Cricket
Munim continues to shine for Abahani
Promising young batsman Munim Shahriar continues to shine for Abahani Limited. After hitting an unbeaten 92 in the last game, he hit 74 off 40 on Monday to guide Abahani to a 49-run win under the DL Method over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
With this win, Abahani became the number two team in the points table of the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League after Prime Bank Cricket Club. Abahani now have won seven games in nine rounds of the league.
Abahani won the toss and opted to bat first, and they posted a huge total of 183 runs riding on the Munim and Najmul Hossain Shanto. Munim ended up on 74 off 40 with nine fours and three sixes while Najmul remained unbeaten for 65 off 42 with six fours and two sixes. Along the way, Munim completed his fifty off 24 balls, which is now the fastest fifty of Dhaka League so far.
For Sheikh Jamal, Ebadot Hossain, Salauddin Shakil, Nasir Hossain and Ziaur Rahman took one wicket each.
READ: Rony, Shoriful star in Prime Bank win
After the rain hit the game, Sheikh Jamal needed to score 148 in 13 overs as per the DL Method, but they tumbled for 98 for eight in 13 overs and lost the game by 49 runs under the DL Method.
In the other games on Monday afternoon, Gazi Group Cricketers beat Partex Sporting Club by nine wickets under the DL Method while the match between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Brothers Union ended up in no-result due to the rain.
READ: Mushfiqur named ICC Player of the Month for May
Partex batted first after losing the toss and posted 109 for seven in 20 overs. This match was hit by the rain as well, and the target of Gazi was reduced to 47 runs in eight overs as per the DL Method. Gazi chased down this target with nine wickets in hand.
Rony, Shoriful star in Prime Bank win
Rony Talukdar hit 50 and Shoriful Islam bagged three wickets as Prime Bank Cricket Club beat Old DOHS Sports Club by 22 runs in the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League Monday at BKSP.
It was the seventh win for Prime Bank in the league, which helped them earn the top place in the points table after the ninth round of matches. However, Old DOHS won only two games and came 10th in the league standings.
DOHS won the toss in today's game and sent Prime Bank to bat first, who posted 147 for seven in 20 overs. Rony scored 54 off 39 with five fours and three sixes, and Tamim Iqbal 25.
For DOHS, Rakibul Hasan and Asaduzzaman Payel bagged two wickets each.
Chasing down the target of 148, DOHS were bundled out for 125 all out in 20 overs as left-arm seamer Shoriul bagged three wickets conceding 15 runs in three overs. Monir Hossain, Alok Kapali and Nahidul Islam took two wickets each for Prime Bank.
In the other matches of the day, Shinepukur Cricket Club beat Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity by 15 runs through the DL Method while Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Legends of Rupganj by 14 runs.
Sazzadul Hoque Ripon became the highest run-getter for Shinepukur scoring 48 while captain Towhid Hridoy scored 46. Tanvir Islam and Mohor Sheikh led the way for them with the ball, taking two wickets each.
Mushfiqur named ICC Player of the Month for May
Bangladesh stalwart Mushfiqur Rahim has become the first Bangladeshi to be named as the ICC Player of the Month, winning the recognition for May, ICC confirmed Monday.
This award recognises and celebrates the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year. Kathryn Bryce from Scotland won the same award as the woman cricketer.
Read: Mushfiqur Rahim nominated for ICC player of the month
“Even after 15 years at the highest level, Mushfiqur has not lost his appetite for run-making. He was at his imperious best in the one-day series at home against Sri Lanka, a picture of consistency with the highlight being 125 in the second match which helped his side secure a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series," Indian great VVS Laxman, representing the ICC Voting Academy, said in ICC’s press release.
“What made his feat even more notable was that it was Bangladesh’s first-ever ODI series triumph against the 1996 World Cup champions. To shore up the middle order and don the wicket-keeping gloves speaks volumes of his fitness and skills,” he added.
Read: Mushfiqur opts out of Zimbabwe T20Is
In his reaction after winning the award, Mushfiqur said over a video message: “I would like to thank you all, especially ICC, for honouring me with this award. I would also like to thank those who voted for me. I believe you didn’t only help me to win, but you won it for Bangladesh. I would like to continue playing a good brand of cricket throughout the year.”
In May this year, Mushfiqur played a total of three ODIs and scored 237 runs with one hundred and one fifty.
Mushfqiur, who got inducted into international cricket in 2005, completed 16 years in May this year.
Along with Mushfiqur, Sri Lanka’s Praveen Jayawickrama and Pakistan’s Hasan Ali were also shortlisted for this award. But Mushfqiur got more votes than them to lift the title.
Who was The Best Captain of Bangladesh Cricket team?
On March 31, 1986, Bangladesh met Pakistan in their first-ever international match and they were defeated by 7 wickets in that contest. Bangladesh have played 123 Tests, 385 ODIs, and 99 Twenty20 Internationals since their international debut more than three decades ago. Tigers’ national side won 179, lost 402, drew 17, and 9 had no outcomes out of 607 international matches. Bangladesh have had 18 captains so far, across all the formats, with Mashrafe Mortaza being the only one who led the team in more than 100 games. This article discusses, who is the best Bangladesh cricket captain of all time?
The records
There have been some good skippers through the years, which makes selecting one difficult. Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu (7), Minhazul Abedin (2), Akram Khan (15), Aminul Islam Bulbul (16), and Naimur Rahman Durjoy (11) all struggled as Bangladesh captains in the beginning. Among them, Akram Khan won one match while Aminul Islam Bulbul won two matches as captain for Bangladesh.
Read: West Indies Suffer Innings Defeat; New Zealand Win Series Against England
Later, Khaled Mashud and Khaled Mahmud captained Bangladesh in 42 and 24 matches, respectively. Bangladesh won four matches under Mashud's captaincy, but not a single match under Mahmud's captaincy.
Bangladesh started tasting that winning feeling even close to consistently since Habibul Bashar took over as captain of the national side in 2004. Bangladesh also won its first Test match under his leadership in 2005. Habibul Bashar captained the team tigers in 87 matches, winning 30 of them and losing 53. Habibul is the third-best captain in terms of wins and unquestionably one of the best captains in Bangladesh cricket history.
Read: Bangladesh will undergo one-day quarantine in Zimbabwe
Mohammad Ashraful led the Bangladesh national team as captain from 2007 to 2009. Bangladesh only won ten under his captaincy out of 62 matches. He was known to be an inconsistent skipper, similar to batter Ashraful.
Mushfiqur Rahim led the Bangladesh national team in some format or the other for six years in a row from 2011 to 2017. Bangladesh won 26 games and lost 56 under his captaincy. In terms of numbers, he led Bangladesh in the second most matches (94). Interestingly Bangladesh won its highest number of Tests under his leadership, including two historic Tests against England and Australia when Mushfiqur was captain.
Bangladesh won its second-most matches (33) under Shakib Al Hasan's leadership. Shakib captained the team in a total of 85 games, and won 38.82% of their matches. They lost 51 matches when Shakib was in charge.
Read: BCB stages a trainwreck around Shakib’s latest episode
Mashrafe Mortaza captained Bangladesh in the most matches (117). Despite captaining for the first time in 2009, Mashrafe led the Bangladesh limited-over teams on a consistent basis from 2015 to the 2019 World Cup. The Bangladesh national cricket team evolved dramatically under his leadership during this period. Team Tigers won the most ODIs (50) and T20Is (10) matches when he was the captain. He is the only one who comes even close to a win rate above 50% (60/117). So 'Mash' is the only one who can say that under him, we won a majority of our games. That's why many people consider Mashrafe is the best Bangladesh cricket captain ever.
Tamim Iqbal (13), Mahmudullah Riyad (20), and Mominul Haque (8) are the current captains of Bangladesh ODI, T20I, and Test respectively. Their contribution as captains may be evaluated after a few more years.
Read: Has Shakib learned from his mistakes?
Verdict
We have evaluated the records of all captains in order to identify who is the best Bangladesh cricket captain? Mashrafe Mortaza has proven to be the most successful captain, which is why he is known as Captain Fantastic. However, the majority of Mashrafe's success as captain came in the ODI format. Bangladesh have always performed well in limited-overs cricket, and team tigers has had a lot of success in the international arena in the last 6/7 years thanks to Mashrafe's leadership qualities. However, no skipper has a decent record in the other two formats, and Bangladesh is yet to master the formula of getting consistent success in the T20 and Test formats.
West Indies Suffer Innings Defeat; New Zealand Win Series Against England
As part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship, South Africa are now playing a two-match Test series against hosts West Indies. The results of this series will only help the two sides better their positions in the points table as India and New Zealand have already qualified for the Test Championship final.
South Africa thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 63 runs in the first Test. Meanwhile, New Zealand have won the Test series against England 1-0 after defeating the hosts by 8 wickets in the second match at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
First match between WI, SA
In the series-opening Test in St Lucia, the West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite opted to bat first against South Africa in the hope of posting a big total in the first innings. However, his approach backfired as Proteas pacers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi destroyed the West Indies batting order. Nortje bagged 4 wickets and Lungi Ngidi claimed his second 5-wicket haul in Tests.
Read Bangladesh will undergo one-day quarantine in Zimbabwe
Coming in to bat in the first innings, South Africa managed to score 322, thanks to Quinton de Kock's unbeaten 141* runs. Aiden Markram (60) and Rassie van der Dussen (46) also played two crucial knocks for the Proteas. Jason Holder (4/75) was the most successful bowler for the West Indies.
The West Indies were 225 runs behind at the start of their second innings and needed to perform well to stay alive in the match. But the Caribbeans had struggled again. They were bowled out for 162 and lost the match by an innings and 63 runs. Only Roston Chase played a decent knock of 62-run.
Kagiso Rabada (5/34) was the most successful bowler for South Africa in the second innings. Quinton de Kock won the player of the match award for his outstanding knock. The second match of the series will begin on June 18 at St Lucia.
Read Has Shakib learned from his mistakes?
Second Test between ENG, NZ
In the series-deciding Test in Birmingham, New Zealand beat England by 8 wickets and climbed to the top of the ICC Test Team Rankings.
Opting to bat first, England managed to score 303 runs in the first innings. Opener Rory Burns (81) and Dan Lawrence (81*) were the highest scorers for them. Kiwi pacer Trent Boult had an outstanding time with the ball; he picked up 4 wickets.
New Zealand took a lead of 85 runs after scoring 388 runs in the first innings. Devon Conway (80), Will Young (82) and Ross Taylor (80) all played their part with the bat. Veteran Stuart Broad bagged the highest 4 wickets for England.
Read Who is the favourite to win ICC Player of the Month Award for May?
England required a big score in the second innings to win the match, but they were bowled out for just 122, thanks to brilliant bowling from Neil Wagner and Matt Henry who bagged 3 wickets each for the Kiwis.
New Zealand eventually reached the target of 38 for the loss of 2 wickets and sealed the match and the series.
Bottom Line
In the WI-SA Test series, the West Indies suffered their 200th Test defeat; South Africa won a longer-version match on foreign soil for the first time after 2017. Meanwhile, one of the finest teams in New Zealand cricket history is performing well across all formats. The Kiwis have reached the final of the inaugural ICC Test Championship and played the previous two ICC Cricket World Cup finals. After winning the Test series against England, New Zealand will play the ICC Test Championship final against India as the favourites.
Read How New Zealand can become world's No.1 Test team ahead of WTC final against India
Irfan guides Mohammedan to a 9-run win vs. Old DOHS
Right-handed batsman Irfan Sukkur smashed an unbeaten 68 off 48 balls to guide Mohammedan Sporting Club to their fifth win in Bangabandhu DPL Twenty20 Cricket League against Old DOHS Sports Club on Sunday.
Mohammedan lifted the rain-hit match by nine runs under DL Method at BKSP. It was their fifth win in eight encounters.
It was Mohammedan’s first game in this season without skipper Shakib Al Hasan who was banned for three matches by BCB for breaching Code of Conduct during another rain-affected match against Abahani on Friday.
DOHS won the toss and opted to bowl first. Mohammedan posted a challenging total of 154 for five in 20 overs thanks to wicket-keeper batsman Irfan hitting 68 with three fours and five sixes. Abdul Mazid contributed 29.
For DOHS, Rakibul Hasan took two wickets conceding 30 runs while Aliss Al Islam, Hamidul Islam and Asaduzzaman Payel bagged one wicket each.
Set a target of 155 runs to win DOHS could manage 115 for four in 16 overs before the rain struck. And due to the persistent rain and wet outfield, the match could not be resumed. And thus, Mohammedan won by 5 runs under the DL Method.
In the other games on Sunday morning, Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Partex Sporting Club by five wickets riding on 71 off 57 by Fazle Mahmud.
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club beat Legends of Rupganj by seven runs under the DL Method, with Shykat Ali and Nurul Hasan scored 43 and 44 not out respectively.
Munim Shahriar blasts Abahani back to winning ways
Promising Munim Shahriar blasted a new Dhaka League-best, scoring 92 off 50 balls with nine fours and five sixes for Abahani Limited, to guide them to a 30-run win over Prime Bank Cricket Club on Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
In their last game, Abahani lost to Mohammedan Sporting Club at the same venue. But this time around, they made a good comeback to winning ways.
Abahani won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a challenging total of 183 for three in 20 overs, with Munim hitting the highest, 92, and Najmul Hossain Shanto scoring 30.
READ: Bangladesh will undergo one-day quarantine in Zimbabwe
Munim’s 92 is now the highest individual total in Dhaka League to date.
For Prime Bank, left-arm seamer Shoriful Islam bagged two wickets conceding 38 runs while Alok Kapali took one.
In reply, Prime Bank needed to score 174 in 19 overs under the DL Method, but they tumbled for 143 for six in 19 overs, with Tamim Iqbal scoring 55, and Mohammad Mithun posting 34.
For Abahani, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Aminul Islam took two wickets each while Mohammad Saifuddin and Arafat Sunny took one wicket each.
READ: BCB stages a trainwreck around Shakib’s latest episode
In the other matches on Sunday evening, Gazi Group Cricketers beat Khelaghar Samaj Kalyan Samity by five wickets riding on Mahmudullah Riyad’s unbeaten 58 off 48 balls with three fours and two sixes while Brothers Union beat Shinepukur Cricket Club by one run under the DL Method, with Mizanur Rahman, captain of Brothers, scoring 79 off 56 with 10 fours and two sixes.
Bangladesh will undergo one-day quarantine in Zimbabwe
Almost all international and domestic cricket events were suspended after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic in March 2020. When the cricketing activities eventually resumed later in the year, health experts instructed the teams to remain in mandatory quarantine ahead of the series. The focus was initially on a 14-day quarantine, but it has now been lowered to three days or less. Bangladesh will play a bilateral series against host Zimbabwe in July. After reaching, Bangladesh will undergo a one-day quarantine in Zimbabwe, confirmed a BCB official on Wednesday (June 9). This article discusses the forthcoming Zimbabwe series.
Full schedule of Bangladesh tour to Zimbabwe 2021
Bangladesh wants to play a two-day warm-up match before facing Zimbabwe in the Test match. The Bangladesh Cricket Board requested the Zimbabwe Cricket Board to reduce the quarantine period and Zimbabwe Board has agreed to the BCB's request.
The Bangladesh squad will be quarantined for one day after reaching Zimbabwe and will play a warm-up match before the Test match. BCB's operations committee chairman Akram Khan confirmed the information to the reporters while talking about the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.
According to the revised plan, the Bangladesh squad will reach Zimbabwe on June 29 and begin preparations for the Test match on June 1 when the one-day quarantine period ends.
Bangladesh will play one Test, three One-Day Internationals, and three Twenty20 Internationals in Zimbabwe. Following the end of the one-off Test in Bulawayo, the remaining matches will be held in Harare.
Read:Shakib banned for three matches, fined Tk 5 lakh
There were concerns before the start of the series that the Bangladesh squad would not have adequate practice time as initially, it was reported that the team tigers would be quarantined for a week.
There was a possibility that the practice match might be scrapped from the tour schedule. The Bangladesh team will have more time to prepare now that the quarantine is just one day.
Bangladesh last played a Test series against Sri Lanka. They lost the series 1-0 at home. That's why the upcoming series is important for the team. Bangladesh will also face Zimbabwe in some limited-over matches during the tour.
DATE
FIXTURE
TIME (BST)
7-11 JULY
Only Test (Bulawayo)
1.30 PM
16 JULY
1st ODI (Harare)
1.30 PM
18 JULY
2nd ODI (Harare)
1.30 PM
20 JULY
3rd ODI (Harare)
1.30 PM
23 JULY
1st T20I (Harare)
3.00 PM
25 JULY
2nd T20I (Harare)
3.00 PM
27 JULY
3rd T20I (Harare)
3.00 PM
Read: How New Zealand can become world's No.1 Test team ahead of WTC final against India
Bottom Line
A one-day quarantine in Zimbabwe will not be unsafe if the hygiene regulations are strictly observed. However, cricketers should always be aware of potential health implications. Because even the tiniest mistake may lead to a slew of big problems. Mushfiqur Rahim has already informed BCB that he would not be playing in the Zimbabwe series. Senior cricketers are rumored to be hesitant to take part in this tour. As a result, Bangladesh will be able to deploy some young players in the series, allowing them to showcase talents on an international stage.
Read: BCB stages a trainwreck around Shakib’s latest episode
BCB stages a trainwreck around Shakib’s latest episode
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has handed a three-match ban and a fine of Tk 5 lakh to Shakib Al Hasan due to his outburst during the game between Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club on Friday. While announcing his punishment on Saturday evening, BCB staged an unprecedented drama with the journalists cover sports in Bangladesh.
At 6:15 pm, the media department of BCB sent a message through WhatsApp saying a press conference of Kazi Inam Ahmed, the chairman of the cricket committee of Dhaka metropolis, to take place at 7:30 pm at Meena Bazar, Dhanmondi.
Another message popped up at 6:52 pm from the same sender saying the press conference has been cancelled, and it also said: “Any inconvenience is regretted.”
Also read: Shakib banned for three matches, fined Tk 5 lakh
After a few minutes, a press conference took place at the garage of the residence of the BCB president Nazmul Hasan in Gulshan, which is at least 8.5 km away from the venue of the press conference that didn’t take place in Dhanmondi.
During the 37 minutes between the two messages from BCB’s media department, many journalists left for Dhanmondi from different parts of Dhaka, and they only ended up knowing that the press conference is already taking place in Gulshan in spite of no announcement of that press conference from BCB.
Earlier, Shakib kicked the stumps when an lbw appeal from him turned down by the umpire during the seventh round game of the Dhaka league on Friday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Also read: Shakib apologises after thrashing and kicking stumps
Shakib was not done doing that. He came to the scene again and uprooted a set of stumps that he then threw down again. This time he was upset at the umpires for asking the players to come off the field due to rain.
While returning to the dressing room after the rain came in to interrupt the game, Shakib had a heated exchange with Khaled Mahmud who is a member of the coaching staff of Abahani.
For all these, Shakib issued a public apology on his social media page. He wrote: “Dear fans and followers, I am extremely sorry for losing my temper and ruining the match for everyone and especially those who are watching from home. An experienced player like me should not have reacted that way but sometimes against all odds it happens, unfortunately. I apologise to the teams, management, tournament officials and organizing committee for this human error. Hopefully, I won't be repeating this again in the future.”
Shakib banned for three matches, fined Tk 5 lakh
Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has been banned for the next three matches of the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League, due to his extraordinary outburst on the field during his team Mohammedan SC's hot match against rivals Abahani on Friday.
He was also handed a fine of Tk 5 lakh.
Kazi Inam Ahmed, the chairman of the cricket committee of Dhaka metropolis, confirmed Shakib’s punishment on Saturday evening while talking to the media at the residence of BCB president Nazmul Hasan in Gulshan.
Inam also said that the allrounder has accepted his punishment.
In a matter of minutes, in two separate incidents, Shakib expressed his disappointment with two different umpiring decisions - an lbw appeal against his good friend from the national team and Abahani's key batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, and then the decision to go off as it started raining - by taking out his rage on the stumps.
Also read: DPL: Shakib loses cool; kicks stumps, throws them away
The utter disregard and lack of respect for the umpires, his teammates, opponents and fans watching, and above all the game itself was palpable - it will not have been missed by anyone.
Taken together, it was as close to violence as you can get on a cricket field, without actually causing injury or bodily harm to anyone.
BCB knew immediately that it would have to act, and needed to be seen to act. The verdict and punishment handed down today was at least prompt, if not quite
adequate to cover the scope of the Bangladeshi star's violation of cricketing sensibilities.
Not to mention the breach of the Code of Conduct of cricketer.
Also read: Shakib apologises after thrashing and kicking stumps
“Many things happen in a game. We saw some incidents today in the game between Mohammedan and Abahani. It was unfortunate. It was a heated incident. We always want the players to keep their excitement under control. It’s a T20 event, and we apply all the international cricketing law in this event. We will take action against this incident once we get the report of the match referee and umpires,” Inam had said in his initial reaction last night.
Shakib too issued a public apology through his social media pages last night.
“Dear fans and followers, I am extremely sorry for losing my temper and ruining the match for everyone and especially those who are watching from home. An experienced player like me should not have reacted that way but sometimes against all odds it happens, unfortunately,” Shakib wrote on his social media page.
“I apologise to the teams, management, tournament officials and organizing committee for this human error. Hopefully, I won't be repeating this again in the future. Thanks and love you all,” he added.