14 SPORTS
Thursday, 20 March, 2014
Still a chance for one big Scalp: atkinSon Chittagong
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chance for banglaDeSh to coMplete a hat trick of WinS: Chittagong S.PErvEz QAISEr After winning both matches, hosts Banglandesh have a good chance to complete a hat trick of wins when they take on Hong Kong in their last league match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong on Thursday (March 20). This match will start at 18.30 hours (PST). It will be the first match between the two teams in Twenty-20 World Cup as well as in Twenty-20 Internationals. Bangladesh have won three and lost 10 in 13 matches played in Twenty-20 World Cup. Two of Bangladesh's three victories came in the current tournament. They beat Afghanistan by 9 wickets and recorded an eight-wicket victory over Nepal. For Bangladesh, who are almost through to the Super 10 round, the match is an opportunity to score another crushing win and enter the main draw with confidence. They could also use it for fine-tuning: Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah need a bat so there might a shuffle in the line-up. The home side's bowlers also need to find a way to succeed despite the heavy dew. The pitch in Chittagong has some live grass that could help the seamers but the dew is likely to negate that advantage. The weather has been hot and humid during the day, and dew is likely to be a factor in the evening. The first match of the day will be played between Afghanistan and Nepal. This match will start at 14.30 (PST). The winner of this match will take the second position in Group A. Both team beat Hong Kong but lost to Bangladesh. Afganistan who lost to Bangladesh by nine wickets in the opening match, defeated Hong Kong by 7 wickets to reach thier first victory in Twenty-20 World Cup in six matches. Nepal defeated Hong Kong by 80 runs in their opening match but lost to Bangladesh by eight wickets in the second match. Afghanistan defeated Nepal by seven wickets when two teams met in the semi final of Twenty-20 World Cup qualifier at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on November 29, 2013. Nawroz Mangal made a brisk 48 before falling with 11 needed but Gulbadin Naib came in to strike a couple of boundaries, winning the match with a six. PErFOrMANCE IN TWENTY-20 CrICKET: Team P W L Success% Bangladesh 35 11 24 31.42 Hong Kong 2 - 2 00.00 Bang v H.K - - - Team P W L Success% Afghanistan 24 12 12 50.00 Nepal 2 1 1 50.00 Afgh v Nepal - - - -
AGENCIES
HE next mission for Jamie Atkinson and his Hong Kong team will be next month's ACC Premier League in Malaysia. Before that, however, the Hong Kong captain would like to leave the World T20 with a big scalp. "It is the opportunity for Hong Kong to try and take their biggest scalp," Atkinson said. "It would be the biggest win in Hong Kong's history, probably one of the biggest shocks in World Cups. That's what will be driving the team forward in the hope that we can make history and potentially beat Bangladesh." Despite losing two matches in Group A of the tournament's first round and being on their way out, Hong Kong are still hopeful of upsetting the home side. Atkinson was realistic about his team's performance so far, having been beaten convincingly by Nepal and Afghanistan, but he still doesn't just want to make up the numbers at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Thursday. "It is pretty disappointing for us to start the tournament so poorly, with two losses," Atkinson said. "The good thing for us is we've got a massive opportunity
to play against a very good cricket side in Bangladesh, who are a Test nation and we've only played four games against Test nations in our history. "So it is a massive opportunity for all our guys to play on the big stage in what will be a big game for Bangladesh as well as they look to qualify from the group. I'm sure all the players will step up on the day in front of a big crowd." Hong Kong were among three teams - UAE and Papua New Guinea being the others - who joined Ireland, Afghanistan and Scotland as ODI Associate nations for the next four years. Atkinson hopes that the ODI status will give them more exposure against tougher opponents. "After this tournament we've got the ACC tournament, which is for the top ten Associates in Asia, so that's another big tournament for us to get exposure against teams like Afghanistan, UAE and Nepal again," he said. "We've got our ODI status as well now, so we're hoping to get some more exposure against high-level teams. The only way that we'll get better is if we keep having that exposure, it's our first world T20 and we feel a bit disappointed with how we performed so we want to start again." Ahead of their last game, the only thing on Atkinson's mind is an improved
AfghAnistAn's 'one percent chAnce'
Chittagong AGENCIES
The long shot has a special place in the heart of most sports fans. Not to mention the underdog that bites. For Afghanistan to get through to the next round of the World T20 and continue menacing the established sides, they will need to grasp a "one percent chance", according to their
coach, Kabir Khan. It may even be smaller than that. Afghanistan, who many fancied to cause an upset in the opening match of the tournament, will need several improbables to go their way if they are to deny Bangladesh top spot in the group. The hosts have won two from two with plenty to spare and now face Hong Kong, whose record so far is as bad as Bangladesh's is good. Even a landslide win for Afghanistan over a more-than-handy Nepal would require Hong Kong to mete out an extraordinarily unlikely thrashing of their own. Kabir can only focus on the job at hand for his team. "Every match is important and we want to win, obviously now we are in a position to plan to win with big margins," he said. "Cricket is a funny game and we are expecting a one percent chance of anybody beating Bangladesh here. But if someone beats Bangladesh, we have to keep our chances alive, at least the run rate should be higher and if that happens and our run rate is there, then we could qualify." Afghanistan are currently third behind Nepal on NRR, after contrasting fortunes on the first day. The run rate situation means that Nepal are actually better placed to go through should Bangladesh slip up and consequently will be expected to push Afghanistan hard. Had Kabir's team beaten Hong Kong more heavily on Tuesday, the equation may have been more in their favour but he said the batsman had been following instructions only to unleash towards the end. "In respect of Bangladesh getting beaten, we had to put ourselves in a position where we could win and then you go for the plan to get your run rate better," he said. "We wanted to keep wickets in hand and then, at a stage that we were in control, we wanted to finish the match early. So that's the sort of thing you do in T20, you get yourself in a position of control and then you dominate." Shafiqullah's 24-ball half-century, to follow up a slightly more measured (by his own standards) 68 from Mohammad Shahzad, suggested they could have started the domination a little earlier. Their best chance may be to bowl Nepal out cheaply no mean feat after their fellow Associate resisted all 20 overs for the loss of just five wickets against Bangladesh - and then race past the target. Afghanistan certainly have the firepower in their attack, which will be the quickest Nepal have faced on a lively Chittagong surface, although such riches may have inadvertently undermined their chances of progression. Kabir suggested, with a grin, that the beating Bangladesh took in the Asia Cup earlier this month had triggered a defensive posture by the hosts.
UAe to host 20 ipL games in ďŹ rst phase SPoRtS DESK The first phase of the IPL will have 20 matches in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai from April 16-30, the organisers have announced. The opening match of IPL 2014 will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on April 16 between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. It is understood the tournament launch will take place on April 15 in Abu Dhabi. According to the schedule released by the IPL, five of the 15 days of the first phase will be double-headers that will be played over the weekends. The first match will start at 2.30pm local time (1030 GMT, 1600 IST) and the evening game at 6.30pm (1430 GMT, 2000 IST).
performance in all three departments. Their middle-order batting hasn't taken them to a big score and their fielders have dropped a few catches too. "I think we will regroup and look at the possibility of some changes," Atkin-
The schedule was chalked out to allow each of the eight franchises to play at least once in all three cities, and also feature in at least one of the double-header weekends. Abu Dhabi and Dubai will host seven matches each while six games will be played in Sharjah. The IPL was moved to an alternative venue after its schedule coincided with the Indian elections, slated to be held between April 17 and May 12, giving rise to security issues. While the primary objective of the IPL was to host the most number of matches in India, the Indian home ministry made it clear it would not be possible to provide the required security for the tournament during the elections.
CMYK
son said. "It is always hard when you're two down early on, which we have been in these last two games. It definitely makes the game more difficult for yourselves. I think it's something we've got to look at.
STEYN AND DU PLESSIS DOUBTS FOR SA
Fatullah AGENCIES
South Africa's T20 captain Faf du Plessis and pace spearhead Dale Steyn are in doubt for the team's opening World T20 match against Sri Lanka on Saturday. The pair both have hamstring injuries which kept them out of South Africa's final warm-up match against Pakistan on Wednesday. A final call on their availability will be taken on Saturday afternoon, shortly before the match. Steyn mildly aggravated the right hamstring strain he suffered during the third Test against Australia in South Africa's first practice match against Bangladesh A yesterday. Steyn bowled 2.2 overs before leaving the field and has since been receiving treatment. This follows a 10-day recovery period after Steyn initially sustained the injury on the first day of the Test. Then, he bowled 10.1 overs before being unable to continue and took no further part in the first innings effort. Steyn bowled three overs in the second innings but was left out of the T20 series against Australia to complete his rehabilitation program. In a press release CSA said Steyn "will continue to receive treatment from the physiotherapist to give him the best chance of recovery for the opening match." When the South African squad left for Bangladesh last Saturday, their team manager Mohammed Moosajee was hopeful Steyn would be ready for the warm-up match and even more optimistic he would play the first match. They are less confident of du Plessis appearing in their first game. The captain did not play in the Bangladesh A game at all and is a "50-50 chance" for the Sri Lanka match. "The medical team is cautious of rushing him too soon because of the explosive nature of T20 cricket and the back-to-back schedule of fixtures," CSA's release read. "He will continue to receive extensive treatment and rehab to give him the best chance of regaining full fitness for the opening match." If du Plessis is ruled out, AB de Villiers will likely lead and bat at No.3, in his absence.