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.

Bangladesh Academy made a winning start in the Institute Challenege Tournament

BD Academy Vs Western Australia
BD Academy 219/5 Over -40; Rokibul 59 (59), Nasiruddin 47 (97), Mehrab 34* (23), Imrul 31 (44)
Western Australia 209/8 Over -40; Scott 39, Mick 60, Wes 42, Tim 24; Nazmul1/34, Talha 1/37, Mosharraf 2/17, Dollar 1/23, Naim 1/39
Grameenphone-BCB National Cricket Academy won by 10 runs (Date-27/08-2007; Toss-BD Academy)

Kenya confirm itinerary of four nation Twenty20 tournament

Bangladesh are going to experience some vital Twenty20 match practices in Kenyan capital Nairobi in the four nation Twenty20 tournament to boost their morale ahead of Twenty20 world cup to be held in South Africa in September.

The Kenyan Cricket Association have confirmed the itinerary of the preparatory tournament which kicks off at Kenyan capital Nairobi on September 1. In the highly anticipated match of the tournament, Bangladesh are going face their sub-continent rivals Pakistan on September 2.

Kenya and Uganda are other two teams in the tournament, but attractions will centre over the participation of the two Test playing nations from the sub-continent who are famous for their explosive nature of batting.

Bangladesh will start their campaign on 1 September with the match against arch rival Kenya in the tournament opener and will face Uganda on September 4 before flying to Johannesburg to participate in the first ever Twenty20 World Cup on September 6.

Itinerary

September 1 : Match 1 - Bangladesh Vs Kenya, Match 2 – Pakistan Vs Uganda

September 2 : Match 3 – Kenya Vs Uganda, Match 4 - Bangladesh Vs Pakistan

September 4 : Match 5 – Bangladesh Vs Uganda, Match 6 – Pakistan Vs Kenya

Training camp of Tigers starts on Monday

After the exhilarating boot camp experience, Bangladesh are starting their official preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in South Africa in next month from Monday.

Interim coach Shaun Williams, who returned from USA yesterday, will conduct the week long training camp which features six

Shaun Williams and Mohammad Ashraful, time to redeem Bangladesh Cricket © Cricinfo

practice matches against various oppositions.

The national team will play two Twenty20 matches against Australia bound Academy team on Tuesday and Wednesday, opponents of other practice matches are yet to be announced.

Tigers are due to leave for Nairobi on 29th August to participate in the 4 nation Twenty20 tournament as past of their preparation for the Twenty20 world cup. Pakistan, Kenya and Uganda are the other teams in the six day competition.

Bangladesh management are a bit concerned with the minor niggling injuries of Mushfiqur Rahim, Abdur Razzak, Tamim Iqbal and Alok Kapali, sustained during the week long commando training, although none of them are threatening enough to keep themselves out of action for long.

Bangladesh are placed along with host South Africa and West Indies in group A and will face West Indies in their first match on September 13.

"Boot camp experience will help us in International cricket" – Ashraful

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful expressed his satisfaction over the week long commando style boot camp and believes the experience will help the young Tigers to adjust with the pressures of international cricket.

The camp, organized at Bangladesh Army's School of Infantry and Tactics in Sylhet, ended yesterday and was an important part of the team's preparation for next month's ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Tigers enjoyed the first ever boot camp; Syed Rasel in action © Cricinfo

Despite suffering some minor injuries, most of the players enjoyed the action packed training program and are willing to undergo similar programs in future.

In the post-camp briefing Bangladesh captain was high vocal about the positives of the commando effort. "Each and every player in the camp firmly believes that this hard training will make them tough both mentally and physically.

"Honestly speaking, initially we were a bit shaky with a kind of training we had never attended before but ultimately we started to enjoy everything about the new adventure. "Definitely we would have missed something if we had not taken part in this kind of training."

The players were thoroughly overwhelmed by the self-counseling part of the program in which they had to discuss each others strengths and weaknesses.

"It's really an amazing experience the way we talked openly in this session. Everybody sometimes admitted their faults or defended their position.

"We criticized each other. I must say it is the best part of this training. We have had discussion in our team meetings but never spoke as openly as we did in this session," Ashraful added.

This was the first ever boot camp for Bangladeshi cricketers and only members of South Africa bound Twenty20 squad participated in the program, but Bangladesh Cricket Board want to arrange similar program for A team, Academy team and age group teams in near future.