04-03-2019

SPORTS
MONDAy,
MARCh 4, 2019
9
Both Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar brought up their highest Test scores.
Photo: AP
Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah
ace the short-ball test
Sports Desk: After Bangladesh collapsed
to an innings defeat in Hamilton
despite two fantastic hundreds in the
second innings, their stand-in skipper
Mahmudullah has pointed to the
team's failures in the starkly-contrasted
first innings that saw them being
bowled out for 234 - an underwhelming
score in a high-scoring Test match,
reports Cricbuzz.
"I feel we missed an opportunity in
the first innings," Mahmudullah told
reporters after the match. "We needed
another big innings from someone, and
then the result would have been different.
But I think batsmen will be feeling
positive leading in the second Test."
Bangladesh went on to lose the opening
Test by an innings and 52 runs but
in the process gave a good account of
themselves for the first time in the
series. Mahmudullah and Soumya
Sarkar scored brilliant hundreds, and
their highest Test scores in the process,
on the morning of the fourth day.
The visitors had earlier crumbled to
234 in their first innings after being put
into bat and went on to the back foot
after New Zealand posted their highest
Test total of 715 for 6 before declaring
on the third day. Bangladesh were 174
for 4 overnight, meaning they had to
something extraordinary to survive the
Test on the fourth day.
Mahmudullah made 146 whereas
Soumya made 149 runs to make New
Zealand sweat, something New
Zealand skipper Kane Williamson also
admitted, as the visitors braved it all -
reverse swing, bodyline, spin into the
rough, swing - to take some confidence
ahead of the second Test.
Mahmudullah hailed Soumya for his
brave hundred as he felt that he was the
major reason they could put up 255
runs for the fifth wicket.
"Soumya's role was important at that
time. He was batting with good rhythm
and he was taking risks," said Mahmudullah.
"He was hitting boundaries
and disturbing the bowler's line and
lengths. He was doing that successfully.
Our partnership was growing nicely.
"I didn't give away wickets first hour
of the play. If we can survive the first
hour, we knew we will finish it off nicely,"
he said. Mahmudullah said that he
was prepared not to take any extra risk
initially and just wanted to make sure
he does not fall into the trap of the
opposition.
"I took time, I knew when the bowlers
get tired, that is when I will take my
chances. They were bowling bouncers
and yorkers when I was batting, I was
well aware of that.
"Wagner was very good with his back
of the length deliveries. He was trying
the bowl bouncers. Boult-Southee were
trying to swing the new ball. I guess
that's what their process is. When the
ball was new, they try to swing it and
the when the ball gets older, they bowl
bouncers. Our batsmen are well aware
of that. Hopefully we will keep that in
mind in the next test match," Mahmudullah
said, adding that Tamim
Iqbal gave him the confidence to play
some pull and hook shots that he usually
does not play in the middle as they
aren't his areas of strength.
"Tamim batted very well against
them, Wagner was bowling from round
the wicket into his body, Tamim is the
best batsman in the team when it
comes to pull and hook shot. I like the
idea and I applied it in my batting."
Barcelona beat Real Madrid to
edge closer to La Liga title
Sports Desk: Barcelona won their
second Clasico in four days on Saturday
and Real Madrid might have to win the
Champions League if Santiago Solari is
to be in charge for the next one, reports
BSS.
After knocking them out of the Copa
del Rey on Wednesday, Barca returned
to the Santiago Bernabeu for a 1-0 victory
that surely eliminates their greatest
rivals from the title race too.
Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos
locked heads after Ramos flung an arm
into Messi's face but, despite the scoreline
and a few half-chances, that was
about the most trouble Madrid caused.
Messi would have been proud of Ivan
Rakitic's delightful chip, a rare moment
of precision that in the end settled
another Clasico high on vigour but
lacking in either real quality or rhythm.
"What we wanted was to deliver our
best and to inflict damage on our rival,"
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said.
"We have done that."
The onus was on Madrid, not only to
make amends for their defeat in midweek
but to reduce the nine-point gap
between them and La Liga's leaders.
Instead, Barcelona extended it to 12
and the way their players jumped up
and down in front of the away fans after
the final whistle suggested they felt this
was a major hurdle overcome.
Barcelona also now own 96 victories
in this fixture to Real Madrid's 95, the
first time they have been in front in 87
years. When Solari took over in
November, his team were seven points
adrift of the Catalans and the fact the
deficit has almost doubled since might
not reflect the improvement in performances.
But this was the first time
Madrid have lost three in a row at home
in 15 years and these are surely the
matches president Florentino Perez
will remember when he considers his
coach's future next summer. "You go
through spells, sometimes everything
goes for you and sometimes it doesn't,"
said Solari. "In these two games it hasn't."
All that realistically remains now is
the Champions League, in which
Madrid will carry a 2-1 lead into Tuesday's
second leg at home to Ajax.
Europe has rescued them before and
it also revived Gareth Bale, who
endured another frustrating night on
only his third start in 10 games.
Bale was largely anonymous again
and when substituted in the second
half, he departed not just to a scattering
of whistles from the home crowd but a
chorus.
"He tried, like the rest of the players,"
said Solari. It took Busquets 89 seconds
to be booked and only a few more for
Bale to send the free-kick over the bar
but Madrid started with purpose, like a
team determined to right the wrongs of
before. Their early impetus faded
though as Barca, driven on by Messi,
took control. Messi skipped through
three players in midfield and was furious
with Ousmane Dembele when he
missed his late run into the box.
He then weaved in behind with the
help of a Luis Suarez touch but, to
everyone's surprise, the trademark lifted
finish floated wide.
Rakitic showed him how to do it. He
played the ball wide to Sergi Roberto,
continued his run behind Ramos and
received it back, before feathering a
delightful chip over Thibaut Courtois.
Barca were comfortable but the game
erupted on the stroke of half-time.
Ramos won the ball from Messi but,
with his arm outstretched, left it long
enough to catch his opponent in the
face. Messi pointed to his lip and then
butted heads with Ramos but referee
Alberto Mallenco saw nothing worthy
of punishment.
Madrid pushed for an equaliser but
their desperation showed. Benzema
failed to connect while Vinicius Juniors'
rushed shot was blocked.
Bale was hauled off just after the
hour, replaced by Marco Asensio, and
even Isco came on in the 76th minute,
for his longest appearance since the
end of January.
Raphael Varane might have snatched
a late equaliser but his header was
weak. Barcelona were left celebrating
again.
Roger Federer reaches
next level with 100th
career title
Sports Desk: Roger Federer
has claimed the 100th
ATP title of his career by
beating 20-year-old Greek
Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 in
the final of the Dubai Tennis
Championships on Sunday
morning (AEDT), reports
AP.
The 20-time grand slam
champion became the second
man in the Open Era to
claim 100 titles after American
Jimmy Connors, who
won 109.
Swiss great Federer also
avenged his shock defeat by
Tsitsipas in the Australian
Open fourth round in
January.
"I'm delighted. It's great to
win my eighth here in Dubai
and in combination with my
100th singles title," Federer
said. "It's been a difficult
week for me, tough opponents
throughout but credit
to Stefanos as well, he played
a great tournament."
Federer reiterated he
doesn't play the sport to
break records but admitted
reaching triple figures of
career titles was a special
occasion.
"As for records, we live in
an age where every record
has to be shattered, but not
for me," he said.
"We'll see how much more
I have left in the tank, but
reaching 100 is a dream and
tonight was a very special
evening, but it's not about
breaking every single
record."
Federer, who had been
stuck on 99 titles since triumphing
at his hometown
Basel tournament in October,
broke Tsitsipas in the
first game of the match and
saved two break points at 5-
4 to claim the first set in 36
minutes. Tsitsipas, who will
break into the top 10 for the
first time on Monday, held
firm up to 4-4 in the second
set before the 37-year-old
Federer switched gears to
seal the decisive break and
close out the victory.
Thomas, Gayle star in crushing
win against England
Sports Desk: Oshane Thomas's maiden
five-fer, followed by Chris Gayle's recordbreaking
half-century in a brutal batting
assault on England pacers, helped Windies
draw the five-match ODI series 2-2 with a
commanding seven-wicket win in the final fixture,
at the Darren Sammy National Cricket
Stadium in St. Lucia on Saturday (March 2).
Windies, thus averted their 18th series loss on
the trot in the format, reports Cricbuzz.
Windies meant business in the series
decider, and showed exactly that with their
clinical bowling show to skittle England for
just 113, but the lowly target didn't stop
Gayle from having his own fun. The lefthanded
opener slammed the fastest fifty for
a West Indian, off just 19 deliveries, studded
with half-a-dozen sixes, to better Sammy's
record of 20 balls, and in the process, set up
the hosts' easy win with more than 36 overs
to spare and even before a formal "innings
break".
Set a target of 114, Gayle blew the English
bowlers away with his whirlwind 27-ball 77
that included nine sixes and five more boundaries.
He went after Chris Wokaes and later
Mark Wood, but almost single-handedly dictated
the chase for the eight overs that he lasted
in the middle.
Woakes was hit for back-to-back boundaries
and then a six in his opening over itself,
and there was no turning back from there. His
next over yielded 23 runs, including three sixes.
Wookes, and England, momentarily
thought the carnage was over when he had the
batsman caught in the deep off a short delivery
but the umpire deemed it a no-ball for it
was his third bouncer in the over. Gayle took
the attack to Wood next, who was dispatched
for five sixes and a boundary in the space of
two overs.
England did pick up some consolation wickets
with Wood dismissing the two openers
and Woakes disturbing Shai Hopes's stumps
in the ninth over, after having leaked 50 in his
five-over spell by then. But with Windies 95
for 3 at that point, it was hardly going to bother
them. Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer
wrapped up the formalities off the first ball of
the 13th over to give Windies a series-levelling
win without breaking a sweat.
Earlier in the day, Windies pacers rattled
England with short balls after Jason Holder
put the opposition in to bat in bowling-friendly
conditions. Nearly all of England's batsmen
got starts, but Windies' regular strikes prevented
any partnerships from flourishing. The
platform was laid by the early strikes of Sheldon
Cottrell and Holder, before Carlos Brathwaite
piled on more damage in his miserly
eight-over spell, and Thomas eventually ran
through the tail. England lost their last-five
men for the addition of just two runs, and
eventually folded for their lowest ever score
against Windies barely days after posting their
highest ever.
Chris Gayle cracked a 19-ball half-century against England during 5th ODI
in St Lucia.
Photo: AP
Two El Clasico wins in four days for Barcelona as Rakitic scores winner against Real Madrid.
Photo: AP
Man City beat
Bournemouth
to take Premier
League top spot
Sports Desk: Pep Guardiola
hailed his "incredible"
Manchester City players
after the Premier League
champions dug deep to beat
Bournemouth 1-0 on Saturday
and return to the top of
the table, reports BSS.
Riyad Mahrez's 55thminute
goal eventually settled
matters at the Vitality
Stadium, moving City two
points ahead of title rivals
Liverpool ahead of the Reds'
Merseyside derby meeting
with Everton on Sunday.
City were made to work for
the win against a
Bournemouth side who
defended in numbers and
failed to register a single
attempt on goal. But City
manager Guardiola was
impressed with the way his
players stuck to their task,
insisting their performance
underlined they have no
intention of giving up their
title easily.
"We made one of the best
performances we have
played, they (Bournemouth)
were very organised," said
Guardiola. "But they didn't
have one shot, we defended
well from throw-ins and
free-kicks." The Spaniard
added: "We created a few
chances, people should
understand how difficult it is
to attack 11 players (who are
defending). Thanks to the
players, they are absolutely
incredible. "We demand a
lot of the players without
giving them the time to rest
physiologically.
Sheikh Jamal, Doleshwar battle
to reach zenith in DPL T20
Sports Desk: Shikeh Jamal Dhanmondi Club
takes on Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in the
final of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) T20
on Monday to clinch the trophy of the tournament,
dubbed as the stepping stone of making
the pipeline of local T20 players stronger,
reports BSS.
While Sheikh Jamal showed an outright
power to move to the final, Doleshwar had fair
share of luck to seal the spot here.
After beating Khelaghar Samaj Kallayan
Samity and Uttara Sporting Club quite comfortably
in the group phase, Jamal faced off more
powerful team-Shinepukur Cricket Club in the
first semifinal. But they overhauled
Shinepukur's 181-7 pretty comfortably that they
showed their depth in the team. Hard-hitter
batsman Ziaur Rahman was specially in form,
smashing a 29 ball-72 not out that helped
Jamal gun down the Shinepukur's total with 14
balls to spare.
Doleshwar tied a low-scoring affair against
BKSP in the first match. Because of the tie, the
match went to super over in which BKSP held
its never to prevail the game. However Doleshwar
came back in winning-way by narrowly
edging Gazi Group Cricketers past by three
wickets and sealed the last-four spot with better
run-rate. They locked horn Prime Bank Cricket
Club in the semifinal and were in cornered state
before captain Farhad Reza blasted 8 balls-24
not out to sail them through to the final.
Considering the form and depth of the team,
Sheikh Jamal looked more favourite than the
Doleshwar but its captain Nurul Hasan said
that they need to deliver when it matters most.
"In T20 cricket, there is nothing like big team or
small team. You have to perform on given day
and that matters the most," Hasan said today at
Academy ground of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla
National Cricket Stadium.
"The tournament has been competitive and
all team is equal as far as the strength is concerned.
But it's right that the balance of our
team is very good. The matter is to perform
according to the situation. Hopefully we can
show our mettle."
The tournament is considered as the build-up
for the Dhaka Premier League 50-over format,
alongside helping the local players to get more
exposure in T20 format.
Hasan said the wicket was really good for batting
which helped the batsmen flourish at a
moment when there was enormous criticism
that the local batsmen are not the good hitters
of the ball.
"In the semifinal game we lost top order very
early in the chase of a big total. Ziaur Rahman
came up and played shots at his will. His
innings and snatching victory from the jaws of
defeat boosted our morale. His innings also
showed that our players can play big shots in
this format," Hasan revealed.
Prime Doleshwar captain Farhad Reza
accepted the fact that the team depth of the
Sheikh Jamal was superb but refused to give up
the hopes.
"You never know what would happen at this
shortest version of the cricket. Every team has
the chance and it is the matter to grab the
chance with both hands."
But Reza knew he would have to take the
onus if he wants a trophy for the side. Reza has
been in good form with both batting and bowling
since the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)
T20 tournament. Even in the last semifinal he
claimed his career best 5-32 before helping the
side overcome Prime Bank's big total with a
whirlwind innings.
Knowing that all effort would go in vain if he
can't deliver in the final match, he said, "I will
try to keep up the consistency and hopefully I
would deliver for the side when it matters
most."