PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Bangladesh will be hoping star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan shines with both bat and ball if they are to have a chance of upsetting New Zealand in the World T20 Group D opener here today.
The dashing 25-year-old left-hander has been promoted to number three in the last few matches to give an ideal start to the innings, which is opened by another aggressive left-hander Tamim Iqbal.
Hasan is also an effective left-arm spinner, often picking up some much-needed wickets in the middle overs.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said Hasan’s presence gives strength to the team.
“Hasan is our best cricketer,” said Rahim. “Hasan is now playing more freely than ever before, not just with the bat and ball but also on the field and off it as well. His presence means a lot.” Rahim, who replaced Hasan as captain last year, is confident his team will get through the group stage, where they will also meet 2009 champions Pakistan.
“We are confident of going through to the Super Eight. We are in a tough group. But our team is quite balanced so we need to get the basics right and if we execute our plans then we can beat any team in the world,” said Rahim.
The top two teams from each of the four groups will qualify for the Super Eight stage.
Bangladesh have bitter memories of the only Twenty20 played between the two teams two years ago. They lost the match in Hamilton after being shot out for 78.
New Zealand will wait on the fitness of Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee and Rob Nicol after the trio suffered gastric problems.
Captain Ross Taylor hoped all three would be fit for the match.
“We don’t know whether we will have the full quota of players because every couple of hours they are feeling a little better. The weather is bit colder so hopefully they can gain some energy and be available to play,” said Taylor.
In contrast to Bangladesh’s reliance on spinners, New Zealand will look to seamers for wickets.
“I guess we will be looking to our seamers to have a big play in the tournament. A few of our players played in the Sri Lankan league (in August this year) and had some success,” said Taylor, who believed the Bangladeshi left-arm spinners would not pose problems for his batsmen.
“We played a lot of left-arm spin in the nets because we will be playing at least 12 overs of left-arm spin. We need to play them well,” said Taylor of Bangladesh’s frontline spinners Hasan, Elias Sunny and Abdur Razzak.
Bangladesh looks to Shakib for New Zealand upset
Bangladesh looks to Shakib for New Zealand upset
29 players advance to round 2 of LIV Golf Promotions
- Friday’s 18-hole shootout will determine the weekend field that compete for 3 spots in the 2026 LIV Golf League
LECANTO, FLORIDA: The key to advancing beyond Thursday’s opening round of LIV Golf Promotions was simple: break par.
All 29 players who shot better than even-par 70 at Black Diamond Ranch moved on to Friday’s second round, to be joined by 18 exempt players in another 18-hole shootout to determine the weekend field that will compete for three spots in the 2026 LIV Golf League.
Canada’s Richard T. Lee led the first-round field of 60 players with a bogey-free six-under 64, two shots better than his nearest competitors, thanks to a stretch of four birdies in his final six holes.
“It’s the first round, and finishing first is always a great feeling,” said the 35-year-old Lee. “But the scores are going to reset tomorrow for the second round, and hopefully I can put up another good score out there.”
Of the 47 players competing on Friday, the top 20 and ties will advance to the two-day weekend shootout. The top three players after those 36 final holes will earn wild-card spots for the upcoming LIV Golf season.
At last season’s LIV Golf Promotions tournament, Lee was exempt into the second round, then advanced into the weekend. If he earns one of the three spots, he would be the league’s first Canadian player.
“Definitely for everyone out there that’s striving to get the three cards, I think it’s going to be a life-changer to be out there on LIV Golf and performing at the highest level,” Lee said.
Among those advancing comfortably behind Lee with four-under 64s were youngsters Max Kennedy of Ireland and Pablo Ereno of Spain, Korea’s Hongtaek Kim, and Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai and Sadom Kaewkanjana.
Ereno turned pro last June and is the youngest player in the field, at 22. He is hoping to follow the same path as current LIV Golf players Josele Ballester, David Puig and Luis Masaveu, the three young Spaniards who will be teammates on Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC team this season.
“I’m super close, especially with Josele and Luis Masaveu,” said Ereno, who played collegiately at UCLA. “I’ve only heard good things about it, so that’s why I’m here trying to earn my spot for next year. They’re really happy playing on LIV, and I think I would be, too, in case I play great this week.”
Kennedy was still an amateur in 2023 when he participated in the inaugural LIV Golf Promotions tournament and advanced from the first round.
“Definitely a lot more comfortable,” Kennedy said. “Back then, it was kind of new to me, so I was a little bit more nervous, didn’t know what to expect. Going out there tomorrow, I’ll know how to feel. I know what I’m going to feel.”
Prateeptienchai is one of two players at Black Diamond Ranch who previously advanced to the final 36-hole shootout in each of the previous two Promotions tournaments.
The other, Kieran Vincent, earned a LIV Golf spot in 2023, and Prateeptienchai is hoping for a similar result this week. He previously finished T11 in 2023 and T8 last season.
Provided he advances again after Friday’s second round, he hopes not having to play 36 holes in a single final day, as in the previous Promotions tournaments, will be a positive.
This year, the final two rounds consist of 18 holes on Saturday and 18 more on Sunday. “Just really tired because it’s playing 36 holes in a day,” Prateeptienchai said. “This year, it’s 18 and 18. More happy.”
Kaewkanjana is one of 12 players this week with previous LIV Golf experience. He played in all eight tournaments during the inaugural 2022 season and has been working hard to earn another chance.
“I try to get into LIV Golf this year,” he said, “so that it gets me a great experience to play with the greatest players in the world.”
Eleven players made the top-20-and-ties cut on the number at one-under 69, including Australia’s Cory Crawford, who birdied the difficult par-four 18th to secure his spot.
England’s Joe Pagdin, playing in the final group that started off the 10th tee, bogeyed his next-to-last hole but bounced back with a birdie at the par-five ninth to also advance.
