e_Paper, Monday, August 28, 2017

20
MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 2017
DT
Sports
PLAYS OF THE DAY
BANGLADESH v AUSTRALIA
1ST TEST, DAY 1,
MIRPUR, SBNS
Terrible start for Tigers
It was a horrible start for Bangladesh as
they were wobbling within four overs after
losing opener Soumya Sarker (eight),
No 3 batsman Imrul Kayes (nought) and
right-hander Sabbir Rahman (nought).
Definitely not a good start for Bangladesh
after captain Mushfiqur Rahim won
the toss and elected to bat. Soumya’s dismissal
was kind of causal while Imrul got
out chasing a wide delivery. Sabbir was
beaten due to a relatively good delivery.
But Bangladesh were shaky against a
good pace attack. Thanks to Tamim Iqbal-
Shakib al Hasan’s brilliant partnership,
the Tigers recovered their composure.
Otherwise, the host could have been on
the back foot in the very first day.
Tamim charges Lyon
It was predicted before the Test match
that the wicket could be spin friendly.
And the spinners did get some help from
the pitch on day one. After surviving Pat
Cummins’ fiery spell, the main threat
was supposed to come from the experienced
off-spinner Nathan Lyon. But
Tamim and Shakib handled Lyon well,
particularly the former, who was aggressive
against the offie. Tamim charged
down the ground against Lyon on several
occasions and smashed three sixes
and one four. At the end of the day, Lyon
praised these two and informed that he
was impressed by the way the fourth
wicket duo batted against him.
Mysterious weather
The weather was a big concern ahead
of the first Test as there was heavy rainfall
on the eve of the game. But the day
started brightly in the morning. Weather
was initially overcast in Mirpur but suddenly,
the sun shone through, which is
quite unlikely in this part of the world.
The weather behaved somewhat like in
England where sunshine and rain within
a few minutes are regular occurance.
Finally, the rain arrived in the 67th over
and play stopped for nearly half an hour.
But surprisingly, just after the rain break,
the sun’s rays came scorching down. It
looked like it never rained!
Bad start for Aussies as well
Bangladesh were all out for 260 in the
79th over. That means there was still
nine-10 overs of game time remaining.
But that short period of time proved very
handy for the host as they picked up three
Australian wickets in just nine overs. The
dangerous David Warner and top-order
batsman Usman Khawaja’s wickets were
extremely valuable, along with nightwatchman
Lyon’s dismissal. Australia
were under pressure during that short period
of time as Shakib and off-spinner Mehedi
Hasan Miraz bowled wicket to wicket
and gave no room to the Aussies. And
the result? Australia were three down for
18 after day one. Game on then. •
Ali Shahriyar Bappa
Pat Cummins bowls as Tamim looks on
Lyon: Mirpur Test evenly balanced
• Minhaz Uddin Khan
Australia off-spinner Nathan
Lyon believes the first Test match
against Bangladesh at the end of
day one is finely balanced.
The Aussie bowlers had done
enough to restrict Bangladesh
for 260 runs in their first innings
only to see an early failure with
the bat.
Bangladesh ended the day on
a high note as the home side dismissed
three Australia batsmen
with only 18 runs on the board
from nine overs.
“It’s in the balance to be fair.
You can probably look at Bangladesh
who have the momentum at
the moment. To lose the toss and
bowl a team out for 260 or under
300 is always a good result for a
bowling team. It’s not ideal losing
three wickets but that’s the game.
You’ve got to give them credit,
they batted well and they bowled
well,” Lyon told the media during
the post-day press conference in
Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National
Stadium yesterday.
“Now it’s our chance to fight
back and really test ourselves in
these conditions. We’ve got two
very good batsmen (at the crease),
one’s the No 1 batter in the world
(captain Steve Smith) and (opener)
Matt Renshaw is a very talented
young cricketer. We’ve got
two very good batters there at the
moment, we’ve just got to work
hard, bat long partnerships but
there are no demons in that pitch
yet so it’s a good opportunity for
our batters,” he said.
Bangladesh were in a similar
situation to Australia as the host
Mayweather silences
McGregor
• Reuters
A ruthless Floyd Mayweather
scored a 10th round technical
knockout over mixed martial
arts champion Conor McGregor
on Saturday, the American
cementing his legacy as an alltime
boxing great with his 50th
win in as many fights.
Mayweather, who had guaranteed
an early finish to the 12
round contest, made good on
his promise when he pinned a
brave-but-limited McGregor on
the ropes and mercilessly hammered
the Irishman before referee
Robert Byrd stepped in to
halt the bout.
The fight, which Mayweather
insisted would be his last,
sends the 40-year-old into
his second retirement with a
unblemished 50-0 record to
surpass heavyweight legend
Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 mark
for most wins without a loss or
draw. •
lost top-order batsmen Soumya
Sarkar, Imrul Kayes and Sabbir
Rahman with only 10 runs on the
board within four overs.
But the two experienced men
in the camp, opening batsman
Tamim Iqbal and all-rounder
Shakib al Hasan, handled the
pressure and took control of the
debacle as the fourth wicket duo
added 155 to the board to boost
the innings.
“I think the two guys (Tamim
and Shakib) batted very brave.
They took the game on, which
you have to do in these types of
conditions. I think on this wicket,
if you bat well in partnerships and
bat together, you can score runs.
I’m going to sit here and give them
credit. They’re two good players
and they played some incredible
shots out there and took the game
MD MANIK
on. Hats off to them. It’s now our
opportunity to take the game on
in our first innings and see where
we get to,” said the 29-year old.
On the day, the spinners from
both sides took nine out of the 13
wickets to fall.
The wicket worked wonders
to aid the spinners and Lyon said
the visitor are not surprised.
“The wicket was interesting,
there was obviously a lot of spin
for a day one wicket but it was a
sub-continental wicket. We were
expecting something like that. I
know talking to big Josh [Hazlewood]
and Paddy (Pat Cummins),
it’s probably on the slower side
for a wicket we’re used to. But it’s
the same for both teams. The best
team (are) going to have to adapt
to the condition as soon as possible,”
he concluded. •