Fast bowler Jake Ball made a dream debut in Dhaka by becoming the first England bowler to take five wickets on one-day international debut during Friday’s 21-run win against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh, replying to England’s 309-8, appeared to be coasting toward their target, with opener Imrul Kayes (112) clubbing a century and racking up a 118-run partnership with all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
With the hosts needing 39 runs off 52 deliveries, Ball helped England claw their way back into the fight by removing Shakib, who played one of the finest innings of his career before going for 79 off 55 deliveries.
Photo: AFP
Ball bowled young Mosaddek Hossain off the next ball and completed the dramatic win with the wicket of Taskin Ahmed as England claimed the last six wickets for 17 runs to dismiss Bangladesh for 288. The visitors have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
“It was a debut you can’t forget really,” Ball said after the match. “It was a dream debut.”
Ball, whose only Test match to date has been against Pakistan in July, also praised the England dressing room.
“I think it’s a really nice dressing room to be in,” he said. “The first thing I noticed is how much of unit everyone is as they all back each other.”
“Confidence is really high. We play a brand of cricket that we believe ourselves and back ourselves. We did that today and managed to come out on top,” he said.
A fierce competition to get a place in the starting line-up also helped him, the Nottinghamshire man said.
“The players on the sideline would probably walk into another team,” he said. “It makes you keep performing. There are always people snapping behind you to come into the team.”
England play Bangladesh in the second one-day international at the same Dhaka venue today.
INDIA, NEW ZEALAND
Reuters, INDORE, India
The normally free-scoring Virat Kohli showed the other side of his batsmanship to score the first century of the series against New Zealand and steer India to 267-3 on the opening day of the third and final Test yesterday.
Kohli’s 103 not out was not the most flamboyant of his 13 Test centuries, but the 167 runs he added with Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth wicket laid the foundation for a big first-innings total for the hosts, who hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Rahane was on 79 not out at stumps.
Earlier, Kohli maintained his perfect toss record in the series and had little hesitation in batting first at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, which is hosting its first Test.
Jeetan Patel struck with his fifth delivery when Murali Vijay (10) stepped out to flick the off-spinner and Tom Latham took a sharp catch at short-leg.
Gautam Gambhir’s (29) was trapped LBW by Trent Boult and Cheteshwar Pujara (41) was undone by Mitchell Santner, bowled by a superb delivery.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS