DT
Sport 25
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016
SCORECARD
INSIDE
Mamunul, Zahid suspended for a year
129
BANGLADESH Tamim Iqbal lbw b Irfan Soumya Sarkar b Amir Sabbir Rahman b Afridi Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Malik Shakib Al Hasan b Amir Mahmudullah not out Mashrafe Mortaza not Extras (lb 4 w2 nb2)
R 7 48 14 12 8 22 12 8
Total (five wickets; 19.1 overs)
131
B 4 48 15 15 13 15 7
Fall of wickets 1-13, 2-46, 3-83, 4-88, 5-104
Bangladesh match-winners Mahmudullah (L) and Mashrafe bin Mortaza (C) are literally on cloud nine while Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi ponders what might have been following their Asia Cup Twenty20 clash at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK
Bowling Amir 4-0-26-2(w1), Irfan 4-0-23-1, Sami 4-0-30-0 (nb2), Afridi 4-0-20-1, Ali 2.1-025-0 (w1) Result: Bangladesh won by five wickets MoM: Soumya Sarkar (Ban)
‘It is by far our best T20 win’
n Minhaz Uddin Khan
Turkish champions Galatasaray have been banned from European competition for one year over the club’s failure to meet Financial Fair Play regulations, UEFA said. Galatasaray’s chairman said the Turkish champions had lost about 164 million euros. PAGE 28
Total (seven wickets; 20 over)
Bowling Taskin 4-1-14-1, Al-Amin 4-0-25-3, Sunny 4-035-2, Mortaza 4-0-29-1, Shakib 4-0-26-0
Steyn returns to boost Proteas
Galatasaray get oneyear European ban
R B 1 7 10 8 2 11 58 42 4 11 41 30 0 2 13 9 0
Fall of wickets 1-1, 2-12, 3-18, 4-28, 5-98, 6-102, 7-129
The country’s football arena was shaken yesterday as captain Mamunul Islam and winger Zahid Hossain were each dished out a one-year national suspension for breaching team protocol. The verdict came following a two-hour meeting at the BFF House. PAGE 26
An “energised” Dale Steyn has passed his fitness tests and will play for South Africa in their threematch Twenty20 International series against Australia starting in Durban tomorrow. Steyn has missed most of South Africa’s season with groin problems. PAGE 27
PAKISTAN Khurram c Rahim b Al-Amin Sharjeel b Sunny Hafeez lbw b Mortaza Sarfraz not out Akmal c Shakib b Taskin Shoaib c Sabbir b Sunny Afridi c Sabbir b Al-Amin Anwar c Sabbir b Al-Amin Extras
For Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza, the five-wicket win against Pakistan was the biggest for the country as far as Twenty20 internationals are concerned. The Tigers coming into the tournament never believed that they would make it to the final of the five-nation tournament given their weak history in the format. They however, had the confidence of making a change and they did it in some style. Riding on wins over Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh reached the final of the Asia Cup Twenty20. This is only the second occasion the Tigers have reached the final of a major tournament. The Ti-
gers’ first final appearance also came in the Asia Cup in 2012 but it ended in bitter fashion as Pakistan pipped through by just two runs. “I have been part of many Bangladesh wins. But the one [yesterday] is by far the best, at least in the T20 perspective. We have a big tournament (World T20) ahead where we need to qualify to play in the main round. I believe the boys will take confidence from this win and also from the tournament,” Mashrafe told the media in the post match press conference yesterday. Bangladesh experienced a similar situation four years ago to the one they faced yesterday against the same opponents. In the 2012 Asia Cup final, the Tigers were
stranded just two runs short of the target with Mahmudullah and Shahadat Hossain the unbeaten batsmen at the crease. Mahmudullah was in the middle yesterday too but this time he succeeded, hammering a four off the first ball of the last over to take the Tigers to an emphatic win. The middle-order batsman remained unbeaten on 22 off 15 balls. “He (Mahmudullah) still feels the day when we lost the game by only two runs. [Yesterday] he was almost in the same situation but I always had the belief in him. I wanted him to get the winning runs. He did a fantastic job. Back in the dressing he told me he is delighted,” Mashrafe said. As for the grand finale itself,
Mashrafe said, “That’s another big game for us. I am not worried of winning or losing. What I want is to see my team play as a unit and prepare in the best way possible within the time we have in hand. We will decide what to do and what not to but before that, I want to prepare my team in the best way possible,” said Mashrafe. l
POINTS TABLE Teams
M W L Pts Net Rr
India
3
3
0
6
+1.467
Bangladesh
4
3
1
6
+0.458
Sri Lanka
3
1
2
2
-0.292
Pakistan
3
1
2
2
-0.464
UAE
3
0
3
0
-1.266
TALKING POINTS Gerrard woe as LA thrashed in CL exit Steven Gerrard’s hopes of leading the LA Galaxy to CONCACAF Champions League glory came to an abrupt end on Tuesday. Gerrard partnered new Galaxy signing Nigel De Jong in the LA midfield as the Major League Soccer side travelled to Torreon. PAGE 29
THE NEW ASIAN RIVALRY
TIGERS BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE
CHANGE OF APPROACH IN T20IS
Even a year or two ago, Full Member Zimbabwe and Associate Afghanistan were considered Bangladesh’s closest rivals. But slowly and surely, things have started to change. The newest cricket rivalry in town is undoubtedly that of Bangladesh and Pakistan. Whenever the two sides meet each other, a lot of sentiments are exchanged between the fans. The rivalry took on a new dimension last year when the Tigers swept Pakistan in three ODIs and yesterday’s Asia Cup Twenty20 clash only added to the excitement.
There has always been a lack of confidence whenever the Tigers faced any big cricketing powerhouse previously. However, it all changed during the Sri Lanka tie last Sunday when the Bangladesh cricketers looked ever so hungry to seal a morale-boosting win. They started from where they had left off in the previous game, making life extremely difficult for the Pakistan batsmen. And in pursuit of 130, a confident and resolute approach saw the Tigers reach their destination with five wickets and as many deliveries in hand.
One must give credit to Tigers coach Chandika Hathurusingha for changing the mindset of the Bangladesh cricketers. The Tigers first transformed themselves in ODIs last year, defeating India, Pakistan and South Africa. The Tigers then shifted their gear in the shortest format, overcoming the challenge of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. That Bangladesh qualified for the grand finale, irrespective of what happens against India, will no doubt boost the cricketers’ confidence with the World T20 knocking at the door.