Mushfiqur Rahim, the captain of winless Beximco Dhaka, said they are confident of making a strong comeback in the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 League.

Dhaka have lost both of their first two games— the first one was against Minister Group Rajshahi and the next one came against Gazi Group Chattogram. On both occasions, they batted first and failed to defend 169 and 88 respectively.

Mushfiqur, however, believes they still have the chance to play well and make a strong comeback in the event.

“I think our approach was correct in the previous game (before last). We also have some positive aspects from the last game. The track was different, still, Naim batted well. I think that in T20 cricket, you have to endure this sort of days. We have six more games to play in the league phase of this event. We’ll put our best foot forward to do well and rectify the mistakes we have made,” Mushfiqur told after their second game on Thursday.

“We needed to have some good partnerships while batting. The wicket was sporting enough. We have to be more focused on selecting the shots. You have to improve your game every day,” he added.

Dhaka will take on Gemcon Group Khulna on November 30. Khulna won their first game against Fortune Barishal riding on the heroic of Ariful Haque who chased down a target of 22 runs in the last over bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. However, they lost their second game against Rajshahi.

After a gap of a day, Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 will resume on Saturday. In the first game of the day, Chattogram will take on Khulna, in the second game, Barishal will face off Rajshahi.

The Bangabandhu 36th National Junior Athletics Championship' 2020 began on Friday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) here, marking the Mujib Borsho with Narail DSA dominating the meet on the first day.

Minister for Railway Nurul Islam Sujon MP inauguarated the two-day meet in the afternoon asthe  chief guest

Advocate Saifuzzaman Shikor MP was also present at the inaugural  function as a special guest. Two Deputy Secretary Generals of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) Ashiqur Rahman Miku and Asaduzzaman Kohinoor were also present.

President of Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) ASM Ali Kabir will be the chief guest at the closing function Saturday evening.

Ten events were decided on the first day till 6 pm.

Narail DSA dominated the day securing three gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Jashore DSA followed the leaders neck and neck with three gold and one bronze while Noakhali DSA was in the 3rd slot securing one gold and two silvers.

Some 492 boys and girls from 48 teams are taking part in  41 events of four age groups--U-17 and U -19--for both the boys and girls, following the health guidelines due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Captain of Bangladesh National Football team Jamal Bhuiyan, now in Doha with the team, in a video message on Thursday said that Argentine football legend Maradona would always remain in our heart.

Diego Maradona, who turned 60 at the end of last October, suffered a heart attack on Wednesday that led to cardiorespiratory arrest. He died at his home on the northern outskirts of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Soccer fans from all over the world are paying tribute to Maradona with Argentina leading the way by declaring three days of national mourning for its football legend.

Like milllions of soccer fans, all members of Bangladesh National Football Team, including captain Jamal Bhuiyan, were shocked at the death of Diego Maradona. 

"The death of Maradona is a huge loss for football. It's very shocking news for football lovers from all over the world, specially those who played football and are now playing football," Jamal Bhuiyan said.

"It was a very shocking day for a large number of Maradona and Argentine fans in Bangladesh, who will never forget his brilliance, skill and contributions to football," he added. 

Also read: In Photos: Maradona a genius on the field, a character off

President of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and legendary footballer Kazi Mohammad Salahuddin has tested positive for Covid-19.

Kazi Salahuddin, who was elected BFF president for the 4th consecutive term recently, received the test report on Wednesday night.

The BFF boss, who had some mild symptoms of Covid-19, immediately went into self-isolation and will remain in quarantine for the next few days.

The BFF in a media release on Thursday requested everyone to pray for the speedy recovery of Kazi Salahuddin.

Meanwhile, the Briitish Head coach of Bangladesh National Football team Jamie Day tested Covid-19 positive for the fourth consecutive time on Thursday, making his Qatar trip uncertain.

Jamie Day, who missed Qatar trip with Bangladesh Football team on Novermber 19 due to Coronavirus, will undergo another test next Sunday. The result of the test will decide whether he will able go Qatar to join the Bangladesh team there.

Read Also: BFF Election: Councillors return Salahuddin for 4th term

Riding on the fifty of captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, Minister Group Rajshahi continued their winning streak in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020. In their second game of the event, Rajshahi beat Gemcon Khulna by six wickets on Thursday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Khulna won the toss and opted to bat first, but failed to set a challenging total on the board. Riding on the highest individual score of 41 by Ariful Haque, they posted 146 for six in 20 overs.

In reply, Najmul hit 55 off 34 balls with six fours and three sixes and set up a solid foundation for Khulna. Anisul Islam Emon, who had impressed earlier hitting five boundaries and one six, failed to replicate his performance and posted only two this time. He fell prey to Al Amin Hossain as the first wicket to fall while chasing a moderate total.

After losing the first wicket at 25, Najmul and Rony Talukdar added 47 runs in the second-wicket stand. Rishad Ahmed, the 18-year-old leg-spinner, picked up the next two wickets— Rony (26) and Najmul (55) — keeping the hope of Khulna alive.

But Mohammad Ashraful (25*), Fazle Mahmud (24) and Nurul Hasan (11*) delivered good performance to ensure the second successive win for Gemcon Rajshahi.

Rajshahi ended up on 147 for four in 17.2 overs and sealed the game by six wickets. In the first game, they beat Beximco Dhaka.

Earlier, Khulna scored 146 runs for six in 20 overs. While Imrul Kayes suffered another duck, Shakib Al Hasan (12), Mahmudullah Riyad (7) and Jahrul Islam failed to impress with the bat. However, Ariful (41*), Shamim Hossain (35) and Anamul Haque (26) and Shahidul Islam (17) did well.

Ariful, who smashed four sixes in the last match, hit Mukidul off for two sixes during the 19th over of this game. He helped Khulna to get close to 150-run mark. But due to the lean display from other batsmen, Khulna failed to offer a tough challenge.

For Rajshahi, Mukidul Islam took two wickets for 44 while Ebadat Hossain, Mahedi Hasan and Arafat Sunny bagged one wicket each.

After this game, the authority of Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020, conducted a one-minute silence to pay homage to late football legend Diego Armando Maradona, 60, who passes away last night. The players of Gemcon Khulna, Minister Group Rajshahi, Beximco Dhaka and Gazi Group Chattogram were presented while observing the silence, which was telecast live.

Also read: Bangabandhu T20 Cup: Rajshahi stun Dhaka in event opener