1st ODI: Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal's tons guide Bangladesh to rare win over Pakistan

April 18, 2015

Dhaka, Apr 18: Bangladesh outplayed Pakistan by 79 runs in the first one-day international in Dhaka on Friday, in only their second win over their rivals in 48 games across all three formats.

BangladeshTamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim set up the rare win with impressive centuries as the hosts piled up 329 for six after electing to take first strike at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and spinner Arafat Sunny claimed three wickets each as Pakistan were shot out for 250 runs in 45.2 overs to give Bangladesh the lead in the three-match series.

The only other time Bangladesh have beaten Pakistan was during a group match in the 1999 World Cup in England, but the fired-up Tigers dominated Sunday`s day-night game from start to finish.

Left-handed opener Tamim hit 132 off 135 balls and Rahim smashed a 77-ball 106 to steer Bangladesh past their previous best total of 326 for three against the same rivals in 2014.

The pair added 178 runs for the third wicket -- their country`s highest partnership for any wicket -- improving upon the 175 by Habibul Bashar and Rajin Saleh against Kenya in 2006.

"It was a real professional performance by the team," said Shakib Al Hasan, who led Bangladesh in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza, who served a one-match ban for slow over-rates during the World Cup.

"It was a good pitch to bat on and Tamim and Mushfiq batted really well. After that we just wanted to contain their batsmen and I think our bowling unit rose to the occasion."

Tamim and Rahim ruined off-spinner Saeed Ajmal`s comeback to international cricket after an absence of eight months due to an illegal bowling action.

Ajmal conceded 74 runs in 10 wicketless overs with his remodelled action to finish with his worst one-day bowling figures.

Bangladesh scored only seven runs in Ajmal`s first four overs, before Tamim and Rahim lashed out at the spin spearhead.

Tamim hit 15 boundaries and three sixes in his fifth one-day century and Rahim smashed 13 fours and two sixes after being dropped by Junaid Khan when he was on 35.The match marked the start of a new era for Pakistan cricket following the one-day retirement of skipper Misbah-ul Haq and senior all-rounder Shahid Afridi after the World Cup.

The current team comprised just four players who took part in the World Cup, giving new ODI captain Azhar Ali a relatively inexperienced bunch of tourists.

Azhar led Pakistan`s batting charge with 72 off 73 runs after first two wickets had fallen for 59 runs.

Azhar shared a third-wicket stand of 89 runs with Haris Sohail to give Pakistan a glimmer of hope, before Taskin removed both batsmen.

Haris hit 51 off 64 balls, but after his departure only debutant Mohammad Rizwan defied the Bangladesh bowlers with a fluent 67.

The match swung decisively Bangladesh`s way when Sunny dismissed Fawad Alam (14) and debutant Saad Nasim in the 40th over.

Taskin finished with three for 42 and left-arm spinner Sunny took three for 47 runs.

Azhar promised a better outing in the next match.

"We made some mistakes in the field and dropped catches at the wrong time, but the credit goes to the Bangladesh batsmen," he said. "I think we conceded 30 to 40 runs more than we should have.

"But there were some positives for us too. I thought Rizwan batted soundly in his first match. We will rectify our mistakes and come back strongly in the next game."

The second and third one-dayers will also be held at the same venue on April 17 and 22.

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News Network
July 6,2020

New Delhi, Jul 6: India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly says improved fitness standards and a change in culture have led to the country developing one of the world's best pace attacks.

Spearheads Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are part of a battery of five formidable quick bowlers that have helped change India's traditional reliance on spin bowling.

"You know culture has changed in India that we can be good fast bowlers," Ganguly said in a chat hosted on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Twitter feed.

"Fitness regimes, fitness standards not only just among fast bowlers but also among the batters, that has changed enormously. That has made everyone understand and believe that we are fit, we are strong and we can also bowl fast like the others did."

The West Indies dominated world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s led by a fearsome pace attack that included all-time greats such as Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner.

Recently Indian quicks have risen to the top in world cricket with Shami, Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a deadly arsenal.

"The West Indies in my generation were naturally strong," the former India captain said.

"We Indians were never such naturally strong... but we worked hard to get strong. But I think it is the change in culture as well that is very important."

Shami last month claimed that the current Indian pace attack may be the best in Test history.

"You and everyone else in the world will agree to this -- that no team has ever had five fast bowlers together as a package," said Shami.

"Not just now, in the history of cricket, this might be the best fast-bowling unit in the world."

Shami took 13 wickets during India's 3-0 home Test sweep over South Africa last year, while Bumrah has claimed 68 scalps in 14 Tests since his debut.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

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