Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Imrul, Soumya relish challenge

Bangladesh top-order batsman Imrul Kayes on Wednesday said that the forthcoming two-Test series against South Africa would be no less than a challenge for him as he was struggling with his current form in Test cricket. The left-handed batsman is on the verge of becoming the very few cricketers in the world to see his international career terminated at the same place where he made his Test debut back in 2008.
The 30-year old made his Test at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein nine years back where he was unable to make it memorable scoring 10 and 4 runs respectively in both the innings.
The ground will host the second and last Test match between the Bangladesh and South Africa in the upcoming series from October 6 to 10 and the left-handed batsman would try to avoid such kind of unpleasing landmark.
The southpaw only managed a fifty plus score in his last nine Test innings against England in the home soil in 2016 and after that he could add just 92 runs in the last four Tests at an average of 11.5 only.
After the recent concluding Test series against the Aussies Imrul was criticised heavily for his poor performance with bat for scoring only 21 runs in four innings but the selectors reposed their faith on the experience campaigner in an important series in a country where the Tigers would be touring after nine years.
‘Actually this series is not an exception for me. It’s a challenge for me like every other series,’ Imrul told reporters at Sher-e Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
‘I have taken it as a challenge and rest depends upon the Almighty. I will try to adapt and play well and I’m working hard for that.
‘Previous two Tests were tough for me. I couldn’t perform well in Sri Lanka after getting injured in South Africa (it was New Zealand). I think I was kind of unlucky, if I was not injured – the way I was going, my performance could have been better.
‘The way I played in the past, it was tough for me to continue after coming from the injury. I am well aware of that if I fail to perform well in one series it would create pressure for the next one.
‘I try to score in every series, sometimes I can score and sometimes I fail. In the rest of my career I will try to give my best otherwise it is tough to continue,’ he added.
Currently batted at number-three position, Imrul had also a bitter experience against the Proteas as the left-handed batsman could score 81 runs in six innings both in home and away conditions.
In the bouncy wickets like in South Africa, it might be more difficult for Imrul to enrich his track record against the host country but the left-hander was confident to adjust to the conditions before the series.
‘Everybody knows that South African tracks are bouncy in nature. Bowlers will try to ball in the backup length. During our vacation we practiced in the indoor, and this was the only place for the practice.
‘We will have three days to practice in South Africa and there will be a practice match too. This is the way we will try to adjust before the series,’ he added.
Opening batsman Soumya Sarkar, who also faced criticisms for his recent performances against Australia, was looking forward to forget the previous matches and was confident to execute his plan in the upcoming series.
‘It will be really exciting if we make some good results playing against them in their home condition. I’ll try to perform well and forget what I did in the previous matches,’ said the 24-yar old on Wednesday.
‘I had a plan in the Australia series but I could not execute the plan. I will try to be consistent to play well in the next series,’ he said.

-With New Age input

Related News

Tigers secure historic Test sweep over Pakistan, win series 2-0

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh has carved out a remarkable achievement in cricket, securing 2-0 Test series win against Pakistan on their own soil. Tigers completed 2-0 clean sweep over Pakistan with a six-wicket win in the second and final Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium today. This is the first time the Tigers have ... Read more

Women’s T20 World Cup set to move from Bangladesh to UAE

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is likely to be moved from Bangladesh to the UAE, according to indications from the recent International Cricket Council Board meeting, which took place virtually on Tuesday, reports Cricbuzz. The tournament is scheduled from October 3 to 20. That the global event cannot be played ... Read more

Gautam Gambhir named India head coach

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Star of India’s title-winning campaign in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2011, former opener Gautam Gambhir has been named as the new head coach of the India men’s cricket team. He will take over from Rahul Dravid after a successful ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. The 42-year-old’s most ... Read more

T20 World Cup: India end 11-year-drought for ICC crown after Barbados thriller

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com India came back from behind to beat South Africa by seven runs in the final and become the unbeaten champions of the T20 World Cup 2024 at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday. It was the first time a team won the tournament without losing a single game. It was South ... Read more

ICC punishes Tanzim Sakib for ‘inappropriate physical contact’ against Nepal captain in T20 World Cup

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh seamer Tanzim Hasan Sakib has been fined 15 percent of his match fee for his code of conduct violation on Sunday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) stated in a press release. The incident took place in the third over of the Nepal chase, where amidst a spirited spell Tanzim had ... Read more

Kane Williamson steps down as captain

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Kane Williamson has stepped down as the skipper of the New Zealand white-ball teams and has also declined a central contract from the board for the 2024-25 season following the country’s devastating performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA. “Helping push the team forward across the ... Read more

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by 2 wickets in T20 World Cup thriller

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Towhid Hridoy’s aggression and Litton Das’ calmness backed up the heroic effort from the Bangladesh bowlers and handed Sri Lanka a two-wicket defeat in a tense T20 World Cup game at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas. With the win over Sri Lanka, Bangladesh now are a better-placed team of ... Read more

India crush Bangladesh in final warm-up

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh suffered a crushing 60-run defeat to India in their final official T20 World Cup warm-up match at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York on Saturday. Mahmudullah was the only Bangladesh batter who looked comfortable on a difficult wicket and a big ground. While the others huffed and puffed, ... Read more

Saikat to officiate in T20 World Cup opener

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat will become the first Bangladeshi umpire to officiate at an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup when he stands in the tournament opener between USA and Canada, said an ICC press release on Wednesday. Saikat, 47, took charge of five matches at last year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World ... Read more

BCB announce World Cup squad with Taskin

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Taskin Ahmed, after concerns with a rib injury, has been included in the Bangladesh national team’s 15-man squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA as the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Tuesday. This is also the squad for Bangladesh’s three-match T20I series against USA later this ... Read more

Tigers to tour West Indies in November

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh national cricket team is scheduled to tour the West Indies in November to feature in two Tests, three one-day internationals, and as many T20Is, revealed the Windies Cricket Board in a press release on Saturday. The first Test will begin on November 22 in Antiga, while the second and ... Read more

ICC bans Nasir for two years

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain has been for two years by the International Cricket Council after he accepted three charges of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board’s Anti-Corruption Code. The charges against Nasir were in relation to the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 League. Six months of his two-year ban is suspended, meaning the ... Read more

New Zealand win 3rd T20I to level series 1-1 with Bangladesh

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 17 runs (DLS method) in the third and final T20I of the three-match series against Bangladesh at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday. The win made sure the hosts level the series 1-1 after losing the first match, and the second contest being called ... Read more

New Zealand-Bangladesh second T20I called off due to persistent rain

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The second T20I between New Zealand and Bangladesh of the three-match series at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui has been called off due to persistent rain. New Zealand were 72-2 after 11 overs when the umpires decided the rain was too heavy to continue the proceedings. Shoriful Islam was impressive ... Read more

Shorna seals Tigresses’ historic first-ever T20I win against South Africa

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com All-rounder Shorna Akter stole the show in Benoni as she picked up five wickets to hand Bangladesh women’s national team their first-ever win on South African soil as they beat the Proteas by 13 runs in the first Twenty20 International of the three-match series on Sunday. This is Bangladesh’s first win ... Read more

Bangladesh’s Marufa and Rabeya included in women IPL auction list

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The second edition of the Indian women’s franchise-based Women’s Premier League will take place next year. The auction for the tournament will be held on 9 December this year. Bangladesh cricketers Rabeya Khatun and Marufa Akter are placed in the draft of that auction. The base price of both of them ... Read more

Bangladesh wins historic Test match against New Zealand

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Taijul Islam picked up his second 10-wicket haul in Tests to take Bangladesh to a historic 150-run win over New Zealand on the final day of their first Test in Sylhet on Saturday. This is Bangladesh’s second-ever win over New Zealand and the first at home against them. This is also ... Read more

England brings down the Tigers

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh failed to maintain the momentum gained by beating Afghanistan in the opening match as they suffered a massive 137-run defeat against defending champions England in the second match of the ICC World Cup in Dharamsala on Tuesday. After being put into bat first by Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, England ... Read more

Emirates shares excitement with cricket lovers

The airline brand named ICC’s Cricket World Cup airline partner Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Emirates has announced it is the official airline partner of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Kicking off the 13th edition of the tournament, the airline brand shares its excitement for the game with a video featuring Indian batsman, Dinesh ... Read more

South Africa crush Sri Lanka by 102 runs in World Cup opener

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com South Africa came with a dominating performance as they defeat Sri Lanka by a big margin of of 102 runs in the fourth game of the World Cup on Saturday. The Proteas bowled the Lankan batters out for 326 runs in 44.5 overs while defending the mammoth total of 428 runs ... Read more