Bangladesh dropped to equal seventh on the updated World Test Championship (WTC) standings after being swept in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.   They started the series, sitting at fourth position and the chance came to their way to bolster it further but they failed to do so. The Tigers lost the first Test by 328 runs before tasting yet another thumping 192-run defeat in the second and final Test.   Bangladesh currently have 12 points with a 25 percentage point from one win in four matches. They have drawn one and lost two in the current Test Championship cycle.   South Africa shared the seventh position with Bangladesh with an equal number of wins, draws and defeats.   The Tigers' next series is against Pakistan later this year when they travel for two Test matches.   Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have boosted their chances of reaching next year's ICC World Test Championship final after sweeping the series against Bangladesh.   The victory sees Sri Lanka overtake Pakistan and move up to fourth place on the updated World Test Championship standings with a 50 percent points percentage, with India (first), Australia (second) and New Zealand (third) the only teams ahead of them.   Source: BSS

Bangladesh are seeking an improved performance to make a winning start to the three-match ODI series as they take on the visiting Sri Lanka at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram tomorrow (March 13). The match starts at 2.30 PM. The two sides had already played a three-match T20 series, which Sri Lanka won by 2-1. Sri Lanka edged Bangladesh past by three wickets in the first match after a thrilling contest but the hosts bounced back strongly to level the series with a dominating eight-wicket victory in the second game. In the third game, Bangladesh were undone by the sling action of Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Thushara whose five-wicket haul including a hat-trick snatched the series from Bangladesh. Thushara, the replacement of injured Matheesha Pathirana, is set to play the ODI series too and so Bangladesh need to come up with a solid plan to neutralize his effect. “We need to start well to gain the momentum. Hopefully we’ll come up with our best performance,” Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said. The last ODI between the two sides was marred by the ‘Timed Out’ incident and it had an impact in the T20 series also. In the first match, Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam brought back the memory after showing ‘Timed Out’ gesture when he removed Sri Lankan opener Avishka Fernando. The approach and body language of the players of the two teams were not cordial enough in the entire series, which reached a crescendo when Towhid Hridoy engaged in a spat with the Lankan players during the third T20. Later, after confirming the series, Sri Lanka players brought out ‘Timed Out’ celebration, sparking ire in the Bangladesh tent further. After the third T20, Bangladesh Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said Sri Lanka haven’t moved on from the incident but they should. "I think they should get out of it. They should stay in the present. We were within the rules [with the timed out dismissal]. They are in a frenzy about it. I am not too worried about it,” he said. However, the way things are going, it is obvious that the ‘Timed Out’ matter will loom large on ODI series also. After Shakib Al Hasan inflicted ‘Timed Out’ on Angelo Mathews during the World Cup, Bangladesh won the match by three wickets. Shakib, the then captain, played the crucial role with attacking 82 runs in that victory. Overall the two sides played 54 matches between them of which Bangladesh won 10 and Sri Lanka 42. The two matches ended in a no result. Bangladesh has been a fortress for Sri Lanka until their last tour, when they conceded the three-match ODI series by 2-1. But before that, Sri Lanka won every series played here by the two teams. They also won several tri-nation series and Asia Cup here. On Bangladesh soil, Sri Lanka won 14 matches against the Tigers and lost six. Stat might show the Sri Lankan dominance over Bangladesh in every aspect but the situation changed after the 2015 World Cup when the Tigers won a considerable number of matches to break Lankan dominance. Despite losing the T20 series, Bangladesh still looked favourite in the ODI series, considering their recent results against the Lankans. Squad: Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Anamul Haque Bijoy, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilshan Madushanka, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Akila Dananjaya, Binura Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Avishka Fernando and Jeffrey Vandersay.

Bangladesh’s aspiration to seal its first ever T20 bilateral series against Sri Lanka was ruined after their 28-run defeat to the visitors in the series deciding third and final T20 International at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium today (March 9). Opener Kusal Mendis hit a brilliant 86 and pacer Nuwan Thushara complemented with career-best 5-20 including a hat-trick to deny Bangladesh the feat what they aspired. However this was their first bilateral series defeat in this format after 2022.  In this period they won four series against UAE, England, Afghanistan and Ireland and drew series against New Zealand. Sri Lanka won the first match by three runs but Bangladesh leveled the series with an eight-wicket victory in the second game. Kusal Mendis single-handedly drove the side to 174-6 and then Thushara, playing his first game in the series, ripped through top-order in a gem of swing bowling display. Rishad Hossain hit seven sixes, the highest by a Bangladesh batter in this format in an innings, for his 30 ball-53 as Bangladesh recovered from 32-6 to be all out for 146 in 19.4 overs. Rishad in fact broke the record of Jaker Ali Anik, who hit six sixes against Sri Lanka for his 34ball-68 in the first match of this series. Thushara, the replacement of injured Matheesha Pathirana, took four wickets in his two overs including a hat-trick. Thushara’s hat-trick is the sixth hat-trick against Bangladesh, the highest a team conceded in this format. Dhananjaya de Silva broke through with the wicket of Liton Das (7) and then in next over, Thushara joined the party. He removed captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (1) and Towhid Hridoy by rattling their stump before trapping Mahmudullah for leg-before. Mahmudullah reviewed in vain as Thushara became fourth Sri Lankan bowlers to achieve hat-trick in this format. In his next over, Thushara got the better of Soumya Sarkar and captain Wanindu Hasanranga dismissed Jaker Ali (4) to leave Bangladesh 32-6. Rishad then shared two partnerships to reduce the margin of the defeat—44- with Mahedi Hasan who scored 19 and 41-with Taskin Ahmed before being dismissed by offspinner Maheesh Theekshana. Taskin Ahmed hit a fluent 31. Earlier, Bangladesh bowlers came up with stellar performance to restrict Sri Lanka to a total that looked achievable in this wicket, Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed (2-25) and leg-spinner Rishad Hossain (2-35) led the charge, sharing four wickets between them. For Sri Lanka, opener Kusal Mendis single-handedly drove the side, hammering 55 ball-86 which laced with six fours and six sixes. No other batters could score even 20, with the second best coming from the willow Dasun Shanaka who made an unbeaten 19 off 9. Captain Wanindu Hasaranga who came back to lead the side after serving two-match ban, imposed by ICC, scored 15. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for the third in a row won the toss and put Sri Lanka into bat first, considering Sylhet wicket favours the batters in the latter part of the game. Taskin Ahmed made the breakthrough in the fourth over, taking out Dhananjaya de Silva for e8 but two Mendis—Kusal and Kamindu once again came to the fore, sharing 34 runs to steady the innings. When Rishad removed Kamindu for run-a-ball-12, Kusal formed 59-run with Hasaranga. Kusal again dominated the partnership, scoring large bulk of runs. But Bangladesh bowlers showed their skill in breaking the partnership whenever it appeared to take the game away. Mustafizur Rahman, who took 1-47, now broke the partnership between Kusal and Hasaranga when it posed a huge threat. Shoriful, who claimed 1-28, and Taskin then in joint-venture dismissed Charith Asalanka (3) and Kusal in quick succession, denting Sri Lanka’s hope to take the total past 200. However Shanaka’s big hitting prowess at least helped them go past 170. Source: BSS

The Bangladesh national cricket team started its practice session for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka today under the supervision of head coach Chandika Hathurusingha at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.    Hathurusingha had a meeting with the available national cricketers, including Najmul Hossain Shanto who was appointed Bangladesh captain in all three formats, replacing Shakib Al Hasan recently.    The likes of Zakir Hasan, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam were also in the practice session, among others. The players, who were part of BPL playoffs, weren't part of today's practice session, but Mominul Haque, a player of Rangpur Riders, was seen in the session for some time.   The Sri Lanka series will be Bangladesh's first International assignment in this year. The Lankan side will arrive in Bangladesh on March 1 for three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.   The series starts with three T20I - which will be held on March 4, 6 and 9 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The ODI series will be held at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on March 13, 15 and 18.   The limited-over series will be followed by a two-match Test series, which is a part of the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship cycle. The first Test is in Sylhet from March 22-26 while the second Test will be held from March 30 - April 3 in Chattogram. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had already announced the T20 squad and an ODI squad for the first two matches. The Test squad is yet to be revealed.  T20 Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Liton Das, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Md Naim Sheikh, Tawhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Mahmud Ullah, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Aliss Al Islam ODI Squad (for 1st & 2nd ODIs) Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Anamul Haque Bijoy, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman.   Source: BSS

Bangladesh U-19 team started the World Cup tournament by losing against India. The Junior Tigers secured the Super Six by winning the next two matches of the group stage. However, Bangladesh has lost its way on the verge of the semi-finals.  Despite coming close to winning against Pakistan, the Junior Tigers lost by 5 runs. Bangladesh invited Pakistan to bat after winning the toss on Saturday (February 3).  Facing a target of 156 runs, The Tigers needed to chase it down within 38.1 overs in order to maintain a superior net run rate over Pakistan.Unfortunately Bangladesh lost their wickets for 150 runs in 35.5 overs.  Thus, the dream of the World Cup was broken for 5 runs of the representatives of red and green. On the other hand, five-time champions India, three-time champions Australia and South Africa have already confirmed their places in the last four recently.  

Khulna Tigers made a great start to the tenth season of BPL. By the captaincy of Enamul Haque Bijay, the team is still unbeaten in the tournament. Khulna completely destroyed Dhaka in their fourth match. Khulna blew away the capital team by ten wickets. After winning the toss Dhaka chose to bat first on Monday (January 29), Durdanto Dhaka throws Khulna a target of 131 runs. Khulna Tigers reached the port of victory with Enamul Haque Vijay's unbeaten 57 off 47 balls. Khulna remained the only team to keep hold of a 100 percent winning record having won four matches on the trot.   

Bangladesh claimed an historic five-wicket win over New Zealand Wednesday after their seamers ran riot in the opening game of their three-match Twenty20 series Wednesday (Dec 27) in Napier. This was Bangladesh's first T20 win on New Zealand soil, four days after also claiming a maiden away one-day international win over the Black Caps in Napier. Asked to bat by Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto, New Zealand made a disastrous start losing three wickets before reaching 134 for nine after their 20 overs. The Black Caps bowlers gave home fans hope with the early wickets of Bangladesh opener Rony Talukdar and Shanto. Veteran Liton Das partnered up with Soumya Sarkar, then Towhid Hridoy to steer Bangladesh to 96/4 after 13 overs. The visitors were wobbling at 97/5 as they lost wickets in quick succession after Afif Hossain was caught for one run in six balls. Liton, who finished on 42 not out, survived two close calls as he battled cramp. The on-field umpire gave him out leg before wicket on Tim Southee's bowling, but the Bangladesh opener stayed at the crease when the review showed the ball would have sailed over the stumps. Ish Sodhi then caught Liton at the boundary, but stepped onto the boundary rope to give away six runs. It fell to Mahedi Hasan, who finished 19 not out, to hit the winning runs in his partnership of 40 with Liton with eight balls to spare. The second and third T20Is will both be played at Mount Maunganui Friday, then Sunday.  Bangladesh, ranked ninth in T20I cricket, punched above their weight to floor third-ranked New Zealand.  Having dismissed New Zealand for 98 in Saturday's third ODI in losing the series 2-1, the Bangladesh bowlers picked up where they left off. Mahedi bowled Tim Seifert in the opening over. Shoriful Islam was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers with 3/26, including having Finn Allen caught and Glenn Phillips trapped lbw in consecutive balls. Daryl Mitchell hit consecutive fours before falling for 14 to leave New Zealand 20/4. Mark Chapman hit 19 off as many balls before being caught with the score on 50/5.  Captain Mitchell Santner and James Neesham put on 41 before Soumya grabbed his second catch to dismiss Santner, having also caught Allen in the slips. Neesham fell two runs short of his 50, holing out at deep cover point, and Southee was caught on eight. Adam Milne hit a towering six off the final ball to finish 16 not out, but Bangladesh's batters chipped away at New Zealand's tally.

A successful execution of a six-month plan led Bangladesh Under-19 to clinch the coveted Asia Cup title, said captain Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby. The Junior Tigers crushed United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 195 runs in the final to secure their first Asian title as an unbeaten champion. On the way to move to the final they beat UAE, Japan and then Sri Lanka convincingly in the group phase before beating the tournament's most successful team India by four wickets in the semifinal.   UAE might be a weaker opponent on paper but they played excellent cricket to move to the final. Despite being beaten by Bangladesh in the group phase, they beat Sri Lanka and Japan in the group phase and then stunned Pakistan in the semifinal.   But against a spirited Bangladesh, they couldn't put up minimum resistance. "With an aim to secure the title we went to play the Asia Cup but we took it as match by match," said Rabby after arriving in the country from UAE today to a hero's welcome. "We have to give the due credit to our coaches and the team management. Everyone was desperate to win the title. Cricketers executed the plan in the ground. We have devised a plan six months ago for this tournament. From that time, we dreamt of winning the title," he added without elaborating their plan.   Ahead of the tournament, Bangladesh played a tournament in India, featuring India A team, B team and England Under-19 team but they didn't do quite well in that tournament. Despite that hiccup, they were not mentally shattered as they learnt from their mistakes and showed the unwavering resolve, required to win a title. Rabby in fact was given captaincy, replacing Ahrar Amin after that tournament.   The Under-19 team clinched a World Cup, led by Akbar Ali in 2020. Most of the players of that team have already made it to the national team. Rabby said their prime target is to win the Under-19 World Cup, which will be held in South Africa next year. "All of our players have been in good touch. The Asia Cup victory obviously boosted us to win the World Cup. Hopefully we'll translate this performance into the World Cup to make the nation proud again," he remarked.   Opener Ashiqur Rahman Shibly was instrumental in clinching the title, scoring tournament's highest 378 runs in five matches. He hit two centuries including one in final and two half-centuries. Only against India, he failed to reach fifty. He was however adjudged man of the series.   Shibly who idolizes Indian great Virat Kohli, said he played as per match situation and tried his best to contribute for the team. "I have no mindset that I have to be the best scorer of the tournament. I tried to play as the team demands from me," he said.   "It's obviously a good feeling that the team became champions and I scored highest runs. Now our target is to do well in World Cup. This is the only target now. I am not thinking about national team or anything else at this moment," he added.   Source: BSS

Bangladesh will be faced India today, the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune. The match will start at 2.30 PM (Bangladesh Time). Begining of The Tigers World Cup mission, with a six-wicket win over Afghanistan. After that, defeat to England and New Zealand in the last two matches. India in contrast are flying high, winning their firs three matches quite convincingly. They began the mission with a six-wicket win over Australia before beating Afghanistan by eight wickets and archrivals Pakistan by seven wickets. India is favourites to win the game but Bangladesh will be oozed with confidence due to their recent dominance against the sub-continent rivals.

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field on Tuesday at Dharmashala Stadium in India against England.  Bangladesh Liton Das, Tanjid Hasan, Nazmul Hossain, Mehdi Hasan Miraj, Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Tawhid Hriday, Mehdi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shariful Islam and Mostafizur Rahman. England Jonny Bairstow, David Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (captain and wicketkeeper), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid and Rhys Topley