Young opening batsman Shahriar Nafees smashed a record-breaking century on Friday as Bangladesh hammered Zimbabwe by 101 runs in its final ICC Champions Trophy qualifying match between the two bottom placed teams.
Led by Nafees' unbeaten 123, Bangladesh made 231 for six off its 50 overs before Zimbabwe went off track in pursuit of its target and was bowled out for 130 in 44.4 overs.
Zimbabwe finished at the bottom of the four-team qualifying round from which Sri Lanka and defending champion West Indies have earned their berths in the main draw that begins from today.
PHOTO: AFP
"Things went according to the plan and our spinners did well in defending the total," said a relieved-looking Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar as his team was beaten by Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the two qualifying matches.
Two bizarre run-outs of Hamilton Masakadza and Stuart Matsikenyeri did not help Zimbabwe's cause with only opener Brendan Taylor offering much resistance before he was stumped for 52 off 74 balls midway through the innings.
Left-arm spinners Saqibul Hasan and experienced Mohammad Rafique were the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers with three and two wickets respectively.
Earlier, Nafees, a 20-year-old left-hander, hit 17 boundaries and a six in a 161-ball knock -- his second limited-overs century against Zimbabwe in two months.
"I like to play strokes but today the wicket did not suit my style of batting and that's why I took so many deliveries," said Nafees.
Nafees also became the only Bangladesh batsman to have crossed the three figure mark twice in only his 28th limited-overs international.
He had earlier scored an unbeaten 118 -- the previous highest ever total by a Bangladesh batsman in a limited-overs game at Harare in August during Bangladesh's 3-2 loss to Zimbabwe.
"I tried to stay at the wicket as long as possible and in the end we got a good total to defend," Nafees said.
Zimbabwe's new ball bowlers made an early impact after captain Prosper Utseya won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Rajin Saleh (6) -- coming in for out of form Mohammad Ashraful -- was out leg before wicket while attempting to pull Ed Rainsford. Wicketkeeper Taylor dived full length to his left and grabbed a low one-handed catch after an Anthony Ireland delivery brushed the gloves of Aftab Ahmed (3) that reduced Bangladesh to 26 for 2 in the 10th over.
Nafees then repaired the early damage with two solid half century partnerships. He added 83 runs with Saqibul Hasan (36) and then shared an 80-run stand with Bashar (30).
Nafees, who consumed 92 balls for his half century, brought up his century in the 44th with a single as Bangladesh made 70 runs in the last 10 overs.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care