Sports

MNA Sports Desk: The 10th season of the Indian Premier League starts Wednesday, marking a decade of scandal and success for the flashy Twenty20 competition beloved by India and watched across the globe. Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will play Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 in Hyderabad on April 5. The final of the 10th edition on May 21 will also be played at the same venue (Hyderabad). As usual total of eight teams will take part in this year’s IPL. The tournament will be spread over 47 days across 10 venues. The ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh will play the first twenty20 match among the two-match T20I series against Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday. The second T20I will be held on April 6. Both the matches will begin at 7:30pm (Bangladesh time). Bangladesh registered the only victory against Sri Lanka in their last meeting at home in the Twenty20 format Asia Cup 2016. Since September 2007 Bangladesh and Sri Lanka played five T20Is where the latter side secured four victories. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday announced a 16-man squad for the series with return of Mushfiqur Rahim ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Murtaza has been suspended for next one match for slow over rate during bowling and fielding of Bangladesh team against Sri Lanka at Colombo on Saturday. Bangladesh’s next match is against Ireland on 12 May during the tri-nation series also participated by New Zealand. Bangladesh took about half-an-hour additional time to complete 50 overs bowling after the captain decided to field first winning toss. The ban will be effective in ODIs only. So Mashrafe will be able to play the two-match T20I series against the Lankans, scheduled to be held on 4 and ...

MNA Sports Desk: Rain canceled Bangladesh’s second ODI against Sri Lanka after Taskin Ahmed bagged his maiden ODI hattrick in Dambulla on Tuesday. In the afternoon, hosts skipper Tharanga won the toss for the second successive match, but this time opted to bat first. Bangladesh could not start their innings due to rain after bowling out Sri Lanka for 311 runs in 49.5 overs, thanks to a hat-trick of fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, who finished with 4-47. The wash-out means Bangladesh now cannot lose the series after winning the first match by 90 runs on Saturday. Needing a win to ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga won the toss and elected to bat first in the second one-day international against Bangladesh at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Tuesday. Sri Lanka made three changes to their team while Bangladesh remain unchanged.  Bangladesh took the lead 1-0 in the series against the host Sri Lanka with a 90-run victory where Tamim Iqbal’s 127 played a major role to ensure the first ODI win. Bangladesh squad Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Mustafizur Rahman and ...

MNA Sports Desk: Pakistan completed a comfortable six-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first fixture of a four-match Twenty20 international series at Kensington Oval on Sunday. Put in on a bright, breezy afternoon, the world champion hosts were restricted to 111 for eight off their allotted 20 overs. Shoaib Malik’s unbeaten 38 and a 46-run fourth-wicket partnership with Babar Azam ensured Pakistan reached their target with relative comfort although they will be again concerned about the top order’s inability to take control of a modest challenge. Brought on as the fifth bowler when the West Indies batted in ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka skipper Upul Tharanga won the toss and opted to field first against Bangladesh in their first of three-game ODI series in Dambulla on Saturday. The Tigers are in high spirits following a four-wicket victory over the hosts in the second Test, which was the visitors’ 100th match in the longer version of the game. Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman. Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga (capt), Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Asela Gunaratne, Sachith Pathirana, ...

MNA Sports Desk: Lukas Podolski admitted his Germany farewell could not have been scripted better after netting the superb winner in the 1-0 friendly win over England. It was only fitting that the Galatasaray forward should claim his 49th goal on his 130th — and final — international appearance in Wednesday’s emotional farewell. “The way it finished up was like in a film,” said Podolski, who smashed home the winning goal on 69 minutes, then came off to thunderous applause with six minutes left. Podolski captained the world champions to their first win over old rivals England on home soil ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh lost by 2 runs in the only practice match against Sri Lanka Board President XI at the Colombo Cricket Ground. The skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza added 101 runs in the 8th wicket with Mahmudullah. Mashrafe made a quickfire 58 runs from 35 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes. After his dismissal, Mahmudullah and Rubel Hossain tried but only fell 2 runs short from winning the match. Mahmudullah was unbeaten on 71. Put into bat first, the Sri Lankan side posted 354 for 7 thanks to decent contributions from almost all the batsmen. Sandun Weerakkody was ...

MNA Sports Desk: Shakib Al Hasan moved ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin to regain the top spot in ICC Test all-rounders rankings published on Wednesday. A sparkling show with both the bat and the ball in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo gave the star Bangladesh cricketer a 28-point boosted on to 431 points, past Ashwin (408). Two weeks ago, the ace all-rounder had moved to the top of the rankings displacing Ashwin after the talismanic Indian cricketer underperformed against Australia. The Bangladesh pair of Shakib Al Hasan (21st) and Mushfiqur Rahim (28th), Australia’s Peter Handscomb (35th) and New ...

MNA Sports Desk: Former national team opening batsman Ishtiaque Ahmad urged the Tigers to go in high spirit in the forthcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, reported news agency. The three-match ODI series will be kicked off on 25 March and that will be followed by two T20I encounters to end the tour. Bangladesh’s record in ODIs against Sri Lanka is better than in other formats of cricket, having four wins in 38 outings. After suffering a crushing 259 runs defeat in the first Test at Galle, one thought Bangladesh would be lucky if they can avoid defeat in 2nd ...

MNA Sports Desk: Roger Federer claimed a record-equaling fifth ATP Indian Wells Masters title on Sunday, continuing his career resurgence with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Stan Wawrinka. The 35-year-old Swiss, who made a stunning return from a six-month injury layoff to win the Australian Open in January, capped an impressive run in the California desert in which he did not lose a set. With Sunday’s triumph in the all-Swiss final, Federer joined Novak Djokovic as the only men to win five Indian Wells titles, adding to those he won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2012. At 35, Federer is ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh clinch historic 100th Test match beating Sri Lanka by four wickets to level Joy Bangla Cup series 1-1 in Colombo on Sunday. Earlier, halfway through the second session of the day, the Tigers chasing 191 to win had reached 143/4 on the back of the unbroken 93-run partnership between Tamim and Shabbir, after Lankan spin legend had set nerves jangling with a wicked 2-wicket burst to get rid of Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes prior to lunch. There followed a torrid half hour or so till lunch was taken, with Bangladesh still a bit wobbly in ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh need 191 runs to win the historic 100th test against Sri Lanka as Suranga Lakmal and Dilruwan Perera showed grit to defy Bangladesh bowlers at Colombo Test. The duo added 50 runs on Sunday morning, taking their ninth wicket partnership to 80, but a misunderstanding between them saw the stand broken with Perera falling victim to a run out. Earlier, Sri Lanka resumed their second innings on day five with a lead of 139 runs with two wickets in hand in the second and last Test of Joy Bangla Cup series at P Sara Oval. Overnight ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka finally bowled out for 338, having added an even 100 to a precarious overnight 238 for 7 with the support of lower order. Chandimal fell shortly after pushing the score past 300, but Sri Lanka’s last-wicket pair of Lakshan Sandakan and Suranga Lakmal frustrated Bangladesh further with by adding 35 runs. When the day began, Chandimal was unbeaten on 86 and had added an unbroken 43 for the eighth wicket with his captain Rangana Herath, who was on 18 off 63 balls. Chandimal had only struck four boundaries on the first day – three in ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka stood 238/7 at the end of a prematurely called off first day in Colombo in the second Test against Bangladesh. This second Test in Colombo will be 100th Test for Bangladesh and could very well prove to be the added boost that the team needs to get back into the series and find the leveler. Prior to the game, a big change was made already in the aftermath of Bangladesh’s 259 run loss in Galle in the opening Test. Dinesh Chandimal rode his luck to score an unbeaten half-century for Sri Lanka. The home side ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Monday announced their 16-man squad for the three-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka starting on March 25 at the Dambulla. Bangladesh have drafted in uncapped left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and recalled all-rounder Shuvagata Hom to the squad. Mahmudullah remained in the ODI after the BCB president Nazmul Hassan insisted he wouldn’t be dropped from the format. Sunzamul’s inclusion comes on the back of his exceptional form in domestic cricket in the last five seasons. In the recently-concluded domestic first-class competition, he took 25 wickets, including his first 9-wicket haul in an ...

MNA Sports Desk: Barcelona suffered a hangover from their remarkable Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain as Alex Bergantinos’s winner 16 minutes from time handed Deportivo la Coruna a famous 2-1 win on Sunday. Joselu had fired Deportivo into a first-half lead before Luis Suarez levelled in the first minute of the second period. However, Bergantinos rose highest from a corner to seal Deportivo’s first victory over Barcelona since 2008. Barca still lead Real Madrid by one point at the top of La Liga, but the European champions now have two games in hand and can go top with victory ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes left for Sri Lanka on Saturday afternoon to join the national team in Colombo where Bangladesh will play the 100th Test. The left handed batsman Kayes was not considered 16-memebr squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka since the team management was unsure whether he had recovered completely from an injury to his thigh muscle, which he had suffered in the New Zealand series and injured again in the one-off Test against India held last month in Hyderabad. In his absence, Soumya Sarkar opened the innings with Tamim Iqbal in the Galle ...

MNA Sports Desk: Barcelona capped a sensational Champions League fightback to thrash Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Despite Luis Suarez’s early opener, a Layvin Kurzawa own goal and Lionel Messi’s penalty, Barca, who lost the first leg 4-0, looked down and out when Edison Cavani volleyed home what seemed to be the vital away goal for PSG. However, Neymar restored Barca’s belief as he firstly fired home a sensational free-kick two minutes from time and then converted from the penalty spot. And Roberto capped the biggest comeback in Champions League history when he stretched to turn ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka posted a healthy total of 494 in the first innings of the Galle Test against Bangladesh. Bangladesh wiped out Sri Lanka’s tail in a little over an hour after lunch, preventing the hosts from breaching 500. Sri Lanka were 443-6 at lunch on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Galle on Wednesday. Kusal Mendis narrowly missed his maiden double century after falling for 194 runs, while overnight partner Niroshan Dickwella was out for 75. Teenage off-spinner Mehedi Hasan claimed the only two wickets from the morning session. Innings Sri Lanka 494 ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis slammed an unbeaten 166 to put the hosts in a comfortable position against visiting Bangladesh on the first day of the Galle Test on Tuesday. The Lions closed the day on 321 for 4. Mendis was a tad lucky, as he was caught behind on his very first ball, only to survive because Subashis Roy had over-stepped. Bangladesh started the better in an energetic first session but looked to be out of steam as the day wore on. Dimuth Karunaratne, Upul Tharang, Dinesh Chandimal and Asela Gunaratne were the wickets to fall ...

MNA Sports Desk: Peshawar Zalmi capitalized on an early batting collapse by Quetta Gladiators to secure a 58-run victory in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final on Sunday. In the first-ever PSL match to be played in Pakistan due to lingering security fears in the South Asian nation, the Gladiators were left floundering at 13 for three wickets in the fifth over and never managed to recover from the setback as they were all out for 90. What was to be an intensely competitive final battle turned into a one-sided game, as the Gladiators buckled under the pressure of a ...

MNA Sports Desk: Luis Enrique announced he will stand down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season having watched his side go top of La Liga after thrashing hometown club Sporting Gijon 6-1 on Wednesday night. On a dramatic evening in which Gareth Bale was sent off for Real Madrid as they scored two late goals to rescue a 3-3 draw against Las Palmas, Barça regained top spot from their bitter rivals as the manager who has won two league titles, two Copa del Reys and the 2015 Champions League since succeeding Gerardo Martino in 2014 confirmed he ...

MNA Sports Desk: Opening batsman Martin Guptill scored an unbeaten 180 and lead New Zealand to a seven-wicket win over South Africa in the fourth ODI on Wednesday, tying the five-match series at 2-2. Guptill’s 180 from 138 balls contained 15 fours and 11 sixes and was the highest score by a New Zealand batsman against South Africa, and his unbroken partnership with Ross Taylor (66) was the highest for all wickets for New Zealand against the Proteas. In partnership, the pair guided New Zealand to their winning total of 280-3, surpassing South Africa’s 279-8 with five overs to spare. ...

MNA Sports Desk: Lionel Messi struck the winner four minutes from time as Barcelona moved top of La Liga on Sunday with a crucial 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid. All the goals came in the final half hour as Rafinha put Barcelona in front before Diego Godin’s header quickly restored parity. However, so often the thorn in Atletico’s side, Messi registered his 27th career goal against Los Rojiblancos to ease the pressure on under fire Barca coach Luis Enrique. Barcelona now lead Real Madrid and Sevilla by two points. Real, though, have two games in hand on their title rivals, ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews was Saturday ruled out of next month’s two-Test home series against Bangladesh. The 29-year-old all-rounder was likely to be available for the s one-day internationals and the two Twenty20 matches of the series starting with the first Test on March 7 at Galle, the Sri Lankan cricket board said in a statement. It did not say why Mathews was dropped from the Test squad, but he returned home last month half way through the South African tour after twisting his ankle. Under his leadership, Sri Lanka suffered a 3-0 Test series whitewash ...