.
With the day's well merited victory, Police SC finished 5th in the first phase while Azad SC was placed 9th in the first phase of the eleven- team league.
Indian recruit Deepok Patel made the match first hattrick scoring four goals while Rezaul Ahmed Rahul made the match 2nd hattrick with three goals.
Besides, Abdul Malek and Naimur Rahman struck twice each, while Ihtesham Aslam and Habib scored one each for the Police SC.
However, Khorshed of Azad SC scored the first goal in the very first minute of the match.
The day's other league match between Victoria SC and Dilkusha SC ended in a 4-4 draw at the same venue Sunday afternoon.
Hanoi Chess: IM Fahad Rahman earns first GM norm
IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman of Bangladesh achieved a Grandmaster norm from the nine-game Hanoi GM3 Chess Tournament securing seven points from 9th and final round matches held in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday.
Fahad defeated FIDE Master Banh Gia Hay of Vietnam in the day's 9th and final round match to achieve the feat Sunday morning local time.
Fahad finished runner-up in the event to achieve his first Grandmaster norm increasing his 20 FIDE rating points from the meet.
He needs two more norms in 18 games to earn the Grand Master title. He would be the first Bangladeshi Grand Master since Enamul Hossain Rajib became one in 2008.
IM Quizon Daniel of the Philippines became champion in the meet with the same points and also achieved a Grandmaster norm.
A total of 10 players including 3 Grand Masters, 3 International Masters and 3 FIDE Masters from Bangladesh, Czech Republic, India, Philippines and Vietnam took part in this round robin league event.
IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman will return home tomorrow (Monday).