CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand: A Bangladesh batting implosion saw New Zealand cruise to a comfortable nine wicket win in the second Test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday.
Bangladesh were all out for 173 in their second innings, with the damage done when they lost five for 23 in the middle of the innings.
New Zealand were left with a 109-run target which they knocked off in 18.4 overs to complete a rout of Bangladesh, winning all eight matches — three Twenty20s, three one-day internationals and two Tests — during the tour.
The Test sweep means New Zealand will overtake Pakistan and move to fifth on the world rankings.
On a day of 14 dismissals on an easy wicket, New Zealand coasted home with Tom Latham unbeaten on 41 and Colin de Grandhomme on 33, effectively ending the Test in three days after Sunday’s third day was washed out.
Bangladesh were 65 in arrears and in need of patience when they started their second innings before lunch.
Instead, they showed their inexperience with the short ball and tried to hook and drive their way out of trouble.
After 10 overs they went to lunch at 20 for one, by tea they were 100 for five and the end came 17 overs into the final session, boosted by a late slog from Taskin Ahmed and Kamrul Islam who put on 51 in 48 balls.
There had been a question mark over the Bangladesh line-up after Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque, with 98 Tests between them, were kept out by injury.
They cobbled together a makeshift side with seven players having three or fewer Tests to their name, and although the game was evenly poised after the first two days, the greenness of the wicket came to the fore after that.
After the third day washout the sun returned on Monday and New Zealand took command.
They resumed at 260 for seven and aided by sloppy fielding, their last three partnerships put on 94 with Henry Nicholls leading the way with a career best 98.
The innings was halted at 354 with an unusual run out of Neil Wagner for 26 after he had initially grounded his bat behind the crease.
In the fleeting moment when wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan deflected the ball on to the stumps, Wagner was mid-stride with neither foot on the ground and he had momentarily lifted his bat.
A bewildered Wagner took out his frustrations when Bangladesh went into bat taking three wickets for 44.
Tim Southee took three for 48 and Trent Boult three for 52.
Bangladesh may have denied Nicholls a maiden century but they could not deny Southee becoming the fifth New Zealander to take 200 wickets on a list headed by Richard Hadlee with 417.
Southee ignited the Bangladesh collapse with the early wicket of Tamim Iqbal when the stand-in captain hooked to Mitchell Santner waiting on the boundary.
He reached the milestone with a short ball to Shakib Al Hasan that was steered to Colin de Grandhomme at point and wrapped up the innings with a short ball to Rubel Hossain that was edged to the wicketkeeper.
Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah attempted to put backbone into the innings adding 41 for the second wicket until Soumya (36) smacked a wide de Grandhomme delivery to Raval at gully.
Mahmudullah, on 38, dragged a wide Wagner delivery on to his stumps to start a slide in which Bangladesh fell from 92 for three to 115 for eight before the late burst from Taskin (33) and Kamrul who was 25 not out.
SCOREBOARD
Bangladesh (first innings): 289
New Zealand (first innings)
J. Raval b K. Islam 16
T. Latham c N. Hasan b T. Ahmed 68
K. Williamson c N. Hasan b K. Islam 2
R. Taylor c sub (T. Islam) b M. Hasan 77
H. Nicholls b Mehedi 98
M. Santner lbw b S.Al Hasan 29
B. Watling b S. Al Hasan 1
C de Grandhomme b S.Al Hasan 0
T. Southee c Mehedi Hasan b S. Al Hasan 17
N. Wagner run out (Nurul) 26
T. Boult not out 7
Extras: 13
Total: 354
Fall of wkts: 1-45, 2-47, 3-153 , 4-177, 5-252, 6-256, 7-256, 8-286, 9-343, 10-354.
Bowling: Taskin Ahmed 22-2-86-1 (2w), Mehedi Hasan 19-3-59-2, Rubel Hossain 17-2-65-0 (2nb), Kamrul Islam 19-4-78-2 (2w, 1nb), Shakib Al Hasan 12.4-1-50-4, Soumya Sarkar 3-0-10-0.
Bangladesh (second innings):
T. Iqbal c Santner b Southee 8
S. Sarkar c Raval b de Grandhomme 36
Mahmudullah b Wagner 38
S. Al Hasan c de Grandhomme b Southee 8
N. Hossain b Boult 12
S. Rahman c Watling b Wagner 0
N. Hasan c Watling b Wagner 0
M. Hasan c Latham b Boult 4
T. Ahmed b Boult 33
K. Islam not out 25
R. Hossain c Watling b Southee 7
Extras: 2
Total: 173
Fall of wkts: 1-17, 2-58, 3-73, 4-92, 5-100, 6-100, 7-106, 8-115, 9-166, 10-173.
Bowling: Boult 17-3-52-3, Southee 12.5-2-48-3, de Grandhomme 11-3-27-1, Wagner 12-3-44-3.
New Zealand (second innings):
J. Raval b K. Islam 33
T. Latham not out 41
C. de Grandhomme not out 33
Extras: 4
Total: (for 1 wkt) 111
Fall of wkt: 1-56.
Bowling: Taskin 5-0-21-0 (2nb), Mehedi 6-0-27-0 (1w), Kamrul 3-0-21-1, Shakib 4-0-28-0, Nazmul 0.4-0-13-0.
New Zealand sweeps Bangladesh series
New Zealand sweeps Bangladesh series
Iraq qualify for Paris Olympics men’s soccer tournament with win over Indonesia at U23 Asian Cup
- Ali Jasim’s extra-time winner means Iraq take Asia’s third automatic place at the Olympics
- Japan and Uzbekistan, who meet in Friday’s cup final, have both already qualified for the Paris Games
DOHA: Iraq qualified for the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics with a 2-1 win over Indonesia in the third-place playoff at the Under-23 Asian Cup on Thursday.
Ali Jasim’s extra-time winner means Iraq take Asia’s third automatic place at the Olympics. Japan and Uzbekistan, who meet in Friday’s cup final, have both already qualified for the Paris Games.
Indonesia took the lead after 19 minutes at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in the meeting of the two defeated semifinalists when Ivar Jenner scored from outside the area.
Eight minutes later, Zaid Tahseen headed home at the near post to make it 1-1.
The game went to extra time and Iraq took the lead in the 96th. The Indonesian defense misjudged the bounce of a long pass allowing Jasim to run free into the right side of the area. He sent a powerful shot across the diving goalkeeper to put Iraq on the brink of their sixth Olympic appearance.
Indonesia, still searching for a first Olympic appearance since 1956, almost took the game to a penalty shootout in the final action but Justin Hubner’s header was cleared off the line.
There is still one more opportunity for Indonesia. They will face Guinea in a May 9 playoff for a place in Paris.
Hyderabad steal one-run win as Rajasthan falter
- Needing two off the final ball, Rajasthan’s Rovman Powell missed a full toss and was trapped in front of the wicket by Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Kumar earlier undermined Rajasthan’s innings by removing star England batter Jos Butler and captain Sanju Samson for nought
HYDERABAD, India: Sunrisers Hyderabad stole an unlikely one-run victory over table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in a tense Indian Premier League encounter on Thursday.
Needing two off the final ball, Rajasthan’s Rovman Powell missed a full toss and was trapped in front of the wicket by India international Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The right-arm swing bowler, who finished with figures of 41-3, earlier undermined Rajasthan’s innings by removing star England batter Jos Butler and captain Sanju Samson for nought in the first over of the chase.
“I wasn’t thinking much about the result in the last over,” said Kumar.
“There was no discussion in the last over, was just focussed on the process.”
After the early setbacks, young Indian batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rayan Parag scored counter-attacking half-centuries to rebuild the innings and Rajasthan seemed on course for a comfortable victory.
But Jaiswal (67 off 40 balls) and Parag (77 off 49) fell in quick succession to left-arm pacer T Natrajan, setting off a collapse.
Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins conceded only seven runs in a miserly penultimate to tilt the match in the home team’s favor.
“Knowing the nature of the IPL, you never win the game until you actually win the game,” said Samson.
In their innings, Rajasthan Royals made an uncharacteristically slow and shaky start with in-form opener Abhishek Sharma falling for 12 off 10 balls.
Anmolpreet Singh, who followed at number three, also failed to make an impact scoring a run-a-ball five.
But Australia international Travis Head and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy upped the pace with a partnership of 96 runs off 47 balls.
The duo were particularly harsh on wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who leaked 62 runs in his four overs.
Head’s crucial knock of 57 off 44 balls finally ended when he chopped one onto his stumps as he tried to scoop pacer Avesh Khan.
South Africa’s power hitter Heinrich Klaasen then joined Reddy who remained unbeaten on 76 off 42 balls to take Hyderabad past 200 for the fifth time this season.
Champions League is being expanded, but Italy and Germany will benefit over England next season
- It had largely been assumed England would secure a bonus spot, given its recent success in Europe
- Dortmund’s win means Germany can’t be caught in UEFA’s ranking system by England, which has only Aston Villa still playing
MANCHESTER, England: Germany has beaten the English Premier League to a bonus fifth Champions League place in next season’s revamped and expanded competition.
Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their semifinal first leg on Wednesday confirmed Germany would join Italy in being granted an extra berth.
It had largely been assumed England would secure a bonus spot, given its recent success in Europe, including having Champions League winners in three of the last five seasons.
But Dortmund’s win means Germany can’t be caught in UEFA’s ranking system by England, which has only Aston Villa still playing.
The fifth spots were based on performances from each country this season in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
It means three-time European Cup winner Manchester United will miss out on next season’s Champions League.
Villa and Tottenham — competing for fourth place in the Premier League — also know there will be no back door entry to the biggest stage in Europe.
Villa, England’s only remaining team in Europe, have advanced to the semifinals of the Conference League. But even if Villa go on to win the third-tier competition, they cannot amass enough points for England to overtake Germany, which still has two teams in the Champions League and one in the Europa League.
UEFA’s ranking system gives points for each game a team wins or draws in European competition, with bonuses attached to advancing to different stages.
Since 2005, England would have qualified for a fifth place in the Champions League in 14 of 19 seasons. And despite having finalists in five of the past six editions, English teams’ disappointing performances this season have wrecked their chances of an extra place.
Man United and Newcastle failed to advance from the group stage, and Manchester City’s quarterfinal loss to Real Madrid was the defending champion’s earliest exit from the competition in four years.
In the Europa League, Liverpool were surprisingly eliminated by Atalanta in the quarterfinals.
In contrast, German teams have excelled. Bayern Munich and Dortmund have reached the semifinals of the Champions League and Bayer Leverkusen is into the last four of the Europa League.
Dortmund, fifth in the Bundesliga, guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League by beating PSG.
Roma are currently fifth in Italy.
The Champions League is expanding from 32 to 36 teams next season to allow for a new league phase that will replace the existing group stage.
Via a seeding system, teams will be drawn to play against eight opponents, home and away in one league format.
The top eight teams will advance to the round of 16. Teams that finish from ninth to 24th will face a two-leg playoff in order to advance.
Top Pakistan medical official resigns for mishandling fast bowler’s elbow injury
- Dr. Sohail Saleem was the director of the Pakistan Cricket Board medical and sports sciences
- Medical committee said Saleem recommended an “inappropriate surgeon” to handle Ihsanullah’s injury
ISLAMABAD: A top medical official with the Pakistan Cricket Board resigned on Thursday after an independent investigation reported fast bowler Ihsanullah’s elbow injury was badly handled.
Dr. Sohail Saleem was the director of the PCB medical and sports sciences.
A three-member medical committee said in its report that Saleem recommended an “inappropriate surgeon, lacking the academics and experience in the field” to look after Ihsanullah’s injury.
Ihsanullah’s right elbow was hurt during the white-ball home series against New Zealand in April last year. The PCB initially believed Ihsanullah’s injury was not severe but the fast bowler was sidelined for almost a year.
The committee said Ihsanullah’s elbow pain was not addressed, treated and operated on appropriately, and there was also delay in reaching the clinical diagnoses.
“He (Ihsanullah) did not receive a formal rehabilitation process as required by his condition,” the committee said. “His surgery was planned hurriedly without any specialist review and preoperative assessment.”
The committee also highlighted “inappropriate prescription of treatment, as well as non-compliance by the fast bowler with the prescribed rehabilitation plan.”
Last month, Ihsanullah was sent to the UK where he met with an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports injuries.
The committee has recommended Ihsanullah should continue with aggressive physiotherapy and “surgery may be the last option if he does not recover in six-12 months.”
Ihsanullah has played four Twenty20s and one one-day international, all last year.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister describes Saudi Arabia as ‘safest place on earth’
- Katia Aviero posts message on Instagram in which she says of the Kingdom: ‘If there is a safe place to walk alone, it is here’
- Aviero, who joined her brother’s partner, Georgina Rodriguez, to watch him play in the King’s Cup semifinal on Wednesday adds: ‘Nobody disrespects you here and there are no thefts’
RIYADH: While Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo was busy scoring a brace on Wednesday in a 3-1 victory over Al-Khaleej that earned his team a place in the King’s Cup final, his sister was praising Saudi Arabia and describing it as the “safest place on earth.”
Asked whether it was safe to walk alone in the Kingdom, Katia Aviero posted a message on Instagram in Portuguese in which she said of the Kingdom: “If there is a safe place to walk alone, it is here.”
She said: “Saudi Arabia is one of the best in the world in terms of safety. You can leave your phone on the table and go and come back without anything happening.”
She added that “nobody disrespects you here and there are no thefts,” and she feels secure at all times.
A Saudi sports website quoted Aviero as saying: “You can also leave your keys and wallet in the car.”
She also posted a photo of herself with Ronaldo’s partner, Georgina Rodriguez, and another women watching the game on Wednesday from a VIP lounge at Al-Awwal Park stadium. She added a note, saying: “We came to give good luck for our king (Cristiano).”
Aviero, who has more than 1.4 million followers on Instagram, also added several posts to her Instagram Story on Wednesday featuring videos of Riyadh streets filmed from inside a car.
Ronaldo scored the first and third goals for Al-Nassr on Wednesday night, with Sadio Mane netting the second from the penalty spot.
The Portuguese star celebrated the semifinal victory with brief message on social media platform X in which he wrote: “The King’s Cup … let’s go.”
Al-Nassr will face fierce rivals Al-Hilal in the final on May 31.
