T20 WC begins Tuesday

Just a day away from the ICC World Twenty20 2016 to be held in eight venues in the next 26 days where 16 men’s teams and ten women’s teams will go head to head to determine the world champion in the format with much entertainment is waiting

 

Bangladesh men’s team already left the capital for India on Monday while Bangladesh Women’s team will depart Dhaka for India on Tuesday to participate in the ICC World Twenty20’2016. 

 

Although the Bangladesh men’s team will play in the qualifying round for a berth in finalymp[oy, but the Bangladesh women’s will directly play in the 10-team final round taking on hosts Indian on March 15 in Bengaluru. 

 

Bangladesh women’s put in Group B of the World T20 with England, India, Pakistan and West Indies. 

 

In the men’s competition, Hong Kong will play Zimbabwe at 3:30 pm (BST) while Afghanistan will face Scotland at 8:pm (BST) in Group B matches, both at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha in Nagpur.

 

Bengal Tigers will start their World Cup campaign taking Netherlands in Group A opener of men’s group at 3:30 pm (BST) at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala while Ireland will play Oman at 8 pm (BST) at the same venue.

 

In remaining group A matches, Bangladesh will play Ireland on March 11 and meet Oman on March 13, both at Dharamsala. 

 

Eight teams, split into two groups will initially competing in the first round qualifiers for the two top spots of the groups to play in the 10-team final round, will begin on March 15, both at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. 

 

Eight teams are (Men’s Group):

Group A - Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands and Oman. 

Group B - Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Scotland and Zimbabwe.

The Super-10 teams of the final round are:

Group 1 : England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Group B champion

Group 2 : Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan,Group A champions.

In the recent six T20 matches, Tigers lost to Zimbabwe by 18 runs, lost to India by 45 runs, beat UAE by 51 runs, beat Sri Lanka by 23 runs, beat Pakistan by five-wicket and lost to India by eight-wickets in the Asia Cup final.

Bangladesh didn’t enjoy a lot of success in the next three editions of the tournament, losing both its matches in the group stage in 2009, 2010 and 2012. However, in the 2014 edition, it made most of the home advantage and advanced to the Super-10 stage after beating Afghanistan and Nepal in the group stage. Victory proved to be elusive in the Super 10 stage as Bangladesh lost all its four matches and finished tenth among 16 teams.

Bangladesh men’s team: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Arafat Sunny, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rehman, Abu Hider, Nurul Hasan, Al-Amin Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammed Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman.

Bangladesh Women’s team: Jahanara Alam (capt.); Ayasha Rahman; Fahima Khatun; Fargana Hoque; Khadiza Tul Kubra; Lata Mondal; Nahida Akhter; Nigar Sultana; Panna Ghosh; Ritu Moni; Rumana Ahmed; Salma Khatun; Sanjida Islam; Shaila Sharmin and Sharmin Akhter 

 

Fixtures of Men’s Group (Indian time):

March 8, 2016 Hong Kong v Zimbabwe Nagpur 3pm

March 8, 2016 Afghanistan v Scotland Nagpur 7.30 pm

March 9, 2016 Bangladesh v Netherlands Dharamsala 3pm

March 9, 2016 Ireland v Oman Dharamsala 7.30 pm

March 10, 2016 Scotland v Zimbabwe Nagpur 3pm

March 10, 2016 Afghanistan v Hong Kong Nagpur 7.30 pm

March 11, 2016 Oman v Netherlands Dharamsala 3pm

March 11, 2016 Bangladesh v Ireland Dharamsala 7.30 pm

March 12, 2016 Afghanistan v Zimbabwe Nagpur 3pm

March 12, 2016 Hong Kong v Scotland Nagpur 7.30 pm

March 13, 2016 Ireland v Netherlands Dharamsala 3pm

March 13, 2016 Bangladesh v Oman Dharamsala 7.30 pm

March 15, 2016 India v New Zealand Nagpur 7.30 pm

March 16, 2016 Pakistan v A1 Kolkata 3pm

March 16, 2016 England v West Indies Mumbai 7.30 pm

March 17, 2016 Sri Lanka v B1 Kolkata 7.30 pm

March 18, 2016 Australia v New Zealand Dharamsala 3pm

March 18, 2016 England v South Africa Mumbai 7.30 pm

March 19, 2016 India v Pakistan Dharamsala 7.30 pm

March 20, 2016 South Africa v B1 Mumbai 3pm

March 20, 2016 Sri Lanka v West Indies Bengaluru 7.30 pm

March 21, 2016 Australia v A1 Bengaluru 7.30 pm

March 22, 2016 New Zealand v Pakistan Mohali 7.30 pm

March 22, 2016 England v B1 Delhi 3pm

March 23, 2016 India v A1 Bengaluru 7.30 pm

March 25, 2016 Australia v Pakistan Mohali 3pm

March 25, 2016 South Africa v West Indies Nagpur 7.30 pm

March 26, 2016 A1 v New Zealand Kolkata 3pm

March 26, 2016 England v Sri Lanka Delhi 7.30 pm

March 27, 2016 B1 v West Indies Nagpur 3pm

March 27, 2016 India v Australia Mohali 7.30 pm

March 28, 2016 South Africa v Sri Lanka Delhi 7.30 pm

March 30, 2016 TBD v TBD Delhi 7pm

March 31, 2016 TBD v TBD Mumbai 7pm

April 3, 2016 TBD v TBD Kolkata 7pm

 

Fixtures : Women's Group:

March 15, 2016 India v Bangladesh Bengaluru 3.30 pm

March 15, 2016 New Zealand v Sri Lanka Delhi 7.30 pm

March 16, 2016 West Indies v Pakistan Chennai 7.30 pm

March 17, 2016 England v Bangladesh Bengaluru 3.30 pm

March 18, 2016 New Zealand v Ireland Mohali 3.30 pm

March 18, 2016 Australia v South Africa Nagpur 7.30 pm

March 19, 2016 India v Pakistan Delhi 3.30 pm

March 20, 2016 West Indies v Bangladesh Chennai 3.30 pm

March 20, 2016 Sri Lanka v Ireland Mohali 7.30 pm

March 21, 2016 Australia v New Zealand Nagpur 3.30 pm

March 22, 2016 England v India Dharamshala 3.30 pm

March 23 2016 South Africa v Ireland Chennai 7.30 pm

March 24, 2016 Australia v Sri Lanka Delhi 3.30 pm

March 24, 2016 England v West Indies Dharamshala 7.30 pm

March 24, 2017 Pakistan v Bangladesh Delhi 7.30 pm

March 26, 2016 Australia v Ireland Delhi 3.30 pm

March 26, 2016 South Africa v New Zealand Bengaluru 7.30 pm

March 27, 2016 West Indies v India Mohali 3.30 pm

March 27, 2016 England v Pakistan Chennai 7.30 pm

March 28, 2016 South Africa v Sri Lanka Bengaluru 3.30 pm

March 30, 2016 TBD v TBD Delhi 2.30 pm

March 31, 2016 TBD v TBD Mumbai 2.30 pm

April 3, 2016 TBD v TBD Kolkata 2.30 pm

Preview of Asia Cup T20 Bangladesh face Pakistan today

Bangladesh are expected to put up a tough fight against Pakistan despite the absence of their main strike bowler Mustafizur Rahaman in an Asia Cup round robin league encounter at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur in the city on Wednesday, report agencies. It will be a must-win game for both teams aiming to make it to the finals of the continental championship ahead of the ICC World T20. Especially for Bangladesh, who despite their recent exploits in the ODI circuit, are still not taken very seriously in the shortest format. For Mashrafe Mortaza and his men, it will be an opportunity to prove their critics wrong and also gain the much needed confidence required before boarding the flight to India for the global event. The injury to Mustafizur is something that will be a cause of concern for the home team. Mustafizur's variations would have no doubt troubled the Pakistan batting line-up, which has looked shaky despite their seven wicket win against United Arab Emirates the other day. The presence of the left-arm seamer during the death overs would have increased pressure on the Pakistanis, who have not been at their best in the two matches they played so far. But the good news for Bangladesh is the return of senior opener Tamim Iqbal, who is back after the birth of his first child. Tamim would like to give the home team a cracking start something they have lacked in all three matches so far. On the other hand, Pakistan's batting has been woeful in the first game against India, where they were shot out for a meagre 83 while UAE also gave them a scare blowing away the top order for only 17 runs. Even Pakistan coach Waqar Younis conceded that he did not know what stopped the openers Sharjeel Khan and Mohammed Hafeez from playing fearless cricket. However, Waqar praised the attitude of veteran cricketer Shoaib Malik, who played a responsible innings of 63 against UAE last night. "I mean things have been messy (about Shoaib) in the past but now he is a teamman. Also having played in leagues all across the world, he has gained a lot of experience in this format. This particular format actually suits him also," he said. The best part about Pakistan team has been their bowling attack, which is now led by rehabilitated pacer Mohammed Amir, who has been splendid in both the matches. If Amir looked fearsome against India with pace and swing, he showed admirable control against UAE bowling 21 dot balls in his figures of 4-1-6-2. But Amir would certainly require help from senior bowlers like Mohammed Sami, who has been wayward so far. Mohammed Irfan has extracted a lot of bounce with his height but has not looked penetrative enough. It will also be interesting to find out whether the Pakistan team management persists with left-arm spinner Mohammed Nawaz or bring back experienced campaigner Wahab Riaz. SQUADS: Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammed Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyadh, Nurul Hasan (wk), Taskin Ahmed, Al Amin Hossain, Imrul Kayes, Abu Hider, Arafat Sunny, Nasir Hossain. Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammed Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Amir, Wahab Riaz, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammed Irfan, Mohammed Sami, Mohammed Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim.

Mustafizur Rahman (C) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of the Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja during the first One Day International (ODI) cricket match between Bangladesh and India at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on June 18, 2015

Mustafizur Rahman (C) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of the Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja during the first One Day International (ODI) cricket match between Bangladesh and India at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on June 18, 2015
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India team director Ravi Shastri has forgotten all about the Mustafizur-mauling his side received on their way to a maiden series loss to Bangladesh only eight months ago in 2015.
"That was eight months ago, I've already forgotten about it," he said. "There's been plenty of cricket since. Ask about what's been going on in the last two months. Anything before that, I don't have in my memory." Ravi Shashtri told  ahead of the opening match of the Asia Cup’s main round on February 24 against Bangladesh at Mirpur stadium.
Shastri is more than aware of the hosts' threat though, after a breakout 2015 when they reached their first World Cup quarter-final and secured maiden series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa.

"I've seen cricket in Bangladesh grow, I've come here right through the 90s as a broadcaster. I'm happy to see the way cricket has developed and I'm happy to see the Bangladesh has evolved as a team. No team can take them lightly as they showed last year playing one-day cricket and tribute to them. So they have the respect of every opposition and India will be no different." Indian team director explained.
India’s first challenge to claim the Asia Cup, which will be played in T20 format for the first time, will come from Bangladesh. The last time these teams met in 2015, India were left shell-shocked after Mustafizur ripped through their much-vaunted batting line-up with ruthless efficiency.
The Bangladeshi pacer claimed five wickets on ODI debut and then six more in the next game to spearhead a 2-1 series victory. The cricketing world stood up and took notice, as Mustafizur mesmerized Indian batters with a canny mix of cutters and seam-up deliveries. The awkward bounce Mustafizur extracted from Mirpur’s pitch on top of prodigious seam movement made him too hot to handle for India.
The Indian media praised Mustafizur for his outstanding performance in the second game of the series after he blew away the Men in Blue with six wickets for 43 runs.
''Bangladesh produced a clinical performance with the ball and then backed it up with the bat to claim a remarkable six-wicket victory against India in the second One-Day International (ODI) and thus clinch the three-match series 2-0 here on Sunday,'' reported NDTV. Mustafizur Rahman took 13 wickets in 3 games against India at an average of 11.53. 6/43 was his best bowling performance.

“Bangladesh's left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman (6-43) was the star of the match.” NDTV added. Sunil Gavaskar, in an interview with NDTV, praised the tigers' historical series win, saying, ''The baccha of world cricket have now grown up''.
He said the Bangla tigers played much superior cricket than India, who struggled to put on a show with the bat.
Praising the young tigers, Indian English daily The Times of India reported, ''They [Tigers] dominated India in both the matches of the series… 19-year-old Mustafizur Rahman was the architect of another Bangladesh win …''
Press Trust of India’s website had the lead photo of Bangladesh team’s celebration.
Anandabazar Patrika hinted that Dhoni’s team is now under threat of a “Banglawash” – a clean sweep in the series 3-0.
The Hindu credited 19-year-old left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman for a win over India.
“The cub roared like a full-grown tiger as he had Ashwin at his wit’s end and became only the second bowler after Zimbabwean Brian Vitori to record five-for performances in his first two ODIs,” it said on Mustafizur.
After the extensive coverage by Indian media on their maiden ODI series loss to Tigers, it is rather startling to hear Ravi Shastri say he has completely forgotten about the mauling from Mustafizur Rahman.
India team director appeared quite comfortable a repeat of that will not happen, but Mustafizur knows better…he is waiting to make India remember his deadly cutters once again!

Asia Cup T20 Pace revolution in spinners' den

It is a little surreal that a country that has little or no history of encouraging pace bowlers now captures the imaginations of cricket fans the world over with exciting pace bowling. It is a country where pace bowlers inhabit teams in the domestic competitions apparently only to make up the number because their role is limited to taking the shine off the new ball for the slow bowlers to take charge, most pace bowlers have to beg for a team in domestic cricket. It is a country where the word bowling was not too long ago synonymous with left-arm spin.

 

 

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh's selectors have shown great faith in their quicker bowlers as they have included five pacers in the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 and Asia Cup T20 competitions. The Bangladesh team management have shown courage to play with a four-pronged pace attack in the ongoing Asia Cup. Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza have received accolades from laymen and cricket pundits alike. There may not be an express fast bowler -- Taskin tops out at around 145 kph -- but the attack has the versatility and variation to trouble the best.

A leading pacer in the country in the 1990s, Golam Nowsher Prince follows Bangladesh cricket from thousands of miles away and is immensely proud of the rise of pace bowling in his country. “I can assure you, any avid lover of the game would love to watch the exciting pace bowling of this Bangladesh team. Without any doubt we have a better pace attack than any Asian attack so why not utilise that advantage. I have always dreamt of such pace bowling throughout my career, but one thing I can tell you is that I was not as good as them,” said an excited left-arm pace bowler. “They look like they read the game better than any other fast bowler in our sub-continent. Especially Mustafizur, he looks so mature,” he continued.

Was it an easy decision to change the age-old concept? Maybe it was Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha who started the process of change when he preferred pace-friendly wickets in the home series against India in June 2014. 

It was then new skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who argued that only a good pace attack can bring more success and respect from the opponents, and that an attacking brand of cricket required at least three specialist pace bowlers in the team. 

What Bangladesh did in the World Cup in Australia-New Zealand under the leadership of Mashrafe is now history. The success owed a huge debt to their pace-bowling prowess on conducive wickets.  Memories of that World Cup cannot be related without mention of Rubel Hossain, who claimed four wickets to shoot England out of the tournament. Later on, the mysterious cutters and slower balls from Mustafizur compelled world cricket to pay serious attention to pace of the Bangladeshi variety.

“Bangladesh has never seen such a good pace attack before. I want to give credit to our coach [Chandika Hathurusingha] and captain [Mashrafe Bin Mortaza] for their proactiveness in bringing a change in the planning. The promise Mashrafee's arrival on the scene held for pace bowling is now being fulfilled through his captaincy,” said chief selector Faruque Ahmed.

“In my opinion it all began when we started to think that we have to consider opponents and conditions before picking the team. You cannot succeed with typical thinking,” he continued.
A new era has begun but will we be able to make it a tradition? “A big opportunity has come our way as young bowlers now love to see pace bowlers as role models. We all know how Imran Khan and Wasim Akram has a big impact on Pakistani pace bowling. You cannot expect that you will always get gifted bowlers; only the system can aid you in the long run,” he opined.
So it is up to the powers that be to ensure that the current pace wealth is not a comet but a constant star.

YOUNG AND HUNGRY: After years of reliance on slower bowlers, Bangladesh have suddenly unearthed a young crop of fast bowlers who are already making their mark in world cricket and taking the team to the next level. PHOTO: STAR FILE

UAE use their lessons, Tigers not so much

After losing the match against Sri Lanka by 14 runs on Thursday, UAE skipper Amjad Javed was not disheartened and not bothered about playing two days in a row at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Instead, he said he was looking forward to the match against Bangladesh on Friday as he was eager to carry the lessons into the Bangladesh match.
UAE did what any team in their position must do to compete, which is learn their lesson and move forward. They sussed the pitch, which was better for batting than the strip used the previous day, but had some more bounce. As Mohammad Mithun and Soumya Sarkar sped off to a 46-run stand UAE's bowlers did not panic. They held their nerves as Bangladesh made it to 81 for two in the 12th over. Then a nervy Mithun, nearing his maiden half-century, got himself out in bizarre fashion, trying a run after playing the ball down at his feet with the keeper standing up.
The plan, once they had two new batsmen in the crease in Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, then seemed to be to dry up the runs as best they can and let the batsmen make the mistakes. They also banked on a batting line-up unsure of itself. UAE used their less-than-rich resources to perfection. Rohan Mustafa bowled his off-spinners cannily, mixing up the pace, which led to the confusion that caused Mithun's dismissal. Pacer Mohammad Naveed, on the other hand, played a fantastic hand, extracting pace and lift from the Mirpur surface and dismissing Mushfiqur with a short one outside off -- a combination of injudicious shot selection.
Over the next few overs Javed, Mustafa and Ahmed Reza dried up the boundaries to a point where Shakib missed a juicy full toss to be bowled.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, seemed not to have learnt much from their mediocre batting display against India. There was none of the calm that is needed to rack up the big scores in T20 cricket. Panic, as usual, seemed to infect the entire batting order, except for Mahmudullah Riyad. Soumya repeated his tendency to get carried away, hitting a towering six and then trying to repeat it, but getting caught at mid-on instead.
Mithun's 47 may look good on paper, but every shot he played in the latter stages of his innings seemed to be premeditated when he should have been looking to dig in for the long haul. Nurul Hasan, coming in at number seven at a crucial stage, tried to hit his first ball for six and ended up with a golden duck.
In the end, the Tigers' superior bowling skill and the fact that UAE's batting lags far behind their bowling prowess saved them, but the same story cannot be expected against their other Asia Cup opponents.