Category: CRICKET

The Bangladesh women’s cricket team had secured three consecutive wins in the Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifiers. In their fourth match, the Tigresses faced the West Indies with a straightforward equation—win the match and secure a spot in the World Cup. However, Nigar Sultana Joty’s team fell short.

With a direct path to the main stage of the World Cup laid out before them, the Bangladesh women’s team, led by Nigar Sultana, took on West Indies today. Despite posting 227 runs for 9 wickets, Bangladesh lost by 3 wickets. This defeat means Nigar and her team will have to wait longer to confirm their place in the Women’s World Cup, scheduled for September-October in India.

In the final match of the qualifiers, currently being held in Pakistan, Bangladesh will face hosts Pakistan on Saturday. A win in that match—or even if the match is abandoned due to rain—will secure Bangladesh’s place in the main event.

Of the first three matches, Bangladesh had won two while batting first. Captain Nigar Sultana chose to bat first again today after winning the toss at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. However, unlike the earlier matches, Bangladesh couldn’t post a big total this time.

In their first match, Bangladesh had lost the toss and batted against Thailand, setting a new record for their highest team total in history with 271/3. In the second match, they chased successfully against Ireland. In the third, they batted first again and rewrote their highest team total with 276/6 in a win over Scotland.

Nigar had played a key role in all three of those big scores. But today, she struggled with the bat, and Bangladesh could only manage 227/9 in their full 50 overs. The highest scorer for the team was Sharmin Akter with 67 runs.

In reply, the West Indies reached the target in 46 overs, losing 7 wickets. At one point, they were in trouble, losing 3 wickets for 74 runs in 16.3 overs.

However, a 66-run fourth-wicket partnership off 80 balls between Stafanie Taylor (36 off 51) and captain Hayley Matthews (33 off 45) brought them back into the game. Though both were dismissed within 7 runs of each other, Shemaine Henry’s unbeaten 51 off 48 balls guided the Caribbean side to a comfortable victory with 24 balls to spare.

In the previous match, Punjab Kings couldn’t win despite scoring 245 runs. But in the very next game, they managed to defend a mere 111 runs and secured a 16-run victory against the reigning champions, Kolkata Knight Riders.

Ricky Ponting jumped up in the dugout after Andre Russell was dismissed. He joined the rest of the coaching staff and players in wild celebration. The whole team went near the gallery to celebrate with the fans, and the celebration continued for quite a while.

With a microphone in hand, standing in front of the TV cameras, the Australian legend seemed unable to contain his excitement after such a thrilling win. He said, “My heartbeat is still very high, probably over 200. At this age—over 50—I really don’t need too many matches like this.”

The former Australian star, who led his country to a record number of World Cup titles, added, “Isn’t this game amazing? Just three days ago, we couldn’t win even after scoring 245. And today, we won by 16 runs with only 111 on the board.”

Ponting continued, “Honestly, I told the boys during the break that sometimes chasing small targets can be the toughest challenge. The wicket wasn’t easy either. As you saw throughout the match, the ball was stopping a bit.”

“This kind of win is one of the sweetest feelings. I told them, if we manage to win, it’ll probably go down as one of the best victories in our lives. And that’s exactly what happened. I’ve coached in many IPL matches, but this one is my best win.”

At one point during the 112-run chase, Kolkata was cruising at 62 for 2. But then Yuzvendra Chahal turned the game around. After breaking the partnership by dismissing Ajinkya Rahane, the experienced leg-spinner picked up three more quick wickets.

After the match, Ponting said, “How brilliant was Chahal today! What a fantastic spell he bowled! We left it to him this week. After injuring his shoulder in the last match, he had to undergo a fitness test before this game.”

As part of the “Mujib Year” celebrations in 2020–21, various sports federations organized events, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was no exception. However, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has alleged massive financial irregularities under the guise of these celebrations.

At around 12 PM today, ACC officials arrived at the BCB office and conducted a raid that lasted for over an hour. In a press briefing following the operation, ACC Assistant Directors Al Amin and Mahmudul Hasan clarified the basis of their investigation.

That’s when the issue of embezzlement during the Mujib Centenary celebrations came to light. Assistant Director Mahmudul Hasan stated that it is initially estimated that around BDT 19 crore (190 million) was misappropriated, though the amount may increase.

He said, “There is an anomaly in the reported expenses of the Mujib 100 program. For example, they reported spending BDT 25 crore on events including a concert, but in reality, the cost was only around BDT 7 crore. That means nearly BDT 19 crore is unaccounted for—essentially misappropriated. We’ve requested documents from the finance department. Even the BDT 2 crore earned from ticket sales was not shown as income. The actual allocation was BDT 15 crore, but they reported spending BDT 25 crore, while the real expenditure was only BDT 7 crore.”

The ACC is also looking into irregularities in other sectors beyond the Mujib Year programs, including ticket sales for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Assistant Director Al Amin added, “Another issue we’re investigating involves ticket sales. From the third to the tenth season of the BPL (8 seasons), BCB reported a total income of BDT 15 crore. Yet in the most recent season alone, the income was BDT 13 crore. This time, when BCB sold tickets directly, the revenue shot up. How can there be such a massive discrepancy—15 crore over 8 seasons, and nearly the same in just one season? We are collecting records to analyze and review these anomalies.”

Rishad Hossain made a sensational debut in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Thanks to the Bangladeshi leg-spinner’s magic, Lahore Qalandars secured their first win of the tournament in their second match. On Sunday (April 13), Rishad took 3 wickets for 31 runs at a crucial time against Quetta Gladiators.

After such an outstanding performance, Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi showered Rishad with praise. Speaking at the post-match presentation, the Lahore skipper said, “When we included Rishad in the playing XI, we had the idea that he could take wickets in the middle overs. David Wiese couldn’t play this match, and Rishad was the best choice for that role.”

Rishad didn’t get a chance in Lahore’s opening match against Islamabad United. However, leaving the Bangladeshi spinner on the bench didn’t work out well — Lahore suffered a heavy 8-wicket defeat to Islamabad.

Thus, Lahore had to tweak their team combination for the second match. Rishad was given his opportunity. Batting first on Sunday, Lahore posted a big total of 219 for 6, thanks to fifties from Fakhar Zaman and Sam Billings.

On his PSL debut, the young Bangladeshi leg-spinner weaved his magic with the ball. Chasing a big target, Quetta was under pressure right from the start. By the seventh over, when Rishad came into the attack, Quetta had already lost 4 wickets for just 62 runs. Rishad gave away 7 runs in his first over.

In his second over, Rilee Rossouw showed signs of launching a counterattack with a six. But Rishad quickly dismissed the South African with a brilliant googly.

Rishad took his remaining two wickets in his final over, the 13th of the innings. On the first ball, he clean bowled Mohammad Amir with a superb leg-break. Then, on the fourth ball of the over, he had Abrar Ahmed caught at deep backward square by Mohammad Naim. Thanks to Rishad’s spell, Lahore eventually sealed a commanding 79-run victory.

Last year, Rishad missed out on opportunities to play in Canada’s Global T20 and Australia’s Big Bash League. But this time, the doors have opened for him. Ahead of the ongoing PSL, he was placed in the Diamond Category during the players’ draft, with a salary of 85,000 US dollars. He received a full No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to participate in the entire tournament.

Multan Sultans, a team in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), has taken a wonderful initiative. In the tenth edition of the PSL, Multan will donate 100,000 Pakistani Rupees (around 43,000 Bangladeshi Taka) for every six hit and every wicket taken, to support the children of Palestine.

In their very first match on Saturday (April 12), Multan raised 1.5 million Rupees for the fund. The team will play at least nine more matches in the tournament.

Expressing solidarity with the Palestinians who are suffering under Israeli aggression, Multan Sultans’ owner Ali Khan Tareen said in a video message, “Through this year’s PSL, we have decided to support Palestine. For every six our batsmen hit, 100,000 Rupees will be donated to the Palestine fund. Our bowlers also wanted to contribute, so it was decided that 100,000 Rupees will also be donated for every wicket taken. This money will go specifically to help children.”

Coming out for the toss against Karachi, Multan captain Mohammad Rizwan also confirmed the donation initiative. He said, “We want to do something for the children of Palestine and Gaza with every six, every four, and every wicket.”

After announcing the donation pledge, Multan played their match against Karachi Kings, where their batters made a strong contribution. Batting first, Multan scored 234 runs for 3 wickets, hitting 8 sixes and 23 fours in the innings.

Captain Rizwan was the standout performer, smashing 5 sixes and 9 fours on his way to an unbeaten 105 runs off 63 balls. However, despite Rizwan’s brilliant knock, Multan couldn’t secure the win, as Karachi Kings chased down the target, winning by 6 wickets.

Litton has to return from the PSL (Pakistan Super League) without playing a single match. All those days of hard work have gone in vain. Litton candidly said, “So sadly, my mission is over before it even began.”
The essence in Bengali: regrettably, my mission is ending even before it started.
The Tigers’ wicketkeeper-batsman falls flat at times, only to soar high again suddenly. Stories of hope are spun around him, as well as tales of disappointment. Litton understands all this now.

That’s why he once said:
“Criticism — this thing will happen. Since my life is now intertwined with cricket, when I perform well, people will praise me, and when I perform badly, they’ll react the same way. They want me to perform. This no longer bothers me.”

The fortunate unfortunate Litton went to Pakistan but got injured during practice, which ruled him out. By now, he’s probably already on a flight back home.
A cricketer who has achieved so much for his country, whose bat makes Bangladesh smile when it sings — of course he will come back.
Litton is not someone who uses misfortune as an excuse to withdraw.
If he were, then his name wouldn’t even be in this story.