Sports

MNA Sports Desk: During the third ODI against New Zealand, AB de Villiers crossed the 9,000 ODI runs mark and in doing so the South African ODI captain broke an all-time ODI record that was previously held by India’s Sourav Ganguly and had stood for over 13 years. The 33-year-old now holds the record for being the fastest to 9,000 ODI runs. The 33-year-old was playing in his 214th ODI and batting in his 205th innings when he crossed the mark which is 23 innings faster than Ganguly, who held the previous record. Not only does he now hold the ...

MNA Sports Desk: The ESPNCricinfo has awarded Bangladesh pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman, also known as cutter-master, with the best T20 bowler of 2016 while his fellow Mehedi Hasan Miraz has been crowned the title of debutant of the year. According to the website, Mustafizur, who was the debutant of the year in 2015, won the award for his the best spell of 5 for 22 against New Zealand in the World T20. Miraz is the second Bangladeshi cricketer who has been chosen for the debutant of the year award. ESPNcricinfo, a cricket news website which honours the best batting and ...

MNa Sports Desk: Two goals in the opening eight minutes from Simone Zaza and Fabian Orellana blew the La Liga title race wide open as Valencia beat leaders Real Madrid 2-1 on Wednesday. The defeat leaves Madrid just a single point clear of Barcelona and three points ahead of Sevilla with one game in hand over their title rivals. “We lost this match in the opening ten minutes, ten bad minutes where we let two goals in,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane told Spanish TV. “I’m not worried, I’m angry more than anything, because we only have ourselves to blame.” Italian ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladesh’s dream of playing the final of 4th Roll ball World Cup crushed as they had been beaten by their counterpart Iran in the semi-final that held yesterday at Mirpur Indoor Stadium in Dhaka. Iran beat Bangladesh by 11-3 and made a new record in the history of Roll ball. The team finished fourth position in the World Cup as they suffered a 1-7 goal defeat to Kenya in the place-deciding match held on same day at same place. Kenya have been beaten by another finalists and defending champion India. In the semi-final match, Bangladesh score only ...

MNA Sports Desk: New Zealand secured a series-leveling six-run victory in the second one-day international against South Africa on Wednesday. The visitors had been set 290 to win in Christchurch after Ross Taylor scored 102 not out to become New Zealand’s most prolific ODI century-maker in leading his side to 289 for four wickets in their 50 overs at Hagley Oval. South Africa, who won the opener of the five-match series in Hamilton on Sunday, appeared set for victory courtesy of a half century by Quinton de Kock (57) and solid partnerships through the middle order but were unable to ...

MNA Sports Desk: Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Sunday announced his retirement from international cricket, ending an illustrious and sometimes controversial 21-year career. The 36-year-old star had already quit Tests in 2010 and ODI cricket after the 2015 World Cup but still skippered the Pakistan Twenty20 team at the 2016 world championships in India. He stepped down as captain after the tournament although he retained slender hopes of continuing his career in the sport’s shortest format as a player. ‘I have said goodbye to international cricket,’ said Afridi after smashing a 28-ball 54 in a Pakistan Super League match for ...

MNA Sports Desk: Gareth Bale made an instant impact on his return from injury as Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga to three points with a 2-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday. Some 30 minutes into the match, Real Madrid finally broke the visitors’ resistance as Alvaro Morata headed home a floated cross from Isco to make it a-nil. And Gareth Bale, making his return to action after an injury layoff, sealed the victory in the 83rd minute via his 8th goal of the season, shortly after coming on as a substitute. Barcelona are hoping ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka’s cricket board Friday announced the schedule for a series of Test matches and limited overs internationals against Bangladesh who begin a tour of the island next month. The teams will play two Tests at the start of the tour, one in the capital Colombo and another at Galle on Sri Lanka’s southern coast. They then play three 50 over internationals before facing off for two Twenty20 matches. Sri Lanka have a formidable record at home and beat Australia 3-0 in the last series that they hosted in August 2016. First Test: March 7 – 11 ...

MNA Sports Desk: Barcelona coach Luis Enrique admitted his side’s Champions League hopes are all but over for this season after they were outclassed 4-0 by a brilliant Paris Saint-Germain in their last 16 first leg on Tuesday. The result leaves PSG on the brink of a place in the quarter-finals for the fifth season in succession, while Barcelona are staring at their earliest exit since losing to Liverpool in the last 16 in 2007. It was the Catalans’ worst night in Europe since their 7-0 aggregate mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich in the 2013 semi-finals, and no ...

MNA Sports Desk: Casemiro’s stunning volley has crowned a superb display from Real Madrid, who have fought back to beat Napoli 3-1 at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. Napoli, the top scorers in Serie A, grabbed an early goal when Lorenzo Insigne spotted keeper Keylor Navas out of position to curl the ball home from distance, but when Real clicked into gear they created chances at will. Holders Real, who are chasing a 12th European title and eyeing a seventh straight quarter-final appearance, will travel to Naples for the return leg on ...

MNA Sports Desk: A total of 351 players, including six Bangladeshis after all-rounder Shakib Al Hassan and pace ace Mustafizur Rahman, will feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 players’ auction which is scheduled to be held in Bangalore on February 20. Shakib and Mustafiz will play for their old franchises — Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad — respectively. Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Amanul Haque, Taskin Ahmed and Mehedi Hasan Miraz have been put on auction for Rupees 3 million each. They all have been selected mostly for their outstanding performance in the Bangladesh premier league (BPL) ...

MNA Sports Desk: Former test opener Nasir Jamshed has become the third player to be suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as part of its ongoing investigation into corruption. Jamshed joins batsmen Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif, who were provisionally suspended at the weekend and sent home from the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 tournament being played in Dubai. The 27-year-old Jamshed, who played two tests in 2013, was not playing in the PSL but was suspended from all forms of cricket for violating the anti-corruption code, the PCB said. Board chairman Shaharyar Khan also told reporters in Lahore ...

MNA Sports Desk: India wrapped up a comprehensive 208 runs victory over Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Hyderabad Monday, with spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja ending the visitors’ plucky resistance on the final day. Chasing 459 for victory, the tourists were bowled out for 250 in an extended afternoon session after senior batsman Mahmudullah and teenager Mehedi Hasan provided stubborn resistance. Mahmudullah (64) shrugged off poor form to register his 13th Test 50 while Hasan made a gutsy 61-ball 23 to delay the inevitable against the world’s number Test side. Resuming the day on 103/3, once again Bangladesh’s ...

MNA Sports Desk: Cheteshwar Pujara on Sunday hit a brisk half-century as India declared their second innings on 159-4 at tea on day four, set Bangladesh a target of 459 to win the one-off  in Hyderabad Test. The hosts, who started their innings with a lead of 299, lost two early wickets but Pujara and skipper Virat Kohli (38) put on 67 runs. Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan checked India’s surge with two wickets including that of Kohli, who doled out a catch to mid-wicket in his search for boundaries. Earlier Sunday India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest bowler ...

MNA Sports Desk: India managed to reach a massive 356 for 3 at stumps on day one of the only Test against Bangladesh after centuries each from Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli. Vijay scored 108 and Kohli remained unbeaten on 111 at the end of the day. Ajinkya Rahane was unbeaten on 45 for India. Earlier, India lost KL Rahul in the first over. Vijay completed his century in 160 balls, playing 178-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara. At tea, opener Murali Vijay and Chetehswar Pujara feasted on a below par Bangladesh bowling attack as India raced to a comfortable 206 ...

MNA Sports Desk: India have been warned against complacency as they look to extend their record-breaking unbeaten run to 19 matches when they host Bangladesh in a Test for the first time this week. Following their recent demolition of England in all formats, Virat Kohli’s side will be heavy favourites to cement their status as the world’s number one Test side in the one-off match in Hyderabad when it begins on Thursday. But wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha warned it was vital not to be distracted by the prospect of a looming high-profile series against Australia later this month as they face ...

MNA Sports Desk: Alastair Cook has stepped down as England’s Test captain after 59 matches in charge of the team. Cook vowed to take time to consider his position after a 4-0 Test series defeat in India late last year and the opening batsman offered his resignation to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday. The 32-year-old’s resignation was accepted, with Director of England Cricket Andrew Strauss revealing that a successor should be announced before the team travel to West Indies on February 22. Alastair Cook, England’s leading scorer in Tests with 11,057 runs, became captain in August ...

MNA Sports Desk: Siddikur Rahman finished second in the 3rd edition of $300,000 Bashundhara Bangladesh Open which concluded at Kurmitola Golf Club on Saturday. Thai young talent Jazz Janewattananond clinched the title maintaining prime position in all- through the tournament. To bag his maiden Asian Tour title, the 21-year-old Jazz tallied overall 17-under-par 267 while two-time Asian Tour winner Siddikur moved up to the 2nd from joint 3rd collecting 13-under-par 271, stayed four shots behind than the champion. Jazz started the day with previous collection of 13-under-par 200 while Siddikur eight-under-par 205. Jazz carded four-under-par 67 in the 4th and ...

MNA Sports Desk: Ronaldinho has reached an agreement with Barcelona to return to the club in an ambassador role, it was confirmed on Thursday. The former Brazilian international made over 200 appearances for Barca in a five-year spell at the club after joining from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003. After helping the Blaugrana win two league titles and a Champions League he left for AC Milan, before winding down his career back in Brazil, with a brief spell in Mexico. “Ronaldinho will become a club ambassador and representative at various events and activities over the coming years,” Barca said in a ...

MNA Sports Desk: Mustafizur Rahman has predictably been left out of the Tigers’ one-off Test against India tour, to be played in Hyderabad on 9-13 February. The Satkhira lad is yet to recover fully from an injury as he misses out on a chance to play on his IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad’s home ground. Rubel Hossain and Nurul Hasan have been axed. Liton Das, who recently scored a 219 in the first round of the Bangladesh Cricket League received a surprise call up into the squad. Liton has replaced Nurul Hasan from the New Zealand series. Liton has been selected ...

MNA Sports Desk: Opening batsman Aaron Finch will lead the Australian Twenty20 team in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka with captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner resting ahead of the tour of India. Finch, who was stand-in captain in Monday’s one-day international against New Zealand, will take the helm for three matches in February, Cricket Australia announced Tuesday. “It’s very exciting to be back and leading the side in Steve’s absence,” said Finch, who has captained the national Twenty20 side on six previous occasions. “It’s been a rollercoaster from being captain leading up to the ICC World Twenty20 ...

MNA Sports Desk: Australia has fallen agonizingly short of victory in the one-day international series opener against New Zealand despite a spectacular century by Marcus Stoinis. Set just 287 runs to win at the relatively small Eden Park, the tourists crumbled to 6-67 inside 19 overs, but all-rounder Stoinis (146 not out) steadied the ship brilliantly. Having already taken three wickets in his second ODI, he reached three figures off 96 balls and continued pummelling the Black Caps to all parts until number 11 Josh Hazlewood was run out for 0 at the non-striker’s end with Australia on 280. He ...

MNA Sports Desk: Serena Williams rewrote history Saturday to surpass Steffi Graf and capture a record 23rd Grand Slam title as well as the world number one ranking by beating her sister Venus in the Australian Open final, reported news agency. The dominant American swept past her greatest rival 6-4, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena for her seventh Melbourne Park crown to finally clinch the record for Open-era major titles, nearly 18 years after winning her first. The 35-year-old, who equalled Graf’s mark of 22 at Wimbledon last year, now stands just one behind the all-time 24 won by Margaret ...

MNA Sports Desk: Sri Lanka has claimed its first international cricket trophy on South African soil after beating the Proteas by five wickets in the third T20. The win at Newlands on Wednesday (NZT Thursday) gave Sri Lanka the series 2-1. Niroshan Dickwella struck a crucial 68 for the tourists as they chased a challenging 170 for victory after AB de Villiers had struck 63, on his return to international cricket. Dickwella shared in a 71-run stand with Dhananjaya de Silva (19) before Seekkuge Prasanna’s destructive 37 saw Sri Lanka home with one ball to spare, finishing on 170-5. The ...

MNA Sports Desk: The draw for the 2018 World Cup finals hosted by Russia will take place in the Kremlin on 1 December, the country’s Football Union (RFU) chief Vitaly Mutko said on Monday. Mutko, Russia’s deputy prime minister, said that FIFA had approved the plan, which world football’s ruling body later confirmed. Mutko’s announcement was endorsed by FIFA: ‘FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) can confirm that the Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place on 1 December in the concert hall of the State Kremlin Palace, in Moscow. ‘This prestigious entertainment venue with ...

MNA Sports Desk: Ben Stokes on Sunday said England had forgotten what winning felt like until his dominant all-round performance helped the visitors pull off a 5 runs consolation victory over India in the third one-day international in Kolkata. Stokes hit an unbeaten 39-ball 57 and claimed three wickets to hand England their first 5 runs win on the tour after their 4-0 Test loss last year and two successive ODI defeats. India’s Kedar Jadhav nearly pulled off the 322-run chase with his 75-ball 90 but fast bowler Chris Woakes, who bowled the final over, held his nerve to restrict ...

MNA Sports Desk: New Zealand completed eight victories from eight against Bangladesh, winning the second test by nine wickets at 7.11pm on an action-packed fourth day in Christchurch. The 2-0 test series victories took them to fifth in the world rankings and sat alongside 3-0 sweeps in both the one-day and Twenty20 internationals. The hosts were dismissed for 354, a lead of 65, before dissecting the visitors for 173 in their second innings. Respite came with a 51-run ninth-wicket stand off 48 balls between Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Taskin Ahmed, prompting a quorum of Bangladeshi fans to launch into a ...