Friday, March 29, 2024

Shafiul gives a ray of hope

Paceman Shafiul Islam buried the nightmare he had against India in the opening match with a match-winning performance in Friday’s cracking game against Ireland.
Shafiul was humiliated by Indian opener Virender Sehwag on his way to one-day career best 175 runs last Saturday in manner which could have shattered the confidence of any bowler.
But the wily paceman from the northern district town of Bogra, who was hardly known even at home a year ago, showed his character in the very next opportunity and stole the limelight in a match otherwise dominated by the spinners and slow bowlers.
His four-wicket burst in the final spell not only helped Bangladesh pull off an unlikely 27-run win, but it also gave them a hope of overcoming a problem they are grappling with for months.
Bangladesh are the only side in this tournament who have only three specialised seamers in their 15-man squad and in the absence of injured Mashrafee bin  Murtaza they had pinned their  hopes on Shafiul.
He was so crucial to their game plan that despite his erratic performance in the India game and a fitness concern, Bangladesh waited on him until the matchday morning.
Shafiul conceded 69 runs in his seven overs against India and then went on to injure his shoulder while attempting to take a catch in Wednesday’s practice session, which made him doubtful for the Ireland game.
‘Even yesterday (Thursday) I was not sure if I will be able to play as I sustained an injury,’ Shafiul told reporters after the game.
‘I took some ice in the night and I felt good in the morning and reported it to my captain. Afterwards the management decided to give me another shot.’
In their defence of a very small total, Sakib did not dare to give Shafiul more than one over in his first two spells when he went for six and five runs respectively.
But Sakib knew Shafiul would be his trump card and he recalled the bowler in the 36th over when the second ball was due.
And this time Shafiul did not let his captain down mixing his deliveries with reverse swing, his trademark slower and out-swing bowling and it brought rich dividend for his side.
In the extra-ordinary spell of six overs Shafiul gave away only 11 runs, which made his figures 4-21, the best by a Bangladeshi bowler in a World Cup match, surpassing Abdur Razzak’s 3-25 against South Africa in 2007.
‘I was told by the captain to keep faith in myself and bowl in the right areas. He was sure Ireland will give away their wickets if I can do this and that’s what happened,’ said Shafiul.
‘I wanted to concentrate on my line and length more than anything else.
‘And in the final spell the shape of the ball was good that gave me confidence to try the reverse-swing and it paid off.’
Many had expected Shafiul to become man of the match, an award finally went to Tamim Iqbal, which even left the batsman surprised.
At the post-match press conference Tamim admitted he expected Shafiul to win the award as he deserved it more than anyone else. And there was hardly anyone to disagree with him.
‘I thought I would be the man of the match but more than that I am happy because we finished the game on a winning note,’ said Shafiul.
Man of the match or not, it also helped him make the Indian nightmare a thing of past.
‘In cricket some days can be bad days for anyone and I thought that it was just not my day against the Indians,’ he said.
‘I always believed that I will be able to make a comeback and I am happy that I did.’

Courtesy of New Age
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/sports/9583.html

Related News

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

Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets in opener

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com A stunning all-round display from Mehidy Hasan Mirza, who notched up a half-century and claimed three wickets, powered Bangladesh to a comprehensive six-wicket win over Afghanistan in their first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Dharamsala on Saturday. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Bangladesh captain ... Read more

Nagad to gift BMW to Bangladesh cricketers if they win World Cup

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com If Bangladesh wins the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023, mobile banking service provider Nagad will gift BMW-branded cars to every cricketer in the team. This was announced by Tanvir A Mishuk, founder and managing director of Nagad, expressing his belief that winning the World Cup would be a significant ... Read more

Pakistan see off Netherlands and starts the World Cup successfully

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Pakistan opened their World Cup 2023 campaign with a comfortable 81-run win against the Netherlands on Friday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. , quickly chipping away all the wickets despite a steady start by them. The Netherlands could not hold on to the momentum and kept on losing wickets at ... Read more

New Zealand thrashes England in Cricket World Cup opener

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com England’s World Cup defense began with a punishing nine-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad as New Zealand grabbed a measure of revenge after four years of preparation. Organizers were planning a repeat of the 2019 final to kick off this year’s tournament, but rather than a nail-biter as the excitement of the Lords ... Read more

England’s Stokes in doubt to start World Cup due to hip injury

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com There are doubts about injury risk for Ben Stokes in England’s opening World Cup match against New Zealand on Thursday (October 5) after a hip injury kept the all-rounder out of the teams’ pre-tournament warm-up matches. Stokes reversed his year-long retirement from one-day international cricket in order to help defend the ... Read more

Tigers ready for effective representations

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said on Wednesday that he believed that the team was ready for a good display in this edition of the ICC World Cup as they have prepared well for the tournament despite a below-par performance in the recent past. The Tigers are coming into the tournament ... Read more

Tigers find fresh air with warm-up win sans Shakib

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com After all the controversy that had been going on in the cricketing fraternity since the squad announcement for the World Cup 2023, Bangladesh finally found a fresh breath of air on Friday as they beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in their first warm-up game for the upcoming event. The biggest ... Read more

Shakib blames then-captain Tamim for Afghanistan series loss

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan blamed former captain Tamim Iqbal for the home ODI series loss to Afghanistan earlier this year. The all-rounder said in the second part of his interview with T Sports that for the first time in his life he had seen a captain announce his retirement after ... Read more

Tamim childish and not a team man, says Shakib

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said that Tamim Iqbal, who was left out of Bangladesh’s 15-man squad for the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup, was not a team man because he was unwilling to obey the order. Tamim, after being left out, posted a video on his Facebook page on Wednesday, ... Read more

Tigers set off for World Cup mission

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh national cricket team left Dhaka for India on Wednesday to take part in the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place from October 5 to November 19. Bangladesh will begin their campaign for the tournament against Afghanistan on October 7 in Dharamshala. Before leaving the country, ... Read more

New Zealand crush Tigers to win first bilateral series in Bangladesh since 2008

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com New Zealand geared up for the World Cup as they whitewash Bangladesh in the three-match series 2-0, with a seven wickets win in the final one-day international in Dhaka on Tuesday. This is New Zealand’s first bilateral series victory over the Tigers in Bangladesh since 2008. Playing to avoid a series ... Read more