Oman
Bangladesh beat Oman to lift Men's AHF Cup Hockey title
Bangladesh clinched the Men's Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup Hockey title for the fourth time in a row, with a 100 percent winning record, beating a superior Oman 5-3 in a penalty shootout Sunday.
At the GBK Hockey Field in Jakarta, the final match of the nine-nation Hockey competition between arch-rivals Bangladesh and Oman ended in 1-1 within the stipulated time.
Shohanur Rahman Shobuj put Bangladesh ahead in the 14th minute with a field goal while Fahad Al Lawati pulled one back for Oman in the 19th minute.
In the title-deciding penalty shootout, Bangladesh converted all five attempts while Oman missed two to finish runners-up.
For Bangladesh, Farhad Ahmed Shetul, Shobuj, Roman Sarkar, Naimuddin and Puskar Khisa Mimo scored in the penalty shootout.
Bangladesh custodian Biplob Kujur saved a penalty while Oman's Sumaiya Mahmud's shot went wide.
This was the second successive victory for Bangladesh against Oman in the competition after their 3-2 win in the Pool B match.
Bangladesh qualified for the next Men's Asia Cup Hockey as one of the top three teams of the AHF Cup 2022 to join the direct qualifiers – India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan.
They also earned the rights to play in the Asian Games 2022 scheduled for the Chinese city of Hangzhou in September as the semifinalists of the AHF Cup 2022.
Earlier, Bangladesh made a flying start to the Asian Hockey competition, beating hosts Indonesia 7-2.
They later thrashed Singapore 7-0, beat Iran 6-2, and trounced Kazakhstan 8-1.
Nazmul Islam new Bangladesh Ambassador to Oman
The government has appointed Md. Nazmul Islam, currently serving as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Sweden, as the next Ambassador of Bangladesh to Oman.
Ambassador-designate Nazmul Islam is a career diplomat belonging to the 15th batch of BCS (Foreign Affairs) cadre, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
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In his diplomatic career, he served at Bangladesh Missions in Jeddah, Beijing, Jakarta and London in various capacities.
Ambassador Nazmul Islam did his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET).
He also completed several professional training courses both at home and abroad.
Oman lauds Bangladesh's development
Newly appointed Charge d’ Affaires (CDA) of Oman Abdul Ghaffar Bin Abdul Karim Al-Bulushi has appreciated Bangladesh’s development and uplifting of the lifestyle of its people.
While submitting his letter of credence to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at his office on Sunday, Karima was highly appreciative about the role of the present government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in steering the country towards development.
The Foreign Minister congratulated him as the new envoy of Oman to Bangladesh with the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary.
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He thanked the Omani government for quickly sending a highly qualified diplomat as the CDA.
The CDA expressed his gratitude for the kind support and assistance extended to him from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka.
The CDA recalled with appreciation the role of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in giving an identity to the people of Bangladesh.
Dr Momen commended the judicious role and leadership of late Sultan Qaboos to the development of modern Oman.
He expressed his gratitude to the Sultanate of Oman for hosting over half a million of expatriate workers who have been diligently contributing to both the countries’ economic development.
The minister also urged the CDA to undertake new and emerging areas of cooperation like environment and climate change, agriculture and food security, blue economy and enhanced trade between the two countries.
The CDA listened to him carefully and apprised the minister about the great contributions made by Bangladeshi workforce in Oman.
He expressed his commitment that he would dedicate his office to the exploration and expansion of the cooperative areas that the minister suggested.
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The Foreign Minister assured him of all possible cooperation during the discharge of his duties.
He also presented a token gift to the CDA and wished him a productive tenure.
Tigers take on PNG Thursday, aim for a Super 12 berth
In a crucial match in the ongoing T20 World Cup, Bangladesh are all set to take on Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Thursday evening.
The Tigers have played two matches in Round 1 and won one of them. In the first match, they lost to Scotland, and in the second, they beat the hosts Oman. So the Tigers now have no way to win this game to qualify for the Super 12s.
Read:Crushing Oman 'big relief for Tigers'
Scotland are currently at the top of Group B with two wins in two matches, while PNG lost both the matches they played. They are currently at the bottom of the table.
If Bangladesh win today, and Scotland beat Oman in the second match of the day, Bangladesh will qualify for the Super 12s.
If Bangladesh beat PNG, and Scotland lose to Oman, the net run rate will come to the fore. In this scenario, Scotland, Oman and Bangladesh will have the same points, so the two teams with a better run-rate will qualify for the Super 12s.
In other equations, if Bangladesh loses to PNG, and Oman loses to Scotland, then the run-rate will come to the consideration again as Scotland will qualify for the Super 12s.
Read:T20 World Cup: Bangladesh beat Oman to stay afloat
If Bangladesh can end up as the champions of Group B, they will join Group 2 in Super 12s or they will join Group 1 if they end up as the runners-up.
“We still have a good chance to become the group champions,” Shakib Al Hasan had said after the win against Oman. “In the last match of the group, anyone of Scotland and Oman will lose the match, and their run-rate will also decrease. So we have to win against PNG to make our way clear to the Super 12s.”
T20 World Cup: Bangladesh likely to bring changes for match against Oman
There is much talk about Bangladesh’s defeat to Scotland in the first match of the T20 World Cup. The defeat made Bangladesh’s path to the Super 12s tough, and they now have no way but to win in the second match against the hosts Oman.
The team management might bring a couple of changes to the playing XI in the second match which is set to take place at 8pm Bangladesh time.
The decision of overlooking Mohammad Naim in the first match was unexpected as the left-handed batters played 16 T20 matches on the trott right before the World Cup. He might be included in the second match to replace Soumya Sarkar who failed to impress with the bat in the first match.
“It was a very difficult decision, and Soumya played the first match because we had Mahmudullah (Riyad) couldn’t bowl. We didn't have a sixth bowling option except for Afif (Hossain), and we thought if there’s a bit of dew around and the ball is difficult for the spinners to grip, we might need somebody else to bowl some seam.” Domingo said before the second match.
Read:T20 World Cup 2021: Five Bangladesh players to watch out for
“Soumya was the guy that was earmarked to do that, and that’s the only reason he played yesterday. Naim has been fantastic for us, but we needed another bowling option with Mahmudullah not being able to play with his back niggles,” he added saying if Mahmudllah feels better ahead of the second match, Naim would get a chance.
The team management might give a chance to Afif to bat at a higher place. He has always been a top or middle-order batter during his U-19 cricketing days. But he is not getting that chance at the international level. Afif also proved his mettle previously as a middle-order batter.
“As you have seen in the series against Australia and New Zealand, our batting lineup particularly was pretty flexible. We often used Afif sometimes at five and sometimes at seven, sometimes (Nurul Hasan) Sohan at five, so it just depends very much on the situation and the bowlers that are bowling at the moment,” Domingo added.
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At the current scenario, Bangladesh will have to win their last two matches of Round 1 in order to book a place at the Super 12s. If Bangladesh lose on Tuesday, they will have to depend on the results of other matches for a place in the next phase of the World Cup.
Nazmul blames three seniors for Bangladesh’s defeat to Scotland
The defeat in Bangladesh’s first match in the T20 World Cup against Scotland left president of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Nazmul Hasan shocked. He said failure of three seniors was the main reason behind the defeat.
Ahead of Bangladesh’s second match in the World Cup against the hosts Oman, Nazmul said it would be impossible for Bangladesh to do well if the three seniors— Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad— continue to play like this.
Read:Bangladesh to take on Oman in crucial clash Tuesday
“We have never thought that we could be defeated against Scotland,” Nazmul said in Oman. “We have lost practice matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland. That was fine because we didn't have Shakib, Mahmudullah and Mustafizur Rhaman in those matches. No team can expect a win without their key players. But in the match against Scotland we had everyone. So it was unexpected.”
Bangladesh failed to have a good start while chasing a moderate target of 141. Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar opened the innings, but failed t0 deliver a strong foundation. Nazmul said it can happen in the matches, but what the next three batters did was horrible.
“Let’s not speak about the first two batters,” Nazmul said. “The way our batters did after the dismissals of the first two batters was the reason behind the defeat. We won’t be able to chase in the World Cup if we play like this— every player of the team knows it. We have to change our batting approach in order to do well.”
Read:‘Heart destroyed seeing two defeats yesterday’: Mashrafe
In the powerplay, Bangladesh were able to score only 25— 4.16 runs per over, which was one of the main reasons for Bangladesh's shocking defeat. Nazmul said the Tigers should exploit the chance of scoring more runs in those overs.
“I didn’t understand the plan of our team,” Nazmul added. “Many of our batters were caught at the boundary line. We have to play those shots during the first six overs. You cannot play those shots when there are many fielders at the boundary lines.”
Bangladesh to take on Oman in crucial clash Tuesday
After a shock defeat in their T20 World Cup opener, Bangladesh are now gearing up for a crucial clash against Oman which will take place on Tuesday at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground.
The match is scheduled to start at 8pm Bangladesh time.
In their first match, Bangladesh suffered a six-run defeat to Scotland. It came as a shockwave to the Tigers.
After the first match, Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad blamed the batters who failed to score runs when it was needed most to chase down a moderate target of 141.
READ: ‘Heart destroyed seeing two defeats yesterday’: Mashrafe
Bangladesh only had scored 29 for two wickets in the power play which later proved to be the main reason behind Bangladesh’s defeat.
The Tigers might bring some changes in the playing XI in the next match as the captain has hinted in the post-match press conference on Sunday.
Mohammad Naim, who had been playing well as an opener, was dropped in the first match. He might be included in the playing XI in the second match replacing either Liton Das or Soumya Sarkar.
Bangladesh might bring some more changes giving a chance to Nasum Ahmed or Shamim Hossain replacing Afif Hossain.
Oman have won their first match against Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets in the World Cup opener.
Bangladesh’s path to the Super 12s became complex for their defeat to Scotland.
Bangladesh now have to win against Oman to keep the way to the Super 12s open. If the Tigers lose against Oman, and if Scotland beat Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh will be eliminated from Round 1.
READ: Bangladesh U-19 team suffer 2nd defeat against Sri Lanka
If Bangladesh beat Oman and Papua New Guinea in their last two matches of Round 1, and Oman and Scotland beat Papua New Guinea, in that case Bangladesh will have to depend on their run rate as the points of the three teams will be the same.
Tigers trounce Oman A in warm-up match
Riding on the half-centuries of Mohammad Naim and Liton Das, and a tremendous innings of 49 off just 15 balls by Nurul Hasan Sohan, Bangladesh defeated Oman A in a warm-up match by 60 runs on Friday.
It was an unofficial practice match for the Tigers ahead of the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on October 17 in the Gulf state.
The hosts won the toss in Friday’s match and opted to bowl first. But they conceded 207 runs in 20 overs.
READ: T20 World Cup warm-up match: Bangladesh take on Oman A Friday
Naim and Liton amassed more than 100 runs in the opening stand. Naim was slow and steady, while Liton played power cricket as he scored 53 off just 33 deliveries with six fours and one six.
However, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim and Afif Hossain failed to impress with the bat. While Soumya and Afif scored 8 and 6 respectively, Mushfiqur suffered a golden duck.
Sohan came in at number six and quickly put up 49 runs off just 15 balls with seven big sixes. Shamim Hossain also did well, scoring 19 off 10. Naim was the highest scorer for Bangladesh, posting 63 off 53 with three hours and two sixes. Bangladesh totalled 207 for four wickets.
However, Oman tumbled for 147 for nine wickets in 20 overs. Left-handed Bangladeshi pacer Shoriful Islam bagged three wickets while Mohammad Saifuddin took two. Nasum Ahmed, Mahefi Hasan and Afif scalped one wicket each.
READ: Nazmul becomes BCB president for next four years
Bangladesh will play two official warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland on October 12 and 14, respectively, ahead of the World Cup in the UAE. In the first round of the World Cup, Bangladesh will take on Scotland, Oman and Papua New Guinea.
T20 World Cup: Bangladesh team reaches Oman
Bangladesh national cricket team reached Muscat, Oman at around 9:30 am on Monday.
They left Dhaka Sunday midnight by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.
There was uncertainty over Bangladesh’s departure due to the tropical cyclone Shaheen that hit Oman on Sunday.
Due to the cyclone, the Muscat International Airport postponed all flights indefinitely. However, the better weather helped the authorities to resume the operation of the airprot.
Read:Tigers test negative for Covid-19 before flying for WC
Bangladesh team was originally scheduled to leave Dhaka at 10:45 pm on Sunday which was delayed due to inclement weather.
After a five-day camp in Oman, Bangladesh will travel to the UAE on October 9 to play two warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland. They will return to Oman on October 15.
In the first round of the World Cup, Bangladesh will take on Scotland, Oman and Papua New Guinea on October 17, 19 and 21.
Uncertainty over Bangladesh team’s departure to cyclone-hit Oman
Bangladesh national cricket team could not fly to Oman as scheduled on Sunday morning after a tropical cyclone forced the sultanate’s Muscat International Airport to postpone all flights for now.
According to Gulf News, Oman has announced a two-day holiday for both public and private sectors on October 3 & 4 as the sultanate was lashed by cyclone Shaheen.
Read:Tigers test negative for Covid-19 before flying for WC
“International Airport has been postponed and rescheduled to further notice to avoid any risks that may result from the direct impact of climate conditions on the Airport’s operations,” Muscat International Airport authority said in a Tweet.
Dear travelers ⚠️We would like to inform you that all flights to and from Muscat International Airport have been postponed and rescheduled to a further notice to avoid any risks that may result from the direct impact of climate conditions on the Airport’s operations. https://t.co/4OyLe5Xtqc
— مطارات عُمان (@OmanAirports) October 3, 2021
As of Bangladesh time, Sunday 4:00 pm, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport authority couldn’t confirm the fate of the flight to Muscat.
Sources close to Bangladesh team said they are yet to receive any message regarding a new schedule of the flight.
Read:Bangladesh leave Sunday for ICC T20 World Cup 2021 campaign
Tigers will travel to Oman to take part in the T20 World Cup 2021. They will play three matches of the first round of the event in Oman, and other parts of the event in the UAE.