Bangladesh make changes to avoid whitewash in the ODI series

Bangladesh think tank has opted for couple of changes in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in a desperate bid to avoid whitewash. Sri Lanka have already gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match Laqshya series by defeating Bangladesh comfortably in the first two ODIs.

Mahmudullah Riyad, can a new face help saving blushes? © Cricinfo

To bring solidity to the top order batting, Bangladesh have picked veteran opener Javed Omar in place of struggling Shahriar Nafees and Tushar Imran, who made a duck and 9 in last two matches, is also dropped in favour of uncapped off-spinning all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad.

Bangladesh have shown some improved performances in the bowling and fielding departments in the ODI series, but top order batting has let them down throughout the tour.

Bangladesh pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza failed to recover from his sprained right ankle and is ruled out of the third ODI. The match will be played tomorrow (Wednesday) at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Squads

Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Javed Omer Belim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Aftab Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, Farhad Reza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain Rajib, Syed Rasel.

Sri Lanka (From) : Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Chamara Silva, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Upul Chandana

Jayasuriya stars in Sri Lanka win

Sri Lanka trounced Bangladesh by 5 wickets inside 32 overs in the second ODI to obtain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Laqshya series at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today.

Bangladesh top order displayed their familiar collapse after Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and sent Bangladesh in. After losing 4 wickets for a mere 26 runs, Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful and middle order batsman Aftab Ahmed tried to steady Bangladesh innings and formed a 61 run partnership in the fifth wicket.

Bangladesh lost their captain at the score of 87 when Ashraful unnecessarily poked at a Jayasuriya delivery and could only manage to guide the ball to waiting gloves of Sangakkara. Bangladesh again lost their way and finally were bundled out for a meager 137 in 46.5 overs.

Aftab Ahmed top scored for Bangladesh with 47 runs while 7 Bangladeshi batsmen returned to the pavilion with single digit score. Sanath Jayasuriya was the pick of the Sri Lanka attack and grabbed 4 wickets for 31 runs to complete 300 wickets in one day international. Lasith Malinga produced an impressive opening spell and bagged 3 wickets for 22 runs.

Bangladesh bowlers bowled to their heart out to create some sort of competitiveness but 137 runs were too little to resist experienced Sri Lanka batting line up. After reducing Sri Lanka to 79-4, Bangladesh failed to press on and Sri Lanka finally reached home comfortably losing 5 wickets in 31.1 overs.

Syed Rasel was the most successful Bangladeshi bowler and bagged 2 wickets for 39 runs while Shadadat, Razzak and Ashraful grabbed one wicket each.

Bangladesh will play the 3rd and final ODI on 25th July at the same venue.

Mahmudul Guides Bangladesh U-19 Home Over Sri Lanka

A brilliant all-round performance from captain Mahmudul Hasan ensured Bangladesh U-19 recorded a 43 run win host Sri Lanka U-19 in the Tri-Nation Under-19 tournament at P Saravanamattu Stadium in Colombo today (Monday).

Winning the toss Bangladesh captain Mahmudul opted to bat first under overcast conditions. Sri Lanka U-19 new ball pair Tissara Perera and Charith Jayampathi struck early blows to remove both Bangladeshi openers with the score on 23.

Mithun Ali and Ashraful Aziz steadied the Bangladesh innings and once medium pacer Ishara Jayaratne removed both of them, Mahmudul took charge of the innings with some patient stroke play. Some late hitting from Taposh Ghosh helped Bangladesh to post a competitive total of 204 before being bowled out in 48.4 overs. Taposh made a quick fire 27 off 20 balls with 2 boundaries and 1 six.

Ashraful Aziz top scored for Bangladesh with 35 runs while Mahmudul Hasan and Mithun Ali added 32 and 27 respectively. Tissara Perera was the most successful Sri Lanka bowler and bagged 3 wickets for 38 runs.

Chasing a victory target of 205 runs in 50 overs, Sri Lanka received a double blow from fast bowler Rubel Hossain and were reduced to 20 for 2. Opener Dinesh Chandimal (36 off 62) and middle order batsman Lahiru Thirimanna (31 off 44) tried to repair the Sri Lanka innings but were undone by the Bangladesh spin trio Mahmudul Hasan, Taposh Ghosh and Nasir Hossain.

Sri Lanka U-19 kept losing wickets regularly and were finally bundled out for 161 runs in 45.2 overs. Bangladesh spinners shared 7 wickets between them conceding only 67 runs. Mahmudul Hasan was the pick of Bangladeshi bowlers and grabbed 3 wickets for 20 runs while Rubel Hossain, Taposh Ghosh and Nasir Hossain bagged 2 wickets each.

India U-19 is the third team of the tournament. Bangladesh will play their next match against India–U 19 on 26 July.

Bangladesh prevail in tense finish against Sri Lanka Invitation XI

A match winning 92 not out by Aftab Ahmed ensured a 3 wicket Bangladesh win over Sri Lanka invitation XI in the only practice match of the three match ODI series at Police Park Ground in Colombo today.

Winning toss Sri Lanka XI decided to bat first and posted a competitive 241 for 5 in the stipulated 50 overs. Sri Lanka Academy Team opener NT Paranavitana

Aftab guides Bangladesh to victory © Cricinfo

top scored with an unbeaten 63 while Sri Lanka Academy team captain Ian Daniel struck a fine 57. Syed Rasel and Sakib Al Hasan grabbed two wickets each for 37 and 41 runs respectively.

In reply to a victory target of 242, Bangladesh chase was initially thwarted by Sri Lankan new ball bowlers as Shahriar Nafees, Captain Mohammad Ashraful and Tushar Imran failed to reach double figures. After losing opener Tamim Iqbal for 45 runs, Bangladesh were in a spot of bother on 112-5 at the end of 29 overs.

Aftab Ahmed and young wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim steadied Bangladesh innings and after the departure of Mushfiq, Aftab found a partner in Farhad Reza to carry Bangladesh towards victory. Mushfiqur Rahim scored 25 runs while Farhad Reza added 26 runs to Bangladesh total.

The first match of the three match ODI series will be played on 20th July at P Sara Stadium in Colombo.

Bangladesh emerge as Champion in ACC Women's Tournament

Bangladesh women cricket team made a dream debut in the international circuit by winning the inaugural ACC Women's Championship in Johor Bahru, Malaysia today. They outperformed Nepal by 8 wickets in the rain affected final to become the unbeaten champion of the eight nation tournament.

Bangladesh dominated throughout the tournament and the one sided final only reaffirmed the gulf of differences between Bangladesh and other associate nations participated in the tournament.

Winning toss Nepal opted to bat first under overcast conditions, but failed to stand firm against the fearsome Bangladesh bowling line up. Midday rain curtailed the match to 18 overs a side and Nepal could only manage 26 runs for the loss of 8 wickets at the end proved too little to challenge Bangladesh.

Bangladesh pace trio Salma Khatun, Shamima Akhter, Tithi Rani Sarkar and left arm chinaman bowler Champak Chakma ripped through the Nepal innings and bagged 2 wickets each for only 21 runs.

Bangladesh needed only 9.2 overs to reach the winning target with the loss of two wickets to emerge as the superior team of the tournament.

Bangladesh all-rounder Panna Ghosh was adjudged player of the tournament while glove women Mina Khatun earned the best wicketkeeper of the tournament award.

Murali milestone sinks Bangladesh

A match winning 12-82 by Muttiah Muralitharan completed a 3-0 whitewash and Bangladesh lost the third match by an innings and 193 runs to end a forgettable series against Sri Lanka at Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy today.

Muralitharan required exactly 12 wickets to reach 700 Test wicket milestone after Aussie wizard Shane Warne, and he achieved the feat in style in front his home crowd in Candy today. Murali now needs only 9 wickets to supersede Warne to become the most successful bowler of the Test history.

Bangladesh could only manage 176 runs in the second innings in reply to Sri Lanka's 500-4d and got bundled out within the second session of 4th day. Shahriar Nafees top scored with 64 runs while all other batsmen refused to learn from their previous mistake and got out cheaply playing flashy shots.

Bangladesh will now play a 3 match ODI series against the Islanders which starts from July 20 at P Sara Stadium in Colombo.

Bangladesh continue their first day blue amid showers

Bangladesh failed to capitalize on the solid start on the stop-start rain affected first day of the third and final Test and were struggling at 72-4 at close an Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy today.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful could not pick the right side of the coin and his counterpart Mahela Jayawardene made no hesitation to send Bangladesh in under gloomy

Muralitharan picked two quick wickets to convert Bangladesh’s steady start into struggle © Cricinfo

overcast conditions. Sri Lankan pace sensation Lasith Malinga picked a leaden-footed Javed Omar in his 2nd over to reduce Bangladesh to 10-1.

Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar in a bid to rediscover his form promoted him up the order, and formed a useful 38 run partnership with Shahriar Nafees to steady the Bangladesh innings. Bangladesh went to an early rain forced lunch without losing any further wicket.

After a rain break of 117 minutes, play finally resumed but this time Bashar was undone by the very first delivery he faced from Farveez Maharoof after the break. The ball jagged back sharply from the good length and may have kissed Bashar's glove faintly on the way to the wicketkeeper. The replay was inconclusive and Bashar might consider him unlucky for the dismissal.

After the departure of Bashar, spin wizard Muralitharan plucked two quick wickets to convert Bangladesh's steady start into struggle. Rajin Saleh was first to go for a painstaking 29 ball duck and a restless Shahriar Nafees soon followed him gifting his wicket away for the third consecutive time in the series. Nafees scored 29 from 77 deliveries and appeared set to produce a big score before the rush of blood again thwarted his progress.

After another couple of rain induced stop-start, play was finally called off due to bad light, and Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful have to perform another rescue act tomorrow with flown in Tushar Imran to save Bangladesh’s face in the Test match.

Bangladesh aim to restore pride in the dead rubber

Bangladesh, mauled by the Lankan Lions in the first two Test, are desperately looking for some rescue act by top order batsman to restore some pride in the thirst and final Test match of the Laqshya series due to start tomorrow in Kandy Asgiriya Stadium.

Bangladesh have flown in A team captain Tushar Imran to stabilise the fragile middle order who had an excellent Sri Lanka tour

Tushar Imran is flown in to perform rescue act © Cricinfo

with Bangladesh A team in early this year. Mehrab Hossain Jr. who made his debut in the second Test lost his place to make way for Tushar.

Bangladesh is approaching the match with three pacers and left arm paceman Syed Rasel finally received the nod of the team management ahead of out-of-sort Mohammad Sharif who played in the first two Tests without any success.

Traditionally the wicket of Kandy is pacer friendly and offers movement in early hours. Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful is expecting to win first toss as Captain to exploit the condition. Bangladesh lost the toss on previous occasions and were blown away in their first innings in both Tests played in Colombo.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka are aiming the whitewash to keep the momentum going. Sri Lanka have brought in all-rounder Farveez Maharoof in place of Chaminda Vaas who was released after the second Test for his county duty with Middlesex.

Upul Tharanga, who suffered a hairline fracture on the left foot during a practice session, is set to start in the third Test and Sujeewa De Silva might get the chance to impress as Sri Lankan management wants to explore the reserves in the dead rubber match.

Teams:

Bangladesh from: Javed Omar, Nafees Ahmed, Rajin Saleh, Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Tushar Imran, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Syed Rasel, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Rafique, Shahadat Hossain.

Sri Lanka from: Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sujeewa de Silva