Win takes Tigers to brink of WC quarter-finals

Bangladesh cruised to a six-wicket win over the Netherlands Monday which takes them to the brink of the World Cup quarter-finals as Pakistan looked to seal their own passage.

Co-hosts Bangladesh are now in fourth position in Group B on six points, with the top four teams qualifying for the last eight and know a win over South Africa on Saturday will take them through.

The Dutch won the toss in Chittagong and opted to bat but slumped to 160 all out in 46.2 overs despite 53 not out from the dangerous Ryan ten Doeschate. In a reckless display of running between the wickets, the Netherlands lost four wickets to run outs.

Abdur Razzak picked up 3-29 in 10 overs, while fellow spinners skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Suhrawadi Shuvo claimed one wicket apiece.

Untroubled Bangladesh surpassed the target in the 42nd over with left-handed Imrul Kayes making 73 not out. Kayes put on 92 for the second wicket with Junaid Siddique (35) after opening partner Tamim Iqbal was bowled by Mudassar Bukhari off the fourth ball of the innings without scoring.

"It was a nervous win because we had to win to stay in the contest. I thought the boys showed their character and bowled in really good areas and kept the pressure on," said Shakib, who said qualification was still in the Tigers' hands.

If the West Indies beat England on Thursday in Chennai, Bangladesh will qualify regardless of the outcome of the South Africa match.

No team from Group B has yet capable for the knockout round. Bangladesh, India, West Indies, South Africa and England are all in the mix, with one Test team certain to miss out.

Most significant win?

The two-wicket victory over England in the crucial group tie of the ICC Word Cup 2011 can be dubbed as the most significant in the 66 win history of Bangladesh in the ODI arena.

So far Bangladesh have played 242 ODIs, losing 174 of them. The Tigers on different occasions stirred the cricket world with stunning wins but the depth of the victory against England is unparalleled.

Down with the 58-run all out humiliation, criticisms from all quarters, allegation of not applying themselves and in a do or die situation of the existence in the greatest show of the cricket, Bangladesh have never been in so much pressure.

Playing in the home ground amid the pressure of expectations the going was too hard for the cricketers.

Luck was in the favour of Bangladesh from the very beginning as skipper Shakib al Hasan won the fourth successive toss in as many matches this World Cup. The decision was proved right as Bangladesh spinners exploited the weakness of their opponents and shared seven of the ten wickets among them.

The target of 226 was definitely obtainable in the slow pitch that never assisted the bowlers apart from offering a few unpredictable low bounces. Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan’s mode of dismissal was the clear evident of the low bounce when Graeme Swann’s flighted delivery did not rise to the height that Shakib expected.

The foundation was set by Tamim Iqbal and his partner Imrul kayes and the under pressure skipper Shakib Al Hasan kept the boat firmly afloat towards the bank of victory. However, England bowlers were able to hit back and mounted the pressure that took the nerves of the young cricketers.

With Bangladesh struggling on 169 for eight the irritated spectators started to leave stands. Routing of Bangladesh seemed to be a matter of time. But they were left repenting for missing the greatest show of the Bangladesh cricket when Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam proved all the anticipations wrong. The six and the four hit by Shafiul off Graeme Swann in the 42nd over and the piercing boundary through the covers hit by Mahmudullah that notched up the victory will remain ever green in the mind of the people who witnessed them.

And the victory kept Bangladesh alive in the World Cup Cricket, kept the hype of it and moreover arrived as the booster that will continue to inspire the Tigers in the future, for sure.

Lankans first to last eight

Sri Lanka openers Tillakaratne Dilshan (R) and Upul Tharanga run between the wickets on their way to a huge 282-run stand against Zimbabwe in a World Cup Group A match at the Pallekele Stadium yesterday. It was the highest opening stand for the first wicket in World Cup and fourth highest partnership for any wicket in one-day internationals.

Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed 144 before taking 4-4 to help Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs and reach the World Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.

In cooperation with fellow opener Upul Tharanga, who hit a career-best 133, Dilshan put on a new World Cup opening stand of 282 to guide Sri Lanka to an imposing 327-6 before a packed 30,000 crowd at Pallekele Stadium.

Zimbabwe made a fighting reply with Brendon Taylor (80) and Regis Chakabva (35) through a solid 116-run start before the innings fell apart, as they lost their last their last nine wickets for just 63 runs.

Dilshan, who bettered his earlier best of 4-29 against India at Dambulla in 2005, also became the 11th all-rounder, and the second Sri Lankan behind Sanath Jayasuriya, to score a hundred and take four wickets in an ODI.

The result meant Sri Lanka, with seven points from five matches in Group A, becomes the first side to enter the last eight.

New Zealand, with six points from four matches, Pakistan (six from four) and defending champions Australia (five from three) are virtually certain of satisfying the three other qualifying places from the group.

Result: Sri Lanka won by 139 runs.
Man-of-the-match: T Dilshan.

India pack off Netherlands for 189

NEW DELHI, Mar 9 (AFP): India relied on a pace-spin combination to bowl out the Netherlands for a below-par 189 in their World Cup match Wednesday.

Spinners Piyush Chawla and Yuvraj Singh shared four wickets while fast bowler Zaheer Khan grabbed 3-20 after Dutch captain Peter Borren selected to bat before a 30,000 crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

Borren offered the only fight with a late cameo of 38 runs off 36 balls, with three fours and two sixes, in an otherwise unsatisfactory batting performance by the Netherlands on a placid track.

A win in this day-night clash will close to assure India of a place in the quarterfinals. The Netherlands have lost all their three matches so far and languish at the bottom of the Group B table without a point.

The Dutch were off to a steady start with openers Eric Szwarczynski and Wesley Barresi negotiating India's bowling attack with amazing ease in the first 15 overs. Szwarczynski, one of two changes in the Netherlands team, hit Zaheer for two fours in an over and looked composed until he was bowled by a googly from leg-spinner Chawla. Szwarczynski made 28 with four fours and shared 56 runs for the opening wicket with Barresi.

Yuvraj struck in his very first over when he had Barresi (26) trapped leg before for his 100th wicket in one-day internationals.

Sponsors behind Shakib

Different sponsors of Shakib Al Hasan pledged their support to the all-rounder despite the ongoing controversy. After the devastating defeat to West Indies last Friday, Shakib has faced great pressure from all quarters and it multiplied after he hit back at former cricketers and after a picture of him was published on a news website.

Different sponsors of Shakib Al Hasan pledged their support to the all-rounder despite the ongoing controversy. After the devastating defeat to West Indies last Friday, Shakib has faced great pressure from all quarters and it multiplied after he hit back at former cricketers and after a picture of him was published on a news website.

But lubricants giant Castrol, one of Shakib's major corporate sponsors, confirmed that they were correct behind their brand ambassador. "Players have ups and downs in their career. He's going through a tough time in the game but we are sure he will bounce back in the next game," said Castrol's brand manager Nahid Hasan. "We are with him at the moment and we know that one good game will do him a lot of good," added Nahid.

United Commercial Bank Limited also confirmed that Shakib will get their full backing. "His age is an issue but people make mistakes at that age. We are supporting him," said Tarek Uddin, UCBL media manager. It doesn't harm our relationship with Shakib," he said.

Pepsi too has said there is no possibility of the soft drink huge pulling out.

Fans get hold of tickets

Opportunity of a positive result from Bangladesh in their vital tie against England in Chittagong on Friday was high among the fans as they started to get hold of their match tickets yesterday.

Fans standing long hours under the sun got their prized possession in exchange for the authentication letters from the A K Khan premises at Alankar near the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

“Ah! I have got my two tickets after standing for six long hours!” exclaimed Saiful Alam Munna a college student, as his face glowed with joy.

He was one of the early ones to get the ticket as he came at the wee hours. Behind him thousand more of cricket lovers waited for their turn.

“I have come here at 5am and waited at least six hours for the tickets. At a standstill it seems a dream come true that I would enjoy a super event like the World Cup”.

He, however, termed the process of ticket distribution as a bit slow and said, “People who have come from far distances are suffering a bit as they have to wait for long and it's a hot day too”.

He said the environment of the city has sensitive his enthusiasm and hoped that Bangladesh will get back to their rhythm and fight against England.

His feelings were shared by Zarin Sultana, a student of Accounting Department of Govt. Hazi Muhammad Mohsin College who collected her tickets from the same booth.

in spite of having complaints about the slow movement of ticket distribution, and that too under a hot sun, she said she was willing to endure all that to see the Tigers play well.

Meanwhile Riaz Babu, an official of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) who is nominated with ticket distribution management, said the allotment of tickets from booths will run till 2pm on the match day (March 11) if necessary.

He said around four thousand people have collected their authentication letters online to enjoy the Match against England.

Sakib stokes new controversy

Bangladesh captain Sakib al Hasan triggered a new debate by questioning the records of former cricketers who have criticized the wobbling Tigers following Friday’s embarrassing nine-wicket defeat to West Indies.

I feel really bad when I see the former cricketers talk like common fans. They understand a lot, played a lot and went through this kind of situation a lot of times. It is really unsatisfactory, Sakib said in his article in a Bengali daily on Sunday.

His comments came in less than a week after the all-rounder had openly insulted a television journalist at a press conference before the West Indies game. Asked about his game plan at the pre-match press conference, Sakib astonished everyone when he returned the same question to the reporter.

Bangladesh, facing a rampant West Indian attack, appeared clueless and devoid of any plan and was all out for 58, their lowest one-day total. The game ended well before the scheduled innings break, sparking an angry reaction from the fans.

The former cricketers also criticized the team for what they said an careless batting in television talk shows and newspaper columns.

We are in this situation for the first time since the Twenty20 World Cup in 2009. What we are facing once in every two or three years, they faced it more often. So they so should keep it in mind while talking,’ he said.

His comments reasonably did not go well with the formers cricketers who also questioned his authority to write column in the middle of such an important tournament. ‘I think when a tournament is ongoing one should not be allowed to write any column,’ said former captain Roquibul Hasan.

‘It shows a great audacity and a great insult to senior players. He doesn’t know the history of Bangladesh cricket and that is the saddest part,’ he said. ‘I think he should remember he represents his country and if this is the approach of the captain then I am sorry to say that we are headed for bad time.

Another former captain Minhajul Abdein said his insult to former cricketers is like refusing to admit the war of independence. ‘It’s like not recognizing the freedom fighters because of whom we got the independence,’ Minhajul told reporters.

‘Does he know how we got the Test status, how we had won the ICC trophy for which he has been playing the World Cup?

If he talks like this it only means he is not concentrating on his game properly,’ said Minhajul, the first Bangladeshi cricketer to be named man of the match in a World Cup game.