Bangladesh win Twenty20 match to register first victory in New Zealand

Bangladesh win Twenty20 match to register first victory in New Zealand

23 December 2007

Bangladesh won its first match in New Zealand soil when they beat a New Zealand XI by four wickets in a charity Twenty20 game at Seddon Park in Hamilton today.

Young all-rounder Farhad Reza scored a match wining blitzkrieg 31 from 17 balls and shared a 48-run fifth wicket partnership with Mehrab Hossain to guide Bangladesh to 134-6 in reply to New Zealand XI's 133-7 and victory with t3 overs to spare. Mehrab remained unbeaten on 21 from 26 deliveries.

The win would boost confidence ahead of Bangladesh's three-match National Bank limited overs series against New Zealand from Boxing Day.

Previously on this tour, Bangladesh had lost to a Northern Districts and Auckland team in limited overs matches. The only match in which Bangladesh averted defeat was washed out due to inclement weather.

A 17 ball 31 from Farhad Reza helped Bangladesh to secure victory against New Zealand XI © AFP

New Zealand fielded a strong XI for the charity match that contained the nucleus of the New Zealand team they will play in the upcoming limited overs series. None of the current New Zealand players except Scott Styris who made 29 from 22 balls, made a significant contribution with the bat.

Two early strikes from Bangladesh opening bowlers Shahadat Hossain and Sajidul Islam pushed New Zealand XI on the back foot after Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful won the toss and opted to field first.

For New Zealand, opener Jamie How was out for 10, Peter Fulton for 3, Ross Taylor for 15 and Gareth Taylor for 12, leaving the New Zealanders with more concerns than the tourists as the first one-day match approaches in two days time. In form, Northern Districts captain, James Marshall who dominated Bangladesh in the warm up match remained unbeaten on 33.

A disciplined bowling effort supported by some electrifying fielding set up Bangladesh's victory in front of a packed crowd. Lanky paceman Shahadat Hossain took 3-15 from four overs and captain Mohammad Ashraful took 2-28 with his leg spin.

Bangladesh lost their first wicket with no run on the board as the batsmen initially showed vulnerability against the Kiwi seam bowlers but a counter attack by Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful set the platform for a well-planned run chase. Ashraful scored 20 from 10 balls — hitting a four and six from the first two balls he faced — and Aftad Ahmed contributed 20 from 15 balls.

After their departure Saqibul Hasan (22 from 19) maintained the run flow and the 47 run 6th wicket partnership between Farhad Reza and Mehrab Hossain sealed the victory for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh will play the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand in Auckland on December 26.

The one-day series is followed by two tests, the first starting in Dunedin on Jan. 4. The second begins Jan. 12 in Wellington.

Bangladesh lose by 7 wickets despite Tamim heroics

Bangladesh lose by 7 wickets despite Tamim heroics

21 December 2007

Auckland made light work to see off Bangladesh in the third and final warm-up match before the three match one day international series against the Black Caps and handed the Bangladeshis their second defeat in three matches on their tour of New Zealand so far. The only match in which Bangladesh averted defeat was washed out due to inclement weather.

Auckland breezed past Bangladesh's total of 242 with 7 wickets in hand and 4 overs to spare. Former international and Auckland skipper Richard

Bangladesh lose by 7 wickets despite Tamim heroics

Jones made 85 not out while another former New Zealand representative, Paul Hitchcock, made 35.

Earlier Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. A 122 ball 104 from young opener Tamim Iqbal failed to inspire rest of the Bangladeshi batting as Bangladesh slumped to 242 all out in 48.5 over.

Left handed Tamim, who was struggling with his recent batting form, hammered 10 boundaries and 4 huge 6's in his finely constructed innings. His departure right after the century mark initiated the collapse and Bangladesh failed to utilize the platform to post a challenging total at Seddon Park in Hamilton .

At one point Bangladesh were heading to a 275+ total with Tamim and Ashraful flaying Auckland attack with some fine stroke play. After receiving the initial brunt, Auckland bowlers came back strongly and once Morgan broke the 55 runs partnership, rest of the Bangladeshi batsmen offered little resistance against the spirited bowling attack.

Bangladesh lost 5 quick wickets in a space of 30 runs and were eventually bundled out by some inspired bowling from the Auckland Aces. 6 of the Bangladeshi batsmen including in-form opener Zunaed Siddique failed to reach the double figure and short cameos from top order mainstream Aftab and Ashraful weren't enough to steer Bangladesh to a winning position.

GJ Morgan was the pick of the bowlers for Auckland and bagged 3 wickets for 33 runs while Mackay, Hitchcok and Hira grabbed two wickets each.

Bangladesh will play the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand in Auckland on December 26.

The one-day series is followed by two tests, the first starting in Dunedin on Jan. 4. The second begins Jan. 12 in Wellington.

Sajidul replaces injured Rasel

Sajidul replaces injured Rasel

17 December

Bangladesh's hope to secure victory in the one dayers against New Zealand received a severe blow as their premium seam bowler Syed Rasel has been ruled out of the entire tour due to a collarbone injury. Rasel sustained the injury in the warm-up match against Northern Districts in which Tigers succumbed to a 7 wicket loss.

Bangladesh will miss the service of Syed Rasel against the Kiwis

Young left arm seamer Sajidul Islam (19), who is enjoying a fine form in the domestic cricket, has been named as the replacement of Rasel. Sajidul will fly to New Zealand on Tuesday to join the rest of the squad members.

According to tigercricket.com, the official website of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Rasel was examined by an orthopaedic surgeon in Hamilton Monday and the report is expected by Tuesday morning. He will undergo further investigation and treatment before a final assessment on his condition is made.

Meanwhile chief selector Rafiqul Alam expressed his optimism about young Sajidul who is currently the leading wicket taker in the domestic first class competition.

"Sajidul is a bowler identical to Rasel and is in the peak of form in the ongoing National Cricket League. So the selection committee unanimously picked him as the replacement of Rasel," said Rafiqul.

Bangladesh plays another warm-up one-dayer against Northern Districts in Hamilton tomorrow, ahead of a one-day game against Auckland on Friday.

They play the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand in Auckland on December 26.

The one-day series is followed by two tests, the first starting in Dunedin on Jan. 4. The second begins Jan. 12 in Wellington.

Bangladesh lose the tour opener warm-up

16 December 2007

Left-handed batsman Nick Horsley scored a career-best 92 in Hamilton, New Zealand, on Sunday as Northern Districts beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in a one-day match in the visitors' tour opener.

Northern Districts made 228 for three in reply to Bangladesh's 222 for eight at Seddon Park.

Bangladesh's innings was built around opener Zunaed Siddique, who scored 73 off 114 balls. The tourists were well positioned at 121 for two in the 32nd over before they collapsed to lose five for 56.

Bangladesh plays another one-dayer against Northern Districts in Hamilton on Tuesday, ahead of a one-day game against Auckland on Friday.

They play the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand in Auckland on December 26.

The one-day series is followed by two tests, the first starting in Dunedin on Jan. 4. The second begins Jan. 12 in Wellington.

Explosive Bangladesh storm into the second round

An astounding display of power hitting by Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful and dashing Aftab Ahmed secured a comprehensive 6 wicket win over West Indies with 2 overs to spare at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg today.

Chasing a victory target of 164 in 20 overs, Bangladesh did not get the desired start as they lost reliable Nazimuddin in the second over of the match with only 2 runs on the board.

Explosive Bangladesh storm into the second round © Cricinfo

Tamim Iqbal soon departed while trying to clear Rampaul out of the ground finding Chanderpaul at mid off. Bangladesh were in a spot of bother and the spotlight was on Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful to produce an extra-ordinary innings similar to one in Guayana which denied South Africa in the last world cup.

Ashraful responded to the situation brilliantly and shared a 109 run partnership with Aftab Ahmed in just 10.2 overs with blistering display of cricket shots to send West Indies packing without a win in the inaugural Twenty20 world cup.

Ashraful tore West Indies attack apart in his 27 ball 61 and registered fastest fifty in the history of Twenty20 International, off just 20 balls. At the other end Aftab played his innings of life to guide Bangladesh home after the departure of skipper Ashraful and remained unbeaten on 62.

Ashraful nonchalantly clouted boundaries after boundaries and Aftab Ahmed aptly joined the party as West Indian attack imploded at Wanderers. Ashraful smacked 7 fours and 3 sixes in his blitzkrieg innings and Aftab walloped 8 boundaries and one six which sailed over the fine leg to the stand.

Earlier, Bangladesh won the crucial toss and decided to field first after an unscheduled one hour delay due to damp pitch caused by over watering by groundstaff. Syed Rasel removed the danger man Chris Gayle with a gem of delivery in the very first over and set the tone of the match for Bangladesh. While run leaked from the other end, Rasel kept everything tight and conceded only 10 runs which is the most economical spell in Twenty20 history.

A second-wicket 95 run stand between Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devon Smith helped West Indies to recover from the shoddy start, and West Indies were well on course for yet another big score after their mammoth 205 in the first match of the tournament.

Introduction of spin pegged West Indies back and Bangladesh were well on top until 16th over of the innings. The West Indian innings gathered a dramatic momentum in the last 4 overs as Bangladesh skipper continued with his leg spin, and Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith clobbered Ashraful for flurry of fours and sixes. Ashraful conceded 44 runs in his last 2 overs and West Indies posted a challenging 164 in the must win game.

Shakib Al Hasan was the most successful Bangladesh bowler and pouched 3 wickets in the last over of the match to raise his match tally to 4 for 34. Abdur Razzak grabbed 2 wickets in his impressive spell conceding 25 runs.

Bangladesh is now leading the points table of Group A, also involving South Africa, and progressed into the second round with one match remaining.

Bangladesh will play their last group match against host South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday. The day night affair will be Bangladesh's first appearance under light in Twenty20 cricket.

Bangladesh canter to 5-wicket win against Kenya

Bangladesh have comfortably won their first match against Kenya by 5 wickets in the Twenty20 Quadrangular tournament at Nairobi Gymkhana Ground in Kenya today (Saturday).

Chasing a modest victory target of 139 set by Kenya, Bangladesh effected a well-constructed all-round display and reached the target with 14 balls remaining.

Ashraful tasted first win as International captain in todays 5 wicket victory against Kenya © Cricinfo

Bangladesh was well on the top right from the beginning of the run chase and never looked in trouble as Kenya bowlers failed to restrict the run flow in the first 10 overs.

Bangladesh opener Nazimuddin struck a flamboyant 43 off 36 balls and Aftab Ahmed struck a blitzkrieg 17 off 6 balls to set the tone of the Bangladesh run chase. Nazimuddin was adjudged man of the man for his debut innings in international cricket which included three 4’s and two 6’s.

Despite some quick fall of wicket, Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful steadied the Bangladesh innings along with all-rounder Alok Kapali to ensure an easy Bangladesh win. Ashraful hammered 36 off 20 deliveries including four boundaries and one six while Alok Kapali took a more patient approach and remained unbeaten on 17 off 19 balls to guide Bangladesh home.

P J Ongondo was the most successful Kenya bowler and grabbed 2 wickets for 21 runs while Odoyo, Kamande and Onyango picked 1 wicket each.

Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first on a sunny afternoon in Nairobi. A double strike from Bangladesh pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza in early on left Kenya rebuilding their innings for most part of their innings.

Left arm seamer Syed Rasel and spinner Abdur Razzak kept the pressure on and Kenya found it difficult to post a big total in front of the home crowd. Tanmay Mishra top scored with 38 runs off 41 deliveries and Steve Tikolo chipped in with a useful 24 runs off 21 deliveries.

Some late strike from Thomas Odoyo (22 off 13) and Collins Obuya (14 off 10) helped Kenya to post a respectable 138/7 in the stipulated 20 overs, but at the end it was proved inadequate to restrict the victory charge by young Bangladesh line-up.

Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak and Farhad Reza bagged 2 wickets each for Bangladesh while skipper Mohammad Ashraful grabbed 1 wicket in his debut Twenty20 international.

Bangladesh face Pakistan while Kenya meet Uganda in the same ground on Sunday.

Shakib ruled out of Twenty20 Quadrangular due to finger injury

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan is ruled out of the Twenty20 quadrangular tournament due to an injury in his right index finger. The news came as a severe blow to the Bangladesh team who will be facing Kenya in their first match of the Quadrangular tournament today (1 September).

"Shakib has an impact fracture on his right index finger," said team physio Azmal Ahmed. The 20-year-old sustained the injury while playing a Twenty20 match in practice on Thursday.

Shakib will be monitored for the next few days and is expected to play a part in the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in South Africa.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful remains hopeful about the prospect of his team in the tournament and also in the Twenty20 World Cup.

"It will be an ideal build-up for the Twenty20 World Championship. The conditions here are pretty similar to South Africa and we have good sides to play against. Kenya will be especially tough at home while Pakistan are a world-class team," said Ashraful at the pre-tournament media briefing.