The enthusiastic public response for the Indian Premier League parade has convinced the league’s chairman that the tournament’s move to South Africa has already been a success. The second edition of the world’s biggest Twenty20 tournament was moved out of India last month due to security concerns and logical issues surrounding the general elections currently ... Read more
Sports
Tigers eager to make eleven
Indian Premier League Tigers eager to make eleven There is little chance to see Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful playing in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that kicks off today at Newlands in Cape Town. The Tigers skipper may be seen in the ‘dugout’ (players’ waiting area) just beyond the rope while ... Read more
Rajasthan Royals face tough title defence opener
When the glitz and the glamour of the build-up to the Indian Premier League makes way for cricket action today, past form will not count for much. Defending champions the Rajasthan Royals could find it tough this time around, starting with their opening clash against Bangalore Royal Challengers in the second match of a double ... Read more
‘On the right track’
As the qualification battle for a place in the AFC Challenge Cup finals gets nearer, new Bangladesh head coach Edson ‘Dido’ Silva is putting pressure on the gas pedal to prepare the team for his first assignment. The Brazilian has entered the second week of training with his charges, who will compete with Myanmar, Cambodia ... Read more
Indian cricket stars take guard on tricky election pitch
Soft-spoken, laid back and a reluctant orator, former Test captain Mohammad Azharuddin hardly fits the image of the archetypal boisterous Indian politician. Yet Azharuddin is the latest entrant in a growing list of former cricketers sucked into the election whirlpool by political parties hoping their star status in cricket-mad India will translate into votes. Other ... Read more
Ashraful breaks into top 10 finally
National skipper Mohammad Ashraful finished among the top 10 batsmen in the Dhaka Premier League thanks to his solid performance in the Super League phase, revealed the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Ashraful hammered four successive half-centuries in five matches of the Super League to add 285 runs to his 258 from the 10 games of the ... Read more
Two practice matches for Dido’s boys
The Bangladesh national football team will play two practice matches on April 16 and April 20 ahead of their AFC Challenge Cup Group-A fixtures. The Bangladesh Football Federation has decided that one of the matches will be played outside Dhaka and if possible against a foreign side. Bangladesh will play against Myanmar, Cambodia and either ... Read more
Shuvo knocking on the door
Promising batsman Shamsur Rahman caught the eyes of none other than Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya during the just concluded Premier Division Cricket League. And there was a genuine reason in the eulogies as the elegant Mohammedan right-hander not only finished as the highest run-getter in the country’s most coveted competition with 677 runs in ... Read more
India scent victory
India were on the brink of their first series win in New Zealand since 1968 after the hosts lost four second-innings wickets still needing 450 runs for victory in the third Test in Wellington on Monday. New Zealand were struggling at 167 for four when bad light stopped play almost an hour early on the ... Read more
Pakistan pick three ICL rebels in World T20 squad
KARACHI: Pakistan on Monday took a giant stride towards recalling their Indian Cricket League (ICL) rebels by including three of them in a 30-man preliminary squad for the 2009 World Twenty20 Championship to be held in England in June. Seasoned all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and opener Imran Nazir are the three ICL ... Read more
Shoaib is back, yet again!
Pakistan include controversial pacer in 15-man squad for series against Australia KARACHI: Controversial pacer Shoaib Akhtar made yet another comeback on Monday when he was named in a 15-man squad for the one-day series against Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Chief selector Abdul Qadir said that Shoaib has completely recovered from a knee injury ... Read more
Local Snippets
Railway Hospital Colony City Corporation High School were awarded the second semifinal of the Standard Chartered Young Tigers Under 16 National School Tournament yesterday at the City Club Ground in Dhaka. The match was abandoned due to rain and Railway School got the better of Faridpur Zilla School because of a better average run-rate. Railway ... Read more
Rahul catches world record
India cricketer and former captain Rahul Dravid has broken the world record for the number of catches in Test matches by an outfielder. When Dravid helped to dismiss the New Zealand batsman Tim McIntosh on Monday it was his 182nd catch in a Test career going back to 1996. Dravid’s landmark was reached on the ... Read more
Lanka rewards Pak bus driver
Sri Lanka rewarded a Pakistani coach driver with 21,800 dollars for his role in protecting the island’s cricket team during last month’s gun and grenade attack in Lahore in a ceremony held at Colombo. Meher Mohammad Khalil was hailed as a hero for driving the team to safety after their coach was attacked by suspected ... Read more
Kaka to join Real in 60 million euro deal
MADRID – Florentino Perez, the favourite to win June elections for Real Madrid president, has reached an agreement with AC Milan to sign Brazilian star Kaka, a newspaper reported Monday. Real will pay 60 million euros (80 million dollars) for the midfielder under the accord Perez reached during a meeting with AC Milan vice-president Adriano ... Read more
Motor Racing: Twilight F1 racing under review in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: New Prime Minister Najib Razak has waded into the debate about twilight Formula One racing, saying the 5pm start time at the chaotic Malaysian Grand Prix needs to be reviewed. Sunday’s race, won by Britain’s Jenson Button, was called off after 32 of the 56 laps when a huge storm flooded the track ... Read more
Motor Racing: Button wins abandoned Malaysian F1 Grand Prix
SEPANG, Malaysia: Jenson Button in a Brawn won a chaotic Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday for a second straight victory after the race was abandoned when a ferocious storm lashed the Sepang circuit. Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber came second, benefiting from pitting only once to Button’s four times in a race that became ... Read more
A Torun surprise
Surjo Torun completed a near fairytale run in the Premier League in dashing style when they handed champions Abahani a four-wicket defeat at the BKSP in Savar yesterday. The victory for the Dhanmondi lightweights against their heavyweight neighbours meant that they finished runners-up, a success they have never achieved before in the coveted domestic club ... Read more
National hockey team preparing for Asia Cup
The preparation of Bangladesh national hockey team is going on in full swing for the forthcoming 8th Asia Cup under the guidance of German coaches at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in the city. Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) has appointed two high profile German coaches for the Bangladesh national team ahead of the Asia Cup, ... Read more
Ash in Mumbai colours
Indian Premier League Ash in Mumbai colours Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful left the capital yesterday with a promise to live up to his billing as a ‘pocket dynamo’ for his star-studded side Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) that starts in South Africa from April 18. The exciting right-hander might have scored only ... Read more